Wootton Bassett prepared to honour two more fallen British soldiers on Tuesday as a controversial Islamic group pressed ahead with plans for a march through the town.

Islam4UK said it would apply to police ”in the next few days” to march through the Wiltshire town famous for honouring dead British troops, despite calls for it to be called off.

Hundreds of people will line the streets today to pay their respects as the the bodies of Rifleman Aiden Howell and Sapper David Watson being driven along the High Street. Sapper Watson, 23, of 33 Engineer Regiment – a bomb disposal expert – and Rifleman Howell, 19, of 3rd Battalion the Rifles were killed in Afghanistan in the last week of December.  Read more... (511 words, 1 image, estimated 2:03 mins reading time)

THE bodies of the last two British soldiers killed in Afghanistan last year were being driven through Wootton Bassett today as controversy raged about a planned march through the town by Islamic extremists.

Rifleman Aidan Howell, 19, and Sapper David Watson, 23, were the 107th and 108th British military personnel to lose their lives fighting the Taliban last year.

Their repatriation, first to RAF Lyneham and then to Oxford via Wootton Bassett, came amid outrage at a proposed march through the Wiltshire town by radical group Islam4UK. It plans to carry empty coffins through the streets to symbolise Muslims “mercilessly murdered” in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Read more... (355 words, 1 image, estimated 1:25 mins reading time)

A MUSLIM couple heaped shame on hate preacher Anjem Choudary yesterday as they paid tribute to two British soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

Abdul Latif and his wife Samina joined hundreds of people in the streets of Wootton Bassett as two more casualties of the war returned to Britain for burial.

The couple joined condemnation of the fundamentalist cleric’s plan to lead 500 Islamic extremists on a march through the town.

Choudary provoked outrage when he said members of radical group Islam4UK would carry empty coffins along the streets to symbolise the Muslims ‘murdered’ by UK forces.  Read more... (472 words, 1 image, estimated 1:53 mins reading time)

Any protest march which offended the families of soldiers killed and injured in Afghanistan would be considered ”completely inappropriate” by Gordon Brown, Downing Street has said.

Gordon Brown’s spokesman issued the warning after the leader of a controversial Islamic group vowed to continue with plans for a march through Wootton Bassett.

Anjem Choudary of Islam4UK – a branch of the extremist al-Muhajiroun movement – sparked dismay with plans for 500 members to parade with empty coffins symbolising Muslim victims through the town, which has become famous for honouring service personnel killed in the conflict. Civic leaders have begged Mr Choudary to reconsider his proposal and a Facebook site dedicated to preventing the march has already attracted more than 120,000 members.  Read more... (603 words, 1 image, estimated 2:25 mins reading time)

Gordon Brown has condemned plans by a controversial Islamic group to stage a march through Wootton Bassett – the town synonymous with honouring soldiers killed in Afghanistan. It comes after the leader of Islam4UK, Anjem Choudary, vowed to continue with the idea in the Wiltshire town despite repeated calls to drop it.

Civic leaders have asked Mr Choudary to reconsider his proposal for 500 members to walk through Wootton Bassett’s High Street carrying empty coffins.

And a Facebook site dedicated to preventing the march has already attracted more than 120,000 members.  Read more... (683 words, 1 image, estimated 2:44 mins reading time)

A MUSLIM group in Kirklees has spoken out against plans by hardline Islamists to hold a protest march through Wootton Bassett.

Islam4UK, led by Anjem Choudary, a former lawyer, wants to carry empty coffins through the Wiltshire town to represent civilian victims of the war in Afghanistan.

Wootton Bassett has become synonymous with the repatriation of British soldiers killed in the conflict, as members of the public line the streets to pay their respects when the coffins go past.

The Kirklees Faith Network of Mosques yesterday criticised the planned march by Islam4UK.  Read more... (473 words, 1 image, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)

HATE preacher Anjem Choudary sparked new outrage last night – by telling the parents of British troops killed in Afghanistan that their children died in vain.

The fanatic is sending letters to the families of fallen heroes urging them to become Muslims “to save yourselves from the hellfire”.

The sick campaign comes days after The Sun revealed Choudary’s plan to protest in the town famed for honouring Britain‘s war dead.

Twisted Choudary yesterday refused to face The Sun over his sick letter-writing campaign, whingeing: “I’m the most hated man in Britain.”  Read more... (638 words, 1 image, estimated 2:33 mins reading time)

The leader of a controversial Islamic group vowed to continue with plans for a march through Wootton Bassett in an online letter to families of fallen soldiers.

Anjem Choudary of Islam4UK – a branch of the extremist al-Muhajiroun movement – sparked dismay with plans to parade through the town famous for honouring service personnel killed in Afghanistan.

Civic leaders begged Mr Choudary to reconsider his proposal for 500 members to walk up the Wiltshire town’s High Street, carrying empty coffins.

A Facebook site dedicated to preventing the march has already attracted over 120,000 members.  Read more... (970 words, 1 image, estimated 3:53 mins reading time)

People in Wootton Bassett, the town famous for honouring dead British soldiers returning from Afghanistan, reacted defiantly on Saturday to news that a controversial Islamic group is to march through its streets.

Islam4UK – which calls itself a “platform” for extremist movement al-Muhajiroun – plans to parade through the Wiltshire town in the coming weeks.

The group’s website says the event is being held “not in memory of the occupying and merciless British military” but of the Muslims its says have been “murdered in the name of democracy and freedom”. Leader Anjem Choudary said the protest, involving 500 people, would be peaceful one, with “symbolic coffins” being carried to honour Muslim victims of the conflict. He said he also planned to write to the parents of dead UK soldiers with his version of “the reality of what they died for”.  Read more... (869 words, 1 image, estimated 3:29 mins reading time)

Muslim extremist Anjem Choudary has vowed to go ahead with a protest march through Wootton Bassett claiming those who honour the war dead are no different to those who support the 7/7 Tube bombers.

The controversial cleric, who heads up Islam4UK, has organised a march of 500 people through the Wiltshire town, in memory of Muslims “murdered in the name of democracy and freedom”.

Wootton Bassett has become the main focal point for the nation to show its respect to the troops killed in Afghanistan, with hundreds lining the streets each time a body is repatriated to nearby RAF Lyneham. But Choudary said it was unacceptable to honour those killed in the conflict and he would march through the town with supporters to voice opposition at the gatherings.  Read more... (299 words, 1 image, estimated 1:12 mins reading time)