UKIP leader Paul Nuttall has called for a government probe into mosque funding after an 'Islamist inspired' terror attack left four dead and 40 injured in London on Wednesday.
Speaking to Christian Today on Thursday Nuttall described radical Islam as a 'cancer' that needed to be 'cut out' of British communities and called on Muslims to 'stand up and be counted' in identifying those involved.
'Immigration is certainly to blame for a lack of community cohesion.
'We have got so many people coming to the country at the moment,' he said, 'which in essence ensures a lack of community cohesion.
'That in a way can lead to radicalisation.'
Addressing the issue of Islamist-inspired terror he said: 'There is a small group of people in this country within the Muslim community who hate the way we live, hate who we are, hate our democracy, and want to see it destroyed.
'This is cancer that needs to be cut out.
'This is only a tiny minority. This isn't the broad majority of Muslims who are peace-loving people and beyond that there should be no knee-jerk reactions. There should no rise in hate crimes or anything like that.
'But this cancer of radicalisation really needs to be dealt with.'
He called for security around the Palace of Westminster to be raised and said no one who has been fought for ISIS in Iraq or Syria should 'ever, ever be allowed to return'.
He added: 'The Muslim community itself is going to have to stand up and be counted and pin-point these guys who have been radicalised and ensure they are reported to the police.'
He said a number of European countries had blocked Saudi Arabian funding of mosques because 'with Saudi funding of mosques comes radicalisation' and said the UK government should do the same.
'Maybe the government should look at the funding of mosques in this country because I don't believe that Saudi Arabia should be funding mosques in this country particularly as it's a country that spreads radicalisation.'
He spoke as Mohammed Shafiq, Chief Executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, urged mosques to increase security in anticipation of reciprocal attacks.
'The terrorists aim to divide communities, the far right are doing the work of these terrorist groups by perpetuating the division and hatred, but as British citizens, we will continue to work to bring people together and defeat the ideology of violence,' he said.
'Sadly, after such terrorist atrocities innocent Muslims and our Mosques are deliberately targeted as acts of Muslim hatred, we need to remain vigilant and resolute to not allow anyone to divide our communities.'
In a letter to more than 1,500 mosques and Islamic centres Shafiq urged them to liaise with police to protect worshppers.
It comes after Prime Minister Theresa May told MPs: 'We will never waver in the face of terrorism.'
She addressed a packed House of Commons on Thursday morning saying 'our values will prevail' as she revealed the man who carried out the attack was British-born and had been investigated 'some years ago' by MI5.
The Prime Minister said that it appears that the attacker was 'inspired by Islamist ideology'. She added: 'We know the threat from Islamist terrorism is very real.'
May said that millions of ordinary Londoners were showing that terrorism can be defeated by carrying on with their lives as normal. 'The greatest response lies not in the words of politicians, but in the everyday actions of ordinary citizens,' she said.
'Yesterday we saw the worst of humanity, but we will remember the best... Let this be the message from this House and this nation today: our values will prevail.'
