London , England ( CNN ) -- A controversial Muslim group planning to stage an anti-war march through a town that receives British war dead will be banned in the UK from Thursday . British Home Secretary Alan Johnson prepared an order Tuesday proscribing Al-Muhajiroun , also known as Islam4UK . `` Proscription is a tough but necessary power to tackle terrorism and is not a course we take lightly , '' Johnson said in a statement . Al-Muhajiroun is already banned under two other names in the Terrorism Act 2000 -- Al-Ghurabaa and The Saved Sect . Johnson said the ban would now also apply to `` a number '' of the other names the group goes by . The proscription does not need approval by Parliament , because it is considered an amendment to the act , said the Home Office spokeswoman , who did not give her name in line with policy . `` We are clear that an organization should not be able to circumvent proscription by simply changing its name , '' Johnson said . The ban would prevent Al-Muhajiroun from having meetings or raising money , and it would make attending a meeting or being a member of the group a crime . The group 's leader , controversial British Muslim cleric Anjem Choudary , had threatened to stage a march in the town of Wootton Bassett as a protest against the war in Afghanistan . Choudary said Sunday , after news of Johnson 's plans , that the Home Office could not shut him down . `` We 're not going to stop because the government bans an organization , '' he told CNN by phone . `` If that means setting up another platform under another label , then so be it . '' A ban `` will just make the use of those names ... illegal . But Muslims everywhere are obliged to work collectively to establish the Islamic state and sharia law in the UK or wherever they are -- those things ca n't change , '' he added . The bodies of British war dead are traditionally brought to Wootton Bassett , near a Royal Air Force base , when they are returned to the country . Relatives and friends line the streets of the town along with local residents as hearses carry the flag-draped British remains , in scenes of public mourning widely reported by British media . Choudary 's proposal to march empty coffins through the streets drew fury and outrage . The Home Office had said the march would be illegal if the group were banned , but the decision to proscribe the group was not caused only by its plans for the march , the Home Office said . Choudary has never announced a date for his march and area police said he had not contacted them about it , as march organizers are required to do beforehand . The Terrorism Act 2000 gives the home secretary the power to ban groups if the punishment is `` proportionate and based on evidence that a group is concerned in terrorism as defined in the Terrorism Act 2000 , '' according to the Home Office . According to the law , groups can be banned if they commit or participate in terrorism ; prepare for terrorism ; or promote or encourage terrorism . The home secretary can also take into account factors such as specific threats posed to the United Kingdom or British nationals overseas , and the extent of the group 's presence in the United Kingdom .
Ban on Al-Muhajiroun , also known as Islam4UK , will take effect Thursday . Islamist group proposed to march through town where war dead brought home . Group is already banned under two other names in the Terrorism Act 2000 -- Al-Ghurabaa and The Saved Sect . The group 's leader Anjem Choudary said the ban would not stop them .