The extremist Muslim who organised the infamous protests against the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed has escaped with a fine of just £500. Firebrand solicitor Anjem Choudary, 39, was the ringleader of the march outside the Danish Embassy in London last February. But today it emerged that he had been fined just £500 for failing to give police the required six days notice of the protests. The maximum fine he could have received was £1,000 and last night Choudary's paltry punishment provoked fury. Andrew Dismore, Labour MP for Hendon in North London said: 'He should have been given the maximum sentence possible. '£500 is a ridiculously small sum given this man's appalling track record. But the real issue is why the Crown Prosecution Service and the police have chosen to prosecute him on such a minor charge. We were promised much more than that after these protests. It will have cost more to bring the case to court that he has been fined and I'm sure he will now go around crowing that he has beaten the system.'
Richard Barnes, who leads the Tories on the Metropolitan Police Authority, said: 'This matter has been treated in a half hearted way from the start. It has cost a fortune and now appears to have been a complete waste of time.'