British ministers have abandoned an inquiry into the rise of secretive Sharia councils that deal in Islamic justice – because the Muslim courts refused to help

The failure of the Ministry of Justice probe has generated new fears among politicians and pressure groups about the increasing influence of Sharia courts in Britain. They are worried that the courts' decisions may run against the law of the land, particularly in divorce settlements for women. The scrapping of the inquiry comes in a week when Islamic extremists launched a campaign to declare Sharia-controlled zones across Britain. Hate preacher Anjem Choudary has claimed responsibility for the scheme. The abandonment of the Government's Sharia inquiry has fueled fears that Islamic radicals will be able to continue their intimidating activities unchecked in Britain. The Ministry of Justice had launched an inquiry into the operation of Sharia courts in Britain because of rising fears that the secretive system has undue influence. The number of Sharia courts in Britain is unknown, although an estimate of 85 made by the Civitas think-tank in 2009 is widely accepted. The failure of the Government's investigation was disclosed to British politicians by Justice Minister Jonathan Djanogly. He told Tory backbencher Kris Hopkins that before the 2010 general election his department acted to commission an exploratory study of Sharia councils in England with respect to family law. Unfortunately, the Sharia courts failed to co-operate. Sharia law is also under scrutiny in the House of Lords, where the independent peer Baroness Cox has presented a Bill seeking to make it a crime for anyone to take over the rights of the state's criminal or family courts.