Tony Blair has faced accusations that Muslims are being singled out for harsh treatment in the fight against terror.

Speaking at his monthly press conference, the prime minister defended the current focus on Islamic terror suspects.

He said there "had to be a recognition that this is the form of terrorism [Islamic fundamentalism] that we're dealing with. It's not surprising that many Muslims are being picked up, that's the nature of it".

Remarking that the "vast majority of Muslims contribute a vast amount to our country," he said "we need to take all the measures we can.

And Blair added that he didn't think "the broad sweep of the Muslim population would accept anything different".

The prime minister reminded reporters that it was his job to protect the entire country, which meant "protecting Muslim people as well".

Following his comments earlier in the week, Blair praised senior Muslim leaders for their pledge to help British authorities in challenging the power of extremist Muslim clerics.

He also used the eight arrests earlier in the week to bring ID cards back on to the political agenda, saying that he believed the civil liberties arguments against the idea had now been marginalised.

The prime minister was also quizzed over the leniency many feel the government has shown to Russia and Israel in their fight against terrorism.

Blair refuted charges that he gave Vladimir Putin "carte blanche" to break international law in Chechnya - saying "if you took terrorism out of Chechnya, it would be possible to resolve the situation".