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he head of the Anglican church has sparked a political and religious controversy in UK after he called for adoption of some aspects of Islamic Sharia law in Britain.

"It seems inevitable that elements of the Muslim law, such as divorce proceedings, would be incorporated into British legislation," Rowan Williams, also the Archbishop of Canterbury, said on Thursday’s night.

The Archbishop provoked the row by saying Britain had to "face up to the fact" that some citizens did not relate to this country's legal system and argued that officially sanctioning Sharia law would improve community relations.

He said there was an argument that aspects of Sharia law, such as those involving divorce, financial transactions and the settling of disputes, could be accommodated with British legislation.

The Archbishop's comments came in for criticism by Downing Street, religious groups and MPs from all sides.

The head of the equality watchdog denounced his claims while several high profile Muslims attacked him.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman has distanced the premier from remark, saying, "The Prime Minister believes British law should apply in this country, based on British values."

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said, "I think there is one law in this country and it's the democratically determined law."

"That's the law and I will uphold and that's the law that is at the heart actually of the values that we share across all communities in this country," Smith said.

Speaking before a speech on the issue - delivered last night - Williams said, "Nobody in their right mind would want to see in this country the kind of inhumanity that has sometimes been associated with the practice of the law in some Islamic states. But there are ways of looking at marital disputes, for example which provide an alternative to divorce courts as we understand them."

"The Archbishop's thinking here is muddled and unhelpful," said Trevor Phillips, the chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Baroness Warsi, the shadow minister for community cohesion and social action, said, "The Archbishop's comments are unhelpful and may add to the confusion that already exists in our communities."

"All British citizens must be subject to British laws developed through Parliament and the courts."

Sharia is the body of Islamic law implemented in some Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, Libya and Sudan. Even the Muslim Council of Britain insisted that most members of the community did not want Sharia and emphasised that it had not discussed the issue.

Britain has 1.6 million Muslim population, some 2.7 percent of the total population, according to the 2001 national census report.