EXTREMIST preacher Omar Bakri Mohammed may undergo heart surgery in an NHS hospital if he returns to the UK. Bakri, who says he has a congenital | That's not a congenital problem, that's diet, genetics and bad living. Should have laid off the goat cheese. |
His condition is believed to be made worse by his weight.
Friends say that, because he is missing a bone in his ankle, he is unable to exercise and that has contributed to the narrowing of his coronary arteries.
| From the photos, he's clearly unable to do the 'two-hand pushaway' exercise from the dinner table. |
Bakri, who had his mobile phone turned off today, sparked outrage last week by saying he would not inform police if he knew Muslim extremists were planning a bomb attack in Britain. He left for Beirut amid suggestions that he could be tried for treason but the Government has since made clear there is no prospect of that.
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott admitted there was nothing to stop the firebrand cleric coming and going at the moment from the UK.
But a review of the Home Secretary's powers to exclude people who promote terrorism could be complete by the time Bakri heads home, allowing him to be barred. Tory leader Michael Howard argued that present powers were already sufficient to keep Bakri out and he called on the Government to use those powers "without delay". "The Home Secretary has the power to exclude from this country people whose presence here is not conducive to the public good," he said.