Cameron to Blast Attempts to Link UK Policy to Rise of Islamist Extremism

British Prime Minister David Cameron said that terrorist attacks staged by Islamists cannot be vindicated as revenge for the United Kingdom's participation in the Iraqi War.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — British Prime Minister David Cameron will lash out in a speech on Monday at attempts to justify and explain the rise in Islamist extremism in the country as an outcome of UK foreign policy, wars or financial difficulties, local media reported.

Extracts from Cameron’s keynote speech that he is due to deliver in Birmingham later in the day were released to the media overnight.

"Some argue it’s because of historic injustices and recent wars, because of poverty and hardship. This argument, the grievance justification, must be challenged," Cameron is to say in his speech, according to the Guardian.

Terrorist attacks staged by Islamists cannot be vindicated as revenge for the United Kingdom's participation in the Iraqi War, he will argue.

"So when people say 'it’s because of the involvement in the Iraq War that people are attacking the West', we should remind them: 9/11 – the biggest loss of life of British citizens in a terrorist attack – happened before the Iraq War," Cameron will say.

In the same speech, Cameron is expected to unveil a five-year plan to tackle home-grown Islamist extremism, aimed at preventing Britons from joining militants in the Middle East as foreign fighters.

According to the latest data from the UK Metropolitan Police, some 700 UK citizens are estimated to have gone to Syria to fight alongside jihadists, including the Islamic State group.