INTERVIEW - Drones hurt UK anti-extremism drive - campaigner

By William Maclean

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. drone attacks and prisoner abuse are undermining efforts by close ally Britain to counter al Qaeda's anti-Western message among its Muslim communities, an influential former Islamist ideologue said on Friday.

Maajid Nawaz, director of Britain's Quilliam Foundation, which calls itself a counter-extremism think tank, said Islamist influence in Britain had reached "a plateau" after a long period of growth born of past government neglect of extremist activity.

The brake on Islamist advances was made possible by a new awareness in Britain of the need to stand up to intolerant ideas among groups espousing purist Islamic rule, he told Reuters.

But the possibility of further gains by Islamists remained, due to anger at Western security practices such as attacks by U.S. pilotless "drone" aircraft in Pakistan that have killed many civilians as well as insurgents, he said in an interview.

"At the moment we're on a plateau with Islamism. There's less coyness in Britain about whether we are being politically correct in dealing with these issues," he said.

"But drones are really a problem. It's all about perception and demonstrating we have something to offer the world that is better than this utopian alternative that is presented as just."

"And if we blur those lines with extraordinary rendition, torture, and the random and wanton destruction of homes and killing of civilians, it makes it much more difficult."