A British Holocaust charity has hit back at comments made by a UK Muslim leader comparing Tony Blair’s treatment of Muslims to Hitler’s actions against the Jews.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme Mohammed Naseem, chairman of the Birmingham Central Mosque said he sees “similarities”.

Naseem was commenting on new powers put into place by the British prime minister allowing foreign clerics who condone terrorism and preach hate to be thrown out the country.

Blair’s anti-terror measures, revealed at the end of last week, include a ban on radical Islamist organisations Hizb ut-Tahrir and al-Muhajiroun..

Showing his distaste for Blair, Naseem said: “He [Hitler] was democratically elected and gradually he created a bogey identity, that is, the Jewish people, and posed to the Germans that they were a threat to the country.

"On that basis, he started a process of elimination of the Jewish people. I see the similarities. Everything moves step by step. I am saying these are dangerous times and we must take note of this."

Naseem, who stood as a parliamentary candidate for the Respect-Unity Coalition in Birmingham in May, recently questioned whether Muslims were responsible for the London bombings.

Irresponsible comments

The comments were branded “irresponsible and inappropriate” by a spokesman for the Holocaust Educational Trust, one of the UK’s leading Holocaust charitys.

He [Hitler] was democratically elected and gradually he created a bogey identity, that is, the Jewish people, and posed to the Germans that they were a threat to the country Dr Nassem

Recalling the horrors of the Holocaust, the spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stressed that Naseem’s remarks could be offensive to the families of those who were killed by the Germans in the second world war.

She said: “To compare Tony Blair to Adolf Hitler is both irresponsible and inappropriate and shows a lack of historical perspective. Hitler initiated one of the largest single- scale murders of one race in history and to compare him to Mr Blair denigrates the memory of those who perished.”

Birmingham MP Khaled Mahmood echoed the charity’s comments and called for Naseem to resign. He said: “It is bizarre that he can get away with it and I think he is playing into the hands of the far right who will use this as a further weapon to the people of the Muslim community.

Jail threat

The comments came as the Department for Public Prosecution service revealed they are looking into whether to charge three leading radical Muslims with treason.

An investigation into Omar Bakri Mohammed, Abu Uzair and Abu Izzadeen. All three accused of defending the 7 July suicide bombs on the London transport system.

A spokesman for the Attorney General told the Observer newspaper: “The Attorney General and the Department for Public Prosecution are now formally considering comments made over the last week by certain individuals.

Bakri Mohammed, who last week said the attacks would make the West stand up and take notice, left the UK on Sunday for Lebanon amid speculation over his British status.