UK Muslim group plans "The Magnificent 19" meet on 9/11

The conference is being organised by the al-Muhajiroun group, which was investigated by security after its senior leaders allegedly admitted acting as spiritual advisers to two Muslim suicide bombers who died in Israel earlier this year.

Posters for the conference reportedly display the faces of the 19 hijackers along with a verse stating that they "were youth who believed in their Lord". But Omar Bakri Mohammad, the London-based emir of the group denied that the September 11 conference would celebrate the 9/11 tragedy. " It is an exploration of the causes of the event," he said.

Some moderate Muslim groups have condemned the conference. " September 11 was an abhorrent crime," said a spokesman for the Muslim Association of Britain. But the officials are very worried. Such conferences tend to fire up the so-called "jihadi" instincts, said one senior Met officer.

A fortnight ago a conference under the banner " Muslim or British" was organised by the Hizb-ut-Tahir in Birmingham to urge Muslims to fight coalition forces in Iraq. It was attended by over 7000. It led to warnings by the police that an Iraq- based Islamic militant group linked to the recent bombings in Baghdad is active in Britain.

It is feared members of Ansar ul-Islam, linked to Al-Qaeda, may have also reached Britain illegal immigration. These concerns could be behind plan, ministers have reportedly drawn, for the evacuation of London in case of terror strikes.

The classified plan, named Operation Sassoon, envisages herding Londoners out of the city to "rest and reception areas" in the home counties if there is an attack. Last week Sir John Stevens, the Met Police Commissioner, said a terrorist attack on Britain was inevitable.

The emergency services were scheduled to carry out a practice exercise to evacuate Bank underground in the City to see how they would cope if there was a chemical attack on the Tube on Sunday.