LONDON (RNS) A Florida preacher who threatened to burn copies of the Quran may be barred by the British government from a planned speaking engagement to a far-right political group because of his track record as a religious firebrand.

Home Secretary Theresa May said Pastor Terry Jones “has been on my radar for a few months now” and if “he’s definitely coming” to Britain, “then of course this is a case that I will be actively looking at.”

Jones triggered outrage in the U.S. and around the world when he announced plans to burn copies of the Islamic holy book at his Gainesville-based church on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Jones called off the demonstration after high-level pressure from Washington.

Now Jones has ignited fury in British religious and political circles by announcing plans to address a far-right activist group, the English Defense League next Feb. 5., in Luton, an English town with a sizeable Muslim population.

The EDL has attacked what it describes as the “Islamification” of Britain, which itself was hit by a string of terrorist attacks that killed 53 commuters in London on July 7, 2005.

Jones told the BBC in a telephone interview on Monday (Dec. 13) he intended to deliver a “positive message” to the EDL — but made it clear he would fight any attempt to prevent him from entering Britain.

“I don’t know if I would simply accept” such a move on the British government’s part, he said. “I think I would protest that.”

But Jones insisted that “I have given my word that we will not do anything against the law or do anything that would cause an uprising or violence.”

That did not satisfy the anti-extremist group Hope Not Hate, which called on Prime Minister David Cameron’s government to bar Jones’ visit. Its director, Nick Lowles, told journalists that “Pastor Jones should not be allowed to set foot in the United Kingdom.”

“Only extremists will benefit from his visit,” Lowles said.