Former cabinet minister Clare Short has defended a meeting she held with a Muslim group amid anger from fellow Labour MPs and gay rights extremists.

The former international development secretary invited the group of Muslims, Hizb ut- Tahrir, which the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, wishes to ban from Britain, to speak to MPs. Fifty members of the Houses of Parliament attended the meeting which the MP touted as a way "to dispel much of the lies and propaganda surrounding Hizb ut- Tahrir." She was criticised by gay rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell who told her he had allegedly received death threats from Hizb ut- Tahrir.

At the meeting, Dr Imran Waheed, the representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir addressed the audience on the non-violent nature of their work and how the decision to ban them by Tony Blair is a political decision which has everything to do with the party's political work of struggling against the dictators and despots in the Muslim world, and the warm relationship that western powers including the United Kingdom maintain with such dictators. Ms Short told reporters "Parliamentarians should see what an organisation is about if the Prime Minister is banning them." In the meantime, Hizb ut-Tahrir promised to respond to Mr Tatchell's letter and said it never engaged in violence or harassment.