Your letter was exactly right Mr Pickles. Do not under any circumstances give up on this approach

Write another letter Mr Pickles, make the question more direct:

'You are leaders of Muslims in the UK. We have a potential problem with radical Islam (Islam being the faith followed by Muslims) and we need your help to root it out. Are you prepared to help us to do this? Oh and bear in mind that if you're not, we will still need to root it out.

'We can do this with your help and co-operation or without it, but make no mistake, we will be doing it. Obviously we are likely to be more immediately successful (in achieving our goals of de-radicalisation and bringing everyone on side) if we have your help and co-operation. These are communities for which you are established as 'leaders' after all. It is now, of all times, that the country needs you to fulfil your roles.

'I'd advise you to stop hiding behind your faux 'outrage at being singled out' and either get on with helping your fellow citizens to have a safer, less fearful, more cooperative and cohesive life here in the UK, or get out of the way while government gets on with the job.

'If you're not part of the solution - and we've asked you in a caring, positive and civilised way - then you must be part of the problem.

'Which is it?'

It's time to raise the stakes Mr Pickles, not run away and hide because some Muslim leaders have affected to be offended by the very suggestion that they might (should?) be able to help. Their communities are where this insanity and danger to UK citizens is coming from.

I'm not suggesting, for a single minute that this is endemic or 'the norm' amongst the UK's Muslim community, but I don't really know. Do you? The only way we can know is if we ask the question and insist upon receiving a proper answer. It's time we stopped allowing these people to hide behind their outrage and find out what their true colours are.

I hope, for everyone's sake, that they are what they claim.

Thanks for reading.