This situation changed in September 1998 , as seven members of Egyptian Islamic Jihad , including Hani al-Sibai , Sayyed Ajami and Sayyed Ahmed Abdel-Maqssuod , were arrested by the Metropolitan Police 's Special Branch as part of '' Operation Challenge '' for alleged violations of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1989 . This was in the aftermath of the 1998 United States embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania , a joint operation by Egyptian Islamic Jihad and '' Al-Qaeda '' ( the two would merge in 2001 ) , killing 224 people . The " Londonistan " situation , as it was known , had long being criticised by some of the leading Arab world governments such as Egypt , Saudi Arabia , Algeria and others , who regarded the groups as a threat to their national security also . After the arrests , Omar Bakri described Britain in '' Al-Ahram Weekly '' as " the spearhead of blasphemy that seeks to overthrow Muslims and the Islamic caliphate " and claimed that the seven men had been " lulled and betrayed into believing they could seek sanctuary in Britain from their corrupt regimes " , claiming that Britian was motivated by a desire for " future economic favours " from the likes of Saudi Arabia . Six months after the arrests , '' Al-Muhajiroun '' and others staged a demonstration in front of 10 Downing Street to protest the continued incarceration of the seven men and they , including al-Sibai were eventually released . Tony Blair , who was the Labour Party 's Prime Minister at the time of the arrests , two decades later in 2017 accused al-Sibai of having radicalised members of the so-called " Beatles " group of ISIS militants , including " Jihadi John " ( Mohammed Emwazi ) and El Shafee Elsheikh
1998 United States embassy bombings
1998 United States embassy bombings
Al-Muhajiroun