Nation of Islam leader must wait

Louis Farrakhan wants to visit his supporters in Britain

Nation of Islam leader, Louis Farrakhan, must wait to hear whether or not he has succeeded in overturning a ban preventing him from visiting Britain.

He has been excluded from the country since 1986 as successive home secretaries feared a visit would stir up racial unrest.

Mr Justice Turner, sitting at the High Court in London, has reserved judgement on whether to end the ban and hopes to give his ruling by the end of the month.

It was argued by Mr Farrakhan's lawyers that the latest decision to maintain it, taken by the then Home Secretary Jack Straw last November, made Britain appear as "an over-protective nanny state".

'Fragile' country

Mr Farrakhan, 67, wants to visit supporters in the UK to speak about spiritual values for the black community.

Nicholas Blake QC, appearing for Mr Farrakhan, said his continued exclusion suggested a lack of respect for the dignity of Britain's black community.

Britain is the only country to have banned Mr Farrakhan and Mr Blake asked whether there was anything "peculiarly fragile" about the country.

Earlier in the two-day hearing David Pannick QC, for the Home Office, said Mr Straw was fully entitled to continue the ban.

Risk of offence

He said that previous remarks by Mr Farrakhan's had been racially divisive and that his presence in the UK "was not conducive to the public good".

Mr Pannick said Mr Farrakhan had, through his QC, expressed regret to the court over past remarks about Jews, whilst adding that the comments were not as bad as they appeared once put into context.

But Mr Farrakhan has not said he has withdrawn or retracted his past comments, which includes referring to "synagogues of Satan".

Mr Pannick said Mr Farrakhan's apparent message over the years was that "Jews have money and power - secondly, black people are the victims of the fact that Jews have money and power, and they are responsible for holding down black people".

There was ample evidence "flowing from the past" that if Mr Farrakhan was to address public meetings in the UK there was a risk of disorder because his remarks could cause offence to Jewish people, or others who resented his views.