The director of a Bradford-based justice and human rights think-tank has hit out at comments made by West Yorkshire Chief Constable Sir Norman Bettison during the BBC's Generation Jihad programme.

During the documentary, which investigated the terrorist threat of radicalised young Muslim extremists, Sir Norman said there was a need for people to help the police identify potential jihadis.

He said: “I'm looking for the community to work closely with the police in identifying people they have concerns about in terms of the people that they're mixing with, the sort of websites that they're going onto and the material that they're reading. That information can only come from the community.”

Ratna Lachman, director of JUST West Yorkshire a project that promotes racial justice, human rights and equality in the area, said his comments “assume the community is wilfully hiding known extremists in their midst”.

She has sent an open letter to Sir Norman which reads: “Trust and confidence in the community is at an all time low, and Mr Bettison's statements will only alienate the very community the Government says it is seeking to win the hearts and minds of.

“Mr Bettison’s extreme comments send a chilling message to the Muslim community that they are going to be subject to continued surveillance, policing and intelligence operations for the next generation.”

In response to the open letter, Sir Norman said he felt he had been misquoted.

He said: “I was asked if the Muslim community could do more. My response was that the community as a whole could do more to address the issues of violent extremism, and the Muslim community could do more in addressing the issues involved in AQ inspired extremism. I said nothing about a concern of non-cooperation. That's because I don’t have that concern.”

He later added: “The most fundamental help I am looking for is for Muslim communities to talk about the issues and the dangers of radicalisation. Viewers of the programme will have seen some good examples of confronting the issues, but you will have also seen examples where this issue is avoided.

“That's what I was driving at and to interpret my words as JUST West Yorkshire have done is inaccurate and damaging.”

The programme is available to watch on the BBC's website.