UK police search non-Muslims to 'silence critics'

LONDON. British police hunting for terrorists are deliberately stopping non-Muslims during searches to avoid accusations they overwhelmingly target Muslims, a House of Lords member said in a report published Wednesday.

Alex Carlile, who reviews anti-terrorism policies for the government, said there was evidence police are singling out people from other groups to balance statistics and counter accusations that disproportionate numbers of people of South Asian descent or appearance are searched.

Britain’s Muslim communities have long complained that innocent Muslims are far more likely to be targeted in searches than those from other backgrounds.

Carlile said police are now stopping people who bear no resemblance to known terrorists or don’t match any terrorist profiles.

‘I believe it is totally wrong for any person to be stopped in order to produce a racial balance. There is ample anecdotal evidence this is happening,’ he wrote in his annual report, which examines how Britain’s law enforcement and legal systems deal with terrorism.

Carlile said the fact the most serious current threat comes from Islamic extremists means ‘an ethnic imbalance may have to be regarded as a proportional consequence of operational policing.’

Britain’s Terrorism Act allows police to stop pedestrians who they suspect could be a terrorist, demand information about them (...)