E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.1 Page 84 Response from the Government dated 30 September 2005 398. The Government first agreed that regrettably, such incidents do occur and it is important that the police respond and make every effort to identify those responsible. 399. With reference to the arson attempt on Armley mosque in Leeds, the Government indicated that this attack was a failed attempt to set fire to the toilet block of the mosque in the early hours of 8 July 2005. West Yorkshire Police had advised the Government that it had not been possible to apprehend any suspects in relation to the incident, because local CCTV did not give sufficiently good quality material to identify anyone involved. Of course, should further information come to light, this position might have changed. They also confirm it was a relatively minor incident (some burning material was pushed through a window, but no accelerants/inflammable liquids etc. were used). 400. While the Government could not separately identify the incident of abusive emails to the mosque in East London it confirmed that there were widespread reports of abusive/threatening Islamophobic emails, letters and phone calls shortly after the attacks. 401. The Prime Minister and the Home Secretary met faith leaders shortly after the attacks and gave a commitment to intensify their work with faith communities over the following months. That work was now taking place, with a programme of ministerial meetings with community and faith group representatives, and a series of working groups, including one addressing security issues, Islamophobia, protecting Muslims from extremism, and community confidence in policing. 402. The police were alive to the need to reassure communities that might be targeted and were liaising directly with community leaders and with local authorities to ensure the safety and security of all their communities at this time. This has involved, for example, high visibility police patrols near mosques, following consultation with representatives of local communities. In addition, the Government had been working to reassure communities and to ensure they would receive feedback about their experiences. The Government further assured the Special Rapporteur that the police response to hate crime at all levels was robust. This work would continue and relates to wider work the Home Office, regional and local partners and the police are engaged in to foster greater community cohesion and address community tensions. For example, relationships have been developed with media outlets to ensure that issues relating to race, cohesion, faith and asylum and immigration are reported in a fair and responsible way, to avoid exacerbating tensions or creating a climate in which extremism and hate crime are more likely. 403. The Government finally indicated that it continued to monitor community tensions. On the whole, community relations remain positive and the sor t of attacks to which the Special Rapporteur referred in her communication are reducing and the tension levels in communities returning to normal. The experiences of the past two months had reinforced the Government’s determination to root out unacceptable behaviour.