LONDON, July 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Britain's involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan gave a "boost" to al Qaida and contributed to the terrorist attacks on London, a respected British think tank said in a report published Monday.

    "There is no doubt that the situation over Iraq has imposed particular difficulties for the UK, and for the wider coalition against terrorism." said the report by the Royal Institute of International Affairs (RIIA), known as Chatham House, in London.     

    "It gave a boost to the al Qaida network's propaganda, recruitment and fund-raising, caused a major split in the coalition, provided an ideal targeting and training area for al Qaida-linked terrorists, and deflected resources and assistance that could have been deployed to assist the Karzai government and to bring bin Laden to justice." the report said.

    "A key problem with regard to implementing 'Prevention' and 'Pursuit' is that the UK government has been conducting counter-terrorism policy shoulder to shoulder with the US, not in the sense of being an equal decision-maker, but rather as pillion passenger compelled to leave the steering to the ally in the driving seat." said the report.

    "The UK is at particular risk because it is the closest ally of the United States, has deployed armed forces in the military campaigns to topple the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and in Iraq,and has taken a leading role in international intelligence, police and judicial cooperation against al-Qaida." said the report.

    The report runs counter to the line from Prime Minister Tony Blair who has sought to detach Iraq from July 7 attacks on public transport, in which 55 people were killed and more than 700 injured.

    On Saturday, Blair said the fanatics who struck in London and launched other attacks around the world were driven by an "evil ideology" rather than opposition to any policy, and that it would be a "misunderstanding of a catastrophic order" to think that if we changed our behavior they would change theirs.

    British government was preparing Monday to hurry through new laws to combat terrorism following the London bombings. Interior Minister Charles Clarke was scheduled to meet his opposition counterparts to discuss planned offenses such as indirect incitement to terrorism. Enditem