"Qur'an burning pastor" Terry Jones banned from entering UK

The controversial US pastor who planned a mass burning of the Qur'an on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks last year has been barred from entering the UK.

The Home Office ban means the Florida-based pastor Terry Jones will not be able to attend a series of demonstrations organised by a right-wing called England Is Ours, which is against the expansion of Islam and the construction of mosques in the UK.

The Home Office said Mr Jones could not enter the UK as the government "opposes extremism in all its forms."

"Coming to the UK is a privilege not a right and we are not willing to allow entry to those whose presence is not conducive to the public good.

"The use of exclusion powers is very serious and no decision is taken lightly or as a method of stopping open debate," the spokesperson added.

Mr Jones - who is pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, which has fewer than 50 members - received worldwide condemnation last September when he announced plans for his "International Burn a Koran Day" on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. He eventually called the action off.

Mr Jones said he had not been planning to break any laws while in England.

"I'm not against Muslims, we are not against their religion," he told the BBC. "We have, here in the West, freedom of religion and limited freedom of speech which we don't have in their countries.

"What I am against is the radical element. If I came to England we would expect Muslims to rally with us."

He also claims that the ban on him entering the country was also unfair on a "human basis" because his daughter lived in England and his grandchildren were English.

Mr Jones had accepted an invitation to speak to England Is Ours in February and was due to address a series of demonstrations against the expansion of Islam and the construction of mosques in the UK.

Barry Taylor, secretary of England Is Ours, said he was "very disappointed" by the decision.

"The whole object of the exercise is to have a discussion about the Islamification of the UK and just have dialogue about the problems," he said.

"The idea isn't to cause trouble or kick up a stink. These things do need addressing and people do need to speak about them. We shouldn't be frightened about them."