"Tony Blair has been urged to change UK foreign policy and do more to end the violence in the Middle East.

A letter to the Prime Minister from some of Britain's most influential Muslims, which appears as a full-page advert in some national newspapers, says current government policy gives "ammunition to extremists" and may put British citizens at risk of attack, both in the UK and abroad.

The 38 Muslim groups which signed the letter include the Muslim Council of Britain, the Muslim Association of Britain, the British Muslim Forum, the British Muslim Forum and the Muslim Solidarity Committee.

Other signatories include three of the four Muslim MPs - Sadiq Khan, Shahid Malik and Mohammed Sarwar - as well as three of the four Muslim members of the House of Lords - Lord Patel of Blackburn, Lord Ahmed of Rotherham and Baroness Uddin.

It says attacks on civilians are never justified and calls on Mr Blair to "show the world that we value the lives of civilians wherever they live and whatever their religion".

Sadiq Khan, the Labour MP for Tooting, said the Government's current Middle East policy was seen by many people as being "unfair and unjust".

He said: "This government has had some major foreign policy successes that have helped make the world a better place. But current policy on the Middle East is seen by almost everyone I speak to as unfair and unjust.

Dr Bari, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain and one of the signatories, said: "As Muslims we condemn attacks on civilians wherever they happen.

"We hope the government will do more to ensure its policy doesn't allow people to believe that the lives of some civilians are worth more to it than others."