Council admits stocking library books promoting Muslim extremism

A library service ditched its new suppliers of Asian literature when it found books on its shelves that encouraged jihad and the murder of non-Muslims.

Leicester City Council had swapped book stockists so it could buy a wider range of foreign-language publications for visitors to its public libraries.

It hoped the move would also cut costs and the council was confident its staff had the necessary language skills to choose the "right stock", said a new report by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA).

But several months later, it emerged the authority had inadvertently stocked its library shelves with Islamic books that condoned violent actions against non-Muslims.

The MLA report said: "Local suppliers did not always know, or understand, the controversial nature of the material they were supplying.

"Staff may have had the language skills but they didn't have the time to read every item bought to ensure that it was suitable for stock. These books were quickly removed from stock."

The blunder, made five years ago, has come to light as part of Government-commissioned guidance by the MLA for public libraries on the handling of controversial materials.

Today, a Leicester City Council library spokesman said: "This relates to about five years ago when we bought some stock in different languages from independent book sellers, who as it turned out did not advise us very well.

"One of our staff identified that about two or three titles had a Jihadist theme, and the books were removed from the shelves. We then reverted back to using an agency for buying books in other languages, and have continued to buy this way ever since.

"Leicester provides an excellent library service for an ever-changing diverse community, and we were happy to share what we have learned with the MLA so that other authorities can benefit from it."