Home Secretary Theresa May pledges blitz on hate preachers and Sharia courts

A review of Sharia courts and a ban on fundamentalist clerics spreading bile-laden messages would be ordered if the Tories are re-elected, she said.

Extreme groups trying to infiltrate schools, universities, town halls and charities also will be rooted out.

Mrs May used her last major speech before the general election to underline her stance on the Islamist threat to British society.

She said: “We have been clear all along that the Government’s counter-extremism strategy must seek to defeat extremism in all its forms, but it’s obvious from the evidence that the most serious and widespread form of extremism we need to confront is Islamist extremism.

“Extremism is not something that can just be ignored.

"It cannot be wished away.

"It must be tackled head on.”

Laying out her wish list of counter-terrorism measures in an uncompromising speech, Mrs May called on British Muslims to help to tackle extremism.

She said: “To those who choose consciously to reject our values and the basic principles of our society, the message is equally clear – the game is up.

"We will no longer tolerate your behaviour.

"We will expose your hateful beliefs for what they are.”

Mrs May said there was “increasing evidence” that a “significant number of people living in Britain, almost all of whom are British citizens, reject our values”.

She told the audience at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors that an independent review of Sharia courts was among her priorities for the next Tory government.

There are around 85 of the Islamic courts across the country.

They operate mainly from mosques, settling divorces and financial and family disputes according to religious principle The system, which Mrs May said was used to discriminate against women, will be examined to ensure it supports “British values”.

Mrs May also warned of the clear link between extremists and terrorism amid mounting concerns at the number of British men and women travelling to Syria and Iraq to join Islamic State militants.

In the latest case, it emerged over the weekend that a respectable mother-of-two, Rehana Begum Islam, disappeared overnight with her children to Syria after being radicalised under the nose of her husband.

Nine British medical students have also travelled to areas controlled by IS.

Other proposals laid out yesterday are court-controlled “extremist disruption orders” to target hate preachers and banning orders to make it easier to break up fundamentalist groups.

Migrants on temporary visas would also be required to sign a declaration saying they will “respect British values” while in the country.

Mrs May’s anti-extremist strategy has been hit by delays and rows with Liberal Democrat Coalition partners as well as party colleagues.

It will be published in full after the election.