THE council has hit back at claims that it is not doing enough to tackle extremism among the Muslim community in Waltham Forest.

Hanif Qadir, of the Active Change Foundation (ACF) made the accusations yesterday after the WikiLeaks website revealed that a secret US cable had described Waltham Forest as an area of "significant" radicalism.

The ACF works with young Muslims to tackle extremism and gang culture, and Mr Qadir said the authority only funded programmes to tackle the issues when they were raised in the media.

But Waltham Forest's cabinet member for Community Safety and Cohesion, Cllr Liaquat Ali, criticised his comments.

He said: "Waltham Forest is nationally recognised as one of the leading authorities for promoting community cohesion and we are proud of the work that our partners have helped deliver.

"The Young Muslim Leaders project which the Active Change Foundation was originally commissioned to set up, for example, adopted a pioneering approach to tackling extremism among young people, working through extremely difficult and sensitive issues. The programme was praised nationally by central government and is still used as a model for best practice for local authorities across the country.

"We have recently widened the mandate of this project, extending it beyond the Muslim community.

"The Young Leaders project aims to help residents aged from 16-24 to build their leadership, presentation and communication skills and work towards bettering their local communities. Anyone wanting to get involved in the Young Leaders project should contact Hilary Harvey at hilary@kzpartnership.com or on 07970 342329."

He added: "This work has been complemented by wider cohesion work with schools, colleges and faith communities. Ultimately, however, this issue is everybody's responsibility and not just that of the council, the police or central government. Schools, faith leaders, community groups and individual residents all have their part to play and it is important that this be remembered."

The cable, which was dated October 2007, was sent three months after police foiled a plot involving four Waltham Forest men to blow up transatlantic flights.

It also revealed details of an apparent triple shooting in the borough which was never made public by the police.

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