Britain denied on Thursday that its foreign policy was "anti-Islamic" following accusations that its stance had heightened the threat from terrorism.
British police are holding 23 people as they investigate a suspected plot to blow up airliners over the Atlantic, 13 months after British Islamist suicide bombers killed 52 people on London's transport network.
Muslim groups and politicians told Prime Minister Tony Blair last week his policies on Iraq and the Israel-Hizbollah war were putting civilians at increased risk in Britain and elsewhere. In an open letter, they urged Blair to change his foreign policy.
Foreign Office Minister David Triesman insisted on Thursday that "British foreign policy is not 'anti-Islamic'".