Blair tells "hate-mongers" to stay away

Britain does not want "hate-mongers" -- people coming to live in the country must conform to its tolerant values, Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Friday.
Insisting people living in the country had a duty to integrate, Blair said the government would take a series of measures to encourage immigrants and minorities to mix with British society.
Migration had been good for Britain and London's hospitality to many nationalities had made it perhaps the most popular capital city in the world, Blair said.
"But we protect this attitude by defending it," he added. "Our tolerance is part of what makes Britain Britain. So conform to it; or don't come here. We don't want the hate-mongers, whatever their race, religion or creed," he told an audience that included academics, students and Muslim leaders.
Immigrants wanting to live in Britain will have to pass an English test and ethnic or religious groups seeking government grants will have to show they promote integration, Blair said.
There was no question of Britain allowing the introduction of religious law, he said.
According to media reports, some minority groups have their own courts in Britain, ruling on divorce and disputes between neighbours and there is even reported to be an unofficial Somali court in London dealing with criminal matters.
"We must demand allegiance to the rule of law," Blair said.
To combat forced marriages, the government will consult on raising the age for people entering Britain to get married above the current minimum of 18, he said.
Britain is reassessing its attitude to racial and religious minorities following last year's bombings when four British Islamists blew up 52 people on London transport.
The government has cracked down on radical Islamic preachers who it says inspire suicide bombers. But it fears that growing segregation of ethnic minorities has made it easier for radical ideas to take hold.
Blair said there was no need to scrap multicultural Britain, in which different communities live side by side.
"On the contrary we should continue celebrating it. But we need -- in the face of the challenge to our values -- to reassert also the duty to integrate...," he said.
The Muslim Association of Britain said Mr Blair's speech was "alarming".
Conform to our society, says PM