London: Britain is planning to restrict entry of radical Muslim clerics into the country amid growing concerns over the influence they wield on impressionable young Muslims.

According to official sources, the Home Office is expected to announce within weeks that foreign imams seeking British visas will be required to demonstrate "a command of the English language and an understanding of the UK society".

The clampdown is likely to include greater scrutiny of their qualification and background.

Last year, the Home Office suggested that clerics from rural areas may not be suitable preachers in inner-city British areas. Though these measures apply to all religions, it is understood that they have been drawn up in response to fears of extremist infiltration at British mosques.

Many imams now in Britain are from rural areas of Pakistan, where Islamic fundamentalism is rife and clerics often have little formal education about the Quran.

Lord Ahmed, a Labour peer, said that there were a few imams who come into this country, "who don't speak English, who don't understand our culture".

There was a danger when they taught young people who were alienated by social problems and were looking for an identity, he told the Today programme on Radio 4.

"We need imams who are of the highest standard, who can speak English, who understand the culture and can communicate with their congregation in the language that they speak."