However, Manchester's Deputy Lord Mayor, Afzal Khan, who is a former assistant secretary general of the MCB, joined the commemorations in Albert Square, Manchester.

The MCB did not want to be represented at the national event as it claimed it did not include a reference to the Palestinian suffering.

MCB media secretary Inayat Bunglawala told the Jewish Telegraph: "We would be honoured to attend Holocaust memorial ceremonies if they were more inclusive. We want a name change from Holocaust to Genocide Memorial Day."

He felt that MCB office bearers would not attend Holocaust Memorial Day events anywhere, although the MCB only received an invitation to the national ceremony. The national event at London's Westminster Hall was attended by the Queen and Prince Philip after they hosted Holocaust survivors at St James's Palace.

Prime Minister Tony Blair and more than 600 Holocaust survivors and their British army liberators were at Westminster.

Iqbal Sacranie, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, had written to Home Secretary Charles Clarke justifying the council's stance.

He said similar events in other European capitals were more "inclusive", commemorating deaths in Palestine, Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.

This was the fifth year that the council had refused to participate in the commemoration.

A spokesman for the Board of Deputies told the Jewish Telegraph: "It is unfortunate that the Muslim Council of Britain has again declined representation at the national commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day."

He refuted that the Holocaust could be equated with the conflict in the Middle East.

He said calls for a more universal approach were unfounded. He added: "Holocaust Memorial Day has maintained a universal focus from the beginning."

Last year the day focused on Rwanda. The spokesman said that although the Muslim Council of Britain was not represented officially, Muslim individuals and groups were to take part up and down the country.

Afzal Khan, Manchester Deputy Lord Mayor and former assistant secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain attended the Manchester commemoration in Albert Square and addressed the event.

He agreed that genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia had featured in recent years.

"Holocaust Memorial Day is about how can we learn lessons for the whole of humanity," he said. "Yes, there are issues in the Middle East, but it is up to both sides to get their heads together to resolve the issue."

Henry Guterman, former Manchester Representative Council president, said he had written to Mr Sacranie saying that Holocaust Memorial Day was about remembering the Holocaust and making sure it didn't happen again.

He said: "It is not just about remembering the six million Jews who died, but also to remember the dangers of tyranny."

He pointed out the common need to ensure that the BNP did not gain any ground.

Mr Guterman said: "There has been no Palestinian holocaust. People said Jenin was a holocaust when it was not true."

He shared the platform with Mr Khan, with whom he is joint chairman of the Muslim-Jewish Forum at the Manchester commemorations in Albert Square.

Mr Guterman spoke about the Holocaust to 1,000 students at Burnage High School on Thursday and attended a Holocaust exhibition at Mold Library, North Wales.