MOSQUES in Swindon will continue to be open to all who want to visit or pray, the head of the town’s Muslim Council has said.

It came as New Zealand mourned the death of 50 worshippers killed in Friday’s terror attack on the Al Noor mosque, Auckland. A 28-year-old Australian man has been charged with murder.

Extending his condolences to the victims’ families, Ishak Mogul of the Swindon Muslim Council, said: “Terrorism is not logical and it is indiscriminate. There lies the challenge, hence policing it or predicting it is not easily manageable.

“The key, therefore, is for local communities to be vigilant and remain united, whilst taking the responsibility to support and educate the public.”

In the wake of the New Zealand attack, Wiltshire Police said it was stepping up patrols around places of worship in the county – although the force stressed there was no intelligence suggesting a similar attack was imminent in the UK.

Mr Mogul stressed the importance of keeping the town’s mosques open.

“Our Mosques will continue to maintain an open door policy, like other places of worship, for all who wish to visit or come to pray,” he said. “It would be a grim day if we had to lock the doors of the Lord’s house. Having said that, of course we will take precautions to safeguard the congregations especially on key prayer times.

“Those who are confused about the values of Islam or interested, are welcome to visit any of the mosques in Swindon to see for themselves and understand how close our faiths are.”

The Muslim Council of Britain has called on the government to fund tighter security of British mosques, on a par with the £14m given for security measures at synagogues and Jewish schools.

Secretary general Harun Khan said: “Open seven days a week, especially on Fridays, mosques across the UK are places servicing well-attended congregations. This makes the risk of copy-cat attacks here in the UK a real possibility, especially in a climate where we are now fully appreciating the growth in the far-right.

“A long-term commitment to ensure Muslim communities are supported similarly to Jewish communities, is absolutely essential in these troubling times as we struggle with how we balance the necessity of security with our desire for continued openness.”

Security minister Ben Wallace told the BBC ministers would look at whether more cash should be invested.