An RAF cadet has been suspended after he said Islam poses the greatest security threat to the UK while taking part in a training exercise.

He made the comment during a question-and-answer session in which he and other cadets were asked about dangers to British security.

It led to him being kicked off the officer-training course, pending an investigation.

Britain has responded to more than 20 plots backed by the Islamic Republic of Iran since 2022 and the Government has said the threat from the country to the UK is ‘persistent and unacceptable’.

The air force has launched a probe into the young cadet’s remarks at RAF Cranwell, where the next generation of officers are trained.

Retired rear admiral Chris Parry last night accused the air force of shutting down the ‘critical thinking’ of new officers around controversial issues and said the cadet should be reinstated. 

‘If I’d asked that question and got that answer I would have also asked the cadet to expand on his thinking and got some critical thinking going rather than suspend him,’ he said.

‘Clearly Islamic extremism is the issue and not Islam, but how are young people expected to develop critical thinking around these complex issues if they are shut down in this way?

‘This is the fault of a system that is training its young people but not allowing them to express themselves and develop their thoughts.

'Any mature educational establishment should do just that.’

The cadet was taking part in a 24-week Modular Initial Officers Training course at the training academy at RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire, just before Easter.

He and 50 other students were asked to give presentations, during which they answered questions about the biggest security threat to the UK. 

An RAF spokesman said: ‘We are aware of an alleged incident of inappropriate behaviour involving a cadet at RAF Cranwell. 

'An investigation is ongoing, we are unable to comment further.’

Rear admiral Perry also said: ‘If this cadet had answered “the far-Right” I doubt he would have been suspended. 

'We know that Islam is not a threat, rather it is extremist elements, and this appears to have been a missed opportunity to discuss that for fear of causing offence.’

Islamist extremists have committed some of the worst atrocities on UK soil including the 2005 London Underground bombings, in which 52 people died, and the Ariana Grande concert attack in Manchester in 2017, which left 22 dead.

Defence Secretary John Healey said the UK’s terror threat level was under review after the outbreak of war in Iran.