DAVID Cameron has clashed with Britain's leading Muslim group, suggesting it "really has a problem", after it accused UK Government Ministers of behaving like the Far Right and of stoking up Islamophobia.

The row broke out after Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, and Lord Ahmad, the Communities Minister, wrote a letter to more than 1000 Islamic leaders south of the border in the wake of the Paris terror attacks, explaining how they were "proud" of the way Muslims in Britain had responded to them but stressed there was "more work to do".

They wrote: "You, as faith leaders, are in a unique position in our society. You have a precious opportunity and an important responsibility in explaining and demonstrating how faith in Islam can be part of British identity."

The Ministers added: "Together, we have an opportunity to demonstrate the true nature of British Islam today. There is a need to lay out more clearly than ever before what being a British Muslim means today: proud of your faith and proud of your country. We know that acts of extremism are not representative of Islam but we need to show what is."

But Harun Khan, the Deputy Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain(MCB), picked up on the reference to "how faith in Islam can be part of British identity".

Noting how the MCB would be writing to Mr Pickles for clarification, Mr Khan asked: "Is Mr Pickles seriously suggesting, as do members of the Far Right, that Muslims and Islam are inherently apart from British society?"

His MCB colleague Tahla Ahmad claimed the letter had all the hallmarks of "very poor judgment which feeds into an Islamophobic narrative, which feeds into a narrative of us and them".

Mohammed Shafiq, Chief Executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, a leading Muslim organisation, said he was dismayed by Mr Pickles's letter, branding it "patronising, factually incorrect and typical of the Government only looking at Muslims through the prism of terrorism and security".

Stressing how since 9/11 Muslim leaders had been working to expose terrorist ideology and promote Islamic teachings against it, he added: "We do not need to be patronised by a Government that claims it wants to give young Muslims an alternative to the extremist narrative and then refuses to discuss foreign policy."

But Lord Ahmad rejected Mr Khan's criticism and described his response as "disappointing".

The Minister stressed: "Within the letter there is an explicit paragraph that says British values are Muslim values. You can't be more explicit than that."

Mr Cameron strongly defended his Cabinet colleague, describing Mr Pickles's letter as "reasonable, sensible and moderate".

BLOB PAR

Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna stormed out of a live TV interview, after he branded Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan 'ridiculous' for repeatedly questioning him about the letter when he said he had not read it.