"It seems to be a tacit invitation to stop and search people from these racial groups. It's very bad policing," said MP Harvey.

LONDON , September 13, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – British policemen were given orders to target Asians and blacks in their controversial stop-and-search campaigns, while the London police chief defended on Tuesday, September 13, the shoot-to-kill policy in dealing with terror "suspects".

An operation order given to transport policemen said terrorist suspects are of "Asian, West Indian and east African origin," reported the Independent, which has seen the order, issued after the July 7 London attacks.

A police spokesman defended the order.

"We are dealing with a terrorist attack from a particular source which is Islamic international terrorism and these are the people at that time who were responsible for these attacks."

He went on: "We are saying to our officers, not all Asian people are terrorists but given we are looking at Islamic terrorists - if we were looking for Irish republican terrorists we would not be stopping Asian or black people."

Ian Johnston, the transport police chief constable, provoked a row when he said after the July attacks that his officers should "not waste time searching old white ladies".

The bombings, which killed 52 people and injured more than 700 others, were carried out by four British Muslims, including three with Pakistani origin.

British Muslims have repeatedly complained of maltreatment by police for no apparent reason other than being Muslim, citing the routine stop-and-search operations.

Senior British parliamentarians admitted August, 2004 that anti-terrorism laws are being used “disproportionately” against the Muslim minority.

There are some 1.8 million Muslims in Britain , many with roots in South Asia .

Racial Profiling

"We desperately need to avoid the crude profiling that may have led to death of the innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes," said Woolley.

The order re-ignited the row over racial profiling by police and revived concerns that a disproportionately high number of black and Asian people are stopped and searched, without reasonable grounds for suspicion, said the British daily.

"It (the order) suggests it is open season on a couple of groups," said Nick Harvey, a Liberal Democrat member of the Home Affairs Select Committee, an influential panel of lawmakers at the House of Commons.

"Apart from the racial stereotyping, the parallel concern is that the guidance is so vague. It seems to be a tacit invitation to stop and search people from these racial groups. It's very bad policing".

Liberty, the human rights lobby group, has consulted lawyers to see if the order breaches race relations laws and had arranged a meeting with Johnston to raise its concerns.

"This order is in real danger of breaching the Race Relations Act," said Shami Chakrabati, head of Liberty .

"You should stop and search a person who meets the description of a terror suspect, not look for needles in a haystack. We are really concerned by this."

Black leaders said the advice contributed to racial stereotyping.

"I am sure the Commission for Racial Equality would be keen to scrutinize this operational order," said Simon Woolley, of Operation Black Vote.

"We desperately need to avoid the crude profiling that may have led to death of the innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes. The officers jumped to a conclusion about him because he had a dark complexion."

On July 22, de Menezes, a Brazilian electrician, was shot repeatedly in the head by police officers at a London Underground subway station on terror suspicion

Woolley stressed that strong intelligence-led policing is "the only way to gain the confidence of the black and ethnic minority community and catch the criminals we all want caught".

Shoot-to-Kill

Blair said the shoot-to-kill policy was reviewed but "the essential thrust of the tactics remains the same". (Reuters)

Despite the controversy triggered by Menezes killing, Ian Blair, head of London 's Metropolitan Police, defended Tuesday the shot-to-kill policy, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"We reviewed it just after July 22. We made a small number of administrative changes but the essential thrust of the tactics remains the same," he told members of the all-party Home Affairs Select Committee.

The committee quizzed Blair and Home Secretary Charles Clarke at length about the official response to the London bombings.

Came face to face with relatives of de Menezes, Blair said his force was "extremely sorry" for the death and was determined to find out what took place.

Clarke told the lawmakers that "hundreds" of terrorism suspects were being monitored.

"There are certainly hundreds of people who we believe need to be very closely surveyed because of the threat they offer," he said.

The minister rejected criticism by rights groups of planned government deals with Middle Eastern and North African countries allowing terror suspects to be returned on the understanding they will not be maltreated.

"I think that is guilty of some latter-day colonialism in the way they approach such governments."

Britain has drawn up a list of 50 "preachers of hate" seen as posing a threat to the national security who will be deport under the new controversial behavior guidelines.

Human rights groups said that any plans for immediate deportations would be legally challenged.

Under the 1971 Immigration Act, the home secretary has the power to deport foreigners he believes pose a threat to national security.

But the international law prevents London from deporting people to countries where they face inhumane treatment.

Earlier this month, Britain signed an agreement with Jordan which London says will protect deportees from ill-treatment.

Britain is also seeking similar accords with countries such as Algeria , Lebanon and others.