BURNING the flag of any country during a demonstration should be a criminal offence under proposals to crack down on extremist Muslim protesters.

Senior Scotland Yard officers have submitted the idea to Lord Goldsmith, QC, the Attorney-General, as part of a range of proposals to end loopholes in public order legislation.

Tarique Ghaffur, the Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner in charge of policing large incidents, also wants a ban on demonstrators covering their faces and powers of arrests for some public order breaches.

Police are concerned about flag burning after a number of incidents and their potential effect on public order. A Danish flag was burnt during protests over newspaper cartoons, and a US flag was destroyed by opponents of the Iraq invasion.

The proposals, submitted to a working party in the Attorney-General’s office, follow growing anxiety within Scotland Yard that police are being hamstrung in attempts to deal with Muslim extremists trying to stir up passions.

Speaking during a radio interview at the weekend Mr Ghaffur, the highest-ranking Asian police officer in Britain, said he was concerned that Britain had come to be seen at home and abroad as soft on extremist demonstrators.

He said: “There appears to be a growing public perception that policing of demonstrations is unduly lenient. That view was shared by law-abiding citizens of all backgrounds. The reason this is a great country is the tolerance of people. If they start to see images of people who seem to be ‘getting away with it’, that starts to erode.”

Police have grown concerned over the past year at the actions of a minority involved in anti-war demonstrations, the protests over anti-Islam cartoons in Denmark and a protest outside Westminster Cathedral after comments by the Pope.

Officers say the public order legislation that prohibits the covering of faces is limited. An order can be made banning it in advance if there is intelligence to justify it. Under current law, breaches such as carrying an offensive placard or using threatening or insulting behaviour do not mean arrest but police can take the names of alleged offenders so that they can be reported for possible prosecution.

Senior officers say that there is no actual offence for carrying an offensive placard. It is possible to prosecute for writing the slogan. However, this can be difficult to prove in court.

Police are asking for a power, when approving demonstrations and marches, to attach conditions covering banners and making it clear that demonstrators should not cover their faces. Mr Ghaffur said it did not include Muslim women wearing the veil.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, criticised the plans saying: “The police already have wide powers, especially for dealing with people wearing masks.”

But Shahid Malik, Labour MP for Dewsbury, said: “The burning of flags at demonstrations or pickets is quite clearly an act which has the power to incite violence.”

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