Ananova:

Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly has held talks with police and local council officials in a new drive to root out extremists from Muslim and other communities.

The hour-long meeting, at a central London hotel, was intended to draw a line under the increasingly bitter religious rows of recent weeks by emphasising that extremism was not just an issue for Muslims.

Afterwards, Ms Kelly told reporters that it had been a "really constructive" meeting.

"I detected a real sense of enthusiasm and ambition for us to work together on this shared agenda," she said.

The talks were attended by representatives from round 20 "key" local councils and senior police officers including Scotland Yard Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman who is responsible for anti-terrorist operations.

Before the talks, officials said Ms Kelly would be pressing them on whether they are doing enough to tackle extremism in schools, colleges and universities, and whether they had identified "hot spot" neighbourhoods and sections of the community which could be breeding grounds.

According to an advance text of her comments, she told them that in major parts of the country the "new extremism" was the single biggest security issue for local communities.

"This is not just a problem for Muslim communities. The far right is still with us, still poisonous, still trying to create and exploit divisions," she said.

"Extremism is an issue for all of us. We all must play our part in responding to it. The world has changed since September 11 and 7/7."

"The Government has had to change and respond to that, and we appeal to local authorities to do the same."