A press conference called by militant Islamic activists to declare a "fatwa" on Britain should it back an invasion of Iraq ended in farce yesterday.

Planned declarations of "holy war" degenerated into an unholy row as clerics tried to charge journalists - and attendant Special Branch officers - £30 to attend a press briefing.

When the press refused to pay, scuffles broke out and proceedings were abandoned.

"We can live without you but you can't live without us. We are going to talk to ourselves," said sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad. "There is no fatwa today."

The Express takes the radical Islamic threat to the UK seriously. "Kick them out," demands the newspaper.