A spokesman for a leading muslim organisation in Waltham Forest has condemned the latest outburst by the radical cleric Anjem Choudary.

This morning a video emerged of Walthamstow-based Choudary claiming that murdered soldier Lee Rigby would burn in hellfire.

Mr Choudary also praised one of Drummer Rigby’s alleged killers as a ‘very nice man’ and slammed the Help for Heroes charity.

Irfan Akhtar of the Waltham Forest Council of Mosques, an umbrella organisation for mosques in the borough, said he was dismayed by Mr Choudary’s latest outburst.

He said: “It is typical of Anjem to try and spark controversy with this sort of outburst, no one gives him the time of day otherwise.

“Every time he speaks he does untold damage to the muslim community.

“They come from opposite ends of the extremist spectrum, but people like Anjem Choudary and Tommy Robinson of the EDL are actually the most effective recruiters for each other.”

Mr Akhtar slammed Mr Choudary’s claim that no muslim could feel sympathy for Lee Rigby.

He said: “The Quran tells us ‘whoever kills a soul, except as a punishment for murder or for corruption in the land - it is as if he had slain the whole of mankind. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved the whole of mankind.’

“The Prophet Muhammad also said about Dhimmis (non-Muslims living under Islamic protection), ‘He who hurts a Dhimmi hurts me, and he who hurts me hurts Allah.’

“Anjem Choudary has no support from the Muslim community in general and uses the media to propagate his vile views in the hope of trapping a few vulnerable and misguided people.

“I wonder why he never seems to get arrested.”