The MCB is back in with the government

This morning, Coffee House heard that the government’s policy of freezing out the Muslim Council of Britain was over and that Hazel Blears had met with representatives of the Muslim Council of Britain at a roundtable on the 8th of August. In response to an inquiry from Coffee House, the Department of Communities and Local Government said that they “don’t give details of private meetings.” However, it will confirm that Hazel Blears met with representatives of a dozen Muslim organisations on that date and will not deny that the MCB was one of those groups. The official line from its spokeswoman is that:

“There has been no change in our engagement strategy. As we have always said, we are prepared to work with any leadership organisation who demonstrates they are committed to tackling extremism. This means not merely paying lip service but demonstrating this through action.”