John Prescott was accused of being an 'apologist for terrorism' after saying Britain was to blame for the radicalisation of Muslim teenagers . Ed Miliband was tonight facing growing calls to condemn the Labour peer John Prescott of claims Britain is to blame for radicalising young Muslims into joining ISIS. The former deputy prime minister said the country should 'face up to the fact' that it had somehow pushed already devout youngsters into the throngs of extremism. He added if he was a young Muslim in Britain today, he too 'could be radicalised' because of 'injustice' in Gaza and US drone strikes in Syria. His comments were met with fury by MPs today. Home Affairs Select Committee member Michael Ellis said the Labour leadership needed to criticise the remarks immediately. Former minister Tim Loughton said Mr Prescott was playing into the hands of ISIS and ‘acting as an apologist for terror’. Fellow Conservative MP Conor Burns said Mr Prescott's view was 'half-baked, ill thought-out and sensationalist'. In his weekly column for the Sunday Mirror, Lord Prescott, who last week said Tony Blair's 'bloody crusades' in Iraq had contributed to terrorism, said: 'Isn't it time we faced up to the fact we've played a huge part in making them want to leave Britain and take up arms in a foreign land?' He was referring to a handful of youngsters to have fled the country to join ISIS extremists abroad. Last week three teenage boys were stopped trying to enter the country at the Turkish border. A High Court judge banned another group of youngsters from travelling overseas amid fears they were planning to wage jihad. Rather than blame 'Trojan horse schools', at which he claimed there was 'no proof' of radicalisation, Lord Prescott said of the impressionable teens: 'It wasn't just JIhadi John who radicalised them.' 'If I was a young Muslim watching the social injustice in Gaza where 2,000 people died in a matter of weeks from Israeli bombings, the displacement of millions of people in Syria and the U.S. using drone missiles.... I'm sure I could be radicalised too.' Mr Ellis, a long-standing member of the respected Home Affairs Select Committee, told MailOnline: . ‘We must stand up for our values and defeat extremism – not by apologising but by challenging ideologies which seek to destroy peace and co-operation. ‘John Prescott should focus on that an Ed Miliband should immediately condone these remarks and be clear that these views cannot be justified.’ Mr Loughton said the remarks as ‘extremely dangerous’, adding: ‘John Prescott now appears to be acting as an apologist for terror. ‘I hope Ed Miliband will distance himself from this comments at a time when we need to do everything possible to dissuade young Muslims listening to the poisoned voices of those who try to glamourise a case which characterises itself by murderous barbarism. ‘John Prescott only helps to play into the hands of those who wish to destroy our society and everything that we hold dear.’ Asim Qureshi of campaign group Cage said the masked executioner Mohammed Emwazi, known as Jihadi John, was a 'beautiful' boy radicalised by the security services . Kadiza Sultana, 16, Amira Abase and Shamima Begum, both 15, fled their north London homes in February and were seen on CCTV in Turkey shortly afterwards . Follow Conservative backbencher Mr Burns claimed it was 'one last attempt to make himself relevant'. ‘It is deeply irresponsible for anyone in public life to be suggesting that those who wish to go abroad to make common cause with people who are slaughtering Christians, murdering gay people and whose vowed intent is the elimination of western Liberal democracy. 'To put any of that at the door of the policy of Her Majesty’s government is despicable. Sir Peter Fahy said the parents of jihadi runaways should take more responsibility for their actions . ‘People like Prescott would probably want nothing more than for it to blow up between the Jews and the Palestinians. It’s very damaging.’ His comments were also slammed by members of the Muslim community. 'John Prescott an apologist for terrorism, you could have mistakened (sic) him for Asim Qureshi for I'm Cage,' wrote one user calling himself Shaykh Zahir Mahmood. Asim Qureshi faced a barrage of criticism after describing Mohammed Emwazi, the savage ISIS executioner known as Jihadi John, as a 'beautiful man.' Speaking on behalf of the terrorist when his identity was revealed last month, Qureshi tried to claim he had been unfairly targeted by police before leaving the UK sometime between 2012 and 2013. Yesterday one of the country's most senior counter-terrorism officers condemned the relatives of three London schoolgirls  after they appeared before MPs to chastise the police. Kadiza Sultana, 16, Amira Abase and Shamima Begum, both 15, fled their north London homes in February. They are thought to have joined former classmate Sharmeena Begum in the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa. Relatives of the three girls said police should have directly informed them that Sharmeena had left the country. Speaking before a Home Affairs Select Committee, they said Scotland Yard should have done more to stop them from following suit. But Sir Peter Fahy of Greater Manchester Police said it was 'ill-advised' to blame the authorities for the radicalisation of youngsters, instead urging their parents to take more responsibility. He condemned families for 'embracing victimhood' when youngsters are reported as having travelled to the war-torn country.
Former deputy prime minister said Britain had to answer for runaways . He claimed the UK was as much to blame as extremists for radicalisation . Lord Prescott was described as 'apologist for terrorism' by MPs . Ed Miliband was tonight facing calls to distance himself from the claim .