Radical Muslim cleric Sheik Omar Bakri Mohammed, who lived in Edmonton, is to be barred from returning to the UK after he was arrested in Lebanon last week.

The controversial Islamic preacher, who gave an exclusive interview to the Enfield Independent in 2001 following the terror attacks on New York and Washington, is banned from the UK because his presence here is thought to be "not conducive to the public good".

The move is part of Tony Blair's clampdown on extremism following the July 7 terror attacks on London's Tube and bus network.

The full Home Office statement reads: "The Home Secretary has issued an order cancelling Omar Bakri Mohammed's indefinite leave to remain and to exclude him from the UK on the grounds that his presence is not conducive to the public good."

Mohammed, who has now been released by police in Lebanon, has attracted strong criticism for his extreme views since the September 11, 2001, attacks.

He and his followers, a group called Al-Muhajiroun operating from an industrial estate in Tottenham, praised the plane hijackers as the Magnificent 19'.

More recently, he is alleged to have hailed the July 7 suicide bombers as the Fantastic Four'.

His radical views were clear even four years ago, when he told the Enfield Independent that evil' America was "at war with the whole of Islam".

The decision by the Home Office to ban Mohammed has been welcomed by Ajaz Qureshi, a spokesman for the Edmonton Islamic Centre which excluded him from the centre three years ago.

He said: "It's better late than never.

"People who spread hate are uncivilised and inflammatory. We have never agreed with his words or policies."

Society will be better without people like Mohammed, he added.