UK Muslims feel they are 'under suspicion'

Labour peer Lord Ahmed said many Muslims in the north of England believed they could become victims of mistaken identity by armed police.

And Azad Ali, chairman of the Muslim Safety Forum, said many young Muslims were reluctant to leave their homes.

"They fear that they're all suspected bombers," he told BBC Radio Five Live.

"We've received many emails, we've received telephone calls, about how young Muslims don't want to use the Tube now."

Police have called on the whole community to be vigilant when travelling on public transport and report anything they think to be suspicious.

But the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, has stressed no section of society should be singled out.

The shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian man police wrongly suspected of being a suicide bomber, has heightened fears that innocent people could be caught up in the investigation.

Lord Ahmed said some sections of the Muslim community were afraid they could also become a victim of mistaken identity.

"I've been to Bradford, Birmingham and Sheffield during the weekend and people are very concerned," he said.

They fear they could, like Menezes, be victims of the shoot-to-kill policy or be mistakenly arrested as the police gather intelligence on the Muslim community.

Lord Ahmed also said it was possible illegal immigrants would run if challenged by the police.