David Miliband has called for a new coalition between the West and the Islamic world.

In a speech to the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, the Foreign Secretary said relations with the Muslim world had been "skewed" by terrorism, while the invasion of Iraq had left a legacy of "bitterness and resentment".

Mr Miliband stressed the importance of achieving an early resolution to the Middle East conflict, with the establishment of a Palestinian state, as the key to improving relations.

He said: "The widest possible coalition will, at times, include groups whose aims we do not share, whose values we find deplorable, whose methods we think dubious.

"Coalitions can and must be wide but they can only be forged on the basis of a commitment to politics and the renunciation of violence."

He called for a renewed sense of urgency in the effort to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with "more political activism and more diplomatic engagement.

"For people of all faiths and of none, it remains an issue that stirs up an acute sense of injustice and resentment," he said.

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