Britain now has a far-right 'mosque-buster'

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A planning lawyer based in Bristol, Gavin Boby is urging people to undermine applications for mosques by raising their opposition with local councils.

Under the banner of the Law and Freedom Foundation, the 48-year-old planning consultant offers free legal services for those who oppose mosque development in the country, a report in the Sunday Times claims.

Through his foundation, launched in 2011, he claims to have stopped the construction of 16 out of 17 mosques across Britain.

Boby, once linked to the far-right English Defence League (EDL), has in fact gone to the extent of designing an online guide that shows people how to make a legal case against new mosques seeking planning permission from local authorities.

His advice centres around arguments such as "parking congestion", "disturbance" and "community relations".

"Let councils know that they're on the hook for their decisions. Be relentless. Push," he says in the guide.

Councils have disputed claims that Boby may have been instrumental in blocking the development of local mosques and have said whatever objections were raised to development of any mosques were for traffic-related reasons, or issues relating to parking and planning.

Boby had launched his anti-mosque service with a mock-up of famous Hollywood film Ghostbusters, with the ghost in the logo replaced by radical UK-based Muslim cleric Abu Hamza.