Wednesday, July 13 2005 20:23 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

London: Prime Minister Tony Blair today (July 13, 2005) said his Government would begin consultation on a new anti-terrorism legislation in the next few weeks following last week's bombings in London.

Addressing the House of Commons, Blair also pledged dialogue with Britain's Muslim community to help tackle a "perverted and poisonous misinterpretation of the religion of Islam."

He said the Government would also look urgently at how to strengthen the process for excluding from the United Kingdom those who incite hatred, and make it easier to deport such people.

"This is not an isolated criminal at we are dealing with," said Blair. "It is an extreme and evil ideology whose roots lie in a perverted and poisonous misinterpretation of the religion of Islam. ... We will seek to debate the right way forward in combating this evil within the Muslim community with Muslim leaders and it is our intention to begin this process immediately."

"In the end this can only be taken on and defeated by the community itself, but we all can help and facilitate," he added.

Blair today met with four Muslim lawmakers as new evidence suggested last week's attacks in London were carried out by four suicide bombers, including at least three Britons of Pakistani descent.

Blair's official spokesman said there had been much more contact between the Government and Muslim communities since the Sept 11 terror attacks in the United States.