Some migrants to Britain who cannot pass an English test within 2-1/2 years of arriving may not be allowed to stay, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday in a move aimed at fostering greater integration by Muslim women.

Cameron said there were 190,000 British Muslim women who spoke little or no English and Britain needed to take on the “backward attitudes” of some men whom he said exerted damaging control over their wives, sisters and daughters.

“Someone can move to here with very basic English and there’s no requirement to improve it over time. We will change that. We will now say: if you don’t improve your fluency, that could affect your ability to stay in the UK,” Cameron wrote in an article for the Times newspaper.

“This will help make it clear to those men who stop their partners from integrating that there are consequences.”

The government will invest 20 million pounds ($28 million) in English classes for women in isolated communities, and from October, this year, will begin testing those who have come in to Britain on a spousal visa to check if their language skills have improved.

Cameron said while there was no direct causal link between poor English language skills and extremism, those who were not able to integrate into British society were at risk of being more susceptible to extremist ideologies.

“Separate development and accepting practices that go against our values only emphasise differences and can help prompt the search of something to belong to,” he wrote.

But his comments were criticised by Muslim groups, who said the British leader was “denigrating” Muslims rather than working with communities to help tackle extremism.

“The Prime Minister David Cameron and his Conservative government are once again using British Muslims as a political football to score cheap points to appear tough,” said Mohammed Shafiq, Chief Executive of the Ramadhan Foundation.

“Rather than focusing on the positive contribution of our faith and community he focuses on the extreme minority of issues which clearly is not representative.”

Muslim women who fail to learn English to an adequate standard could be deported from Britain, prime minister David Cameron said on Monday.

He also suggested that poor English skills could leave people “more susceptible” to the messages of militant groups such as ISIL.

But Mr Cameron’s comments drew criticism from Muslim groups and opposition parties, and came as Britain is tightening its migration rules and applying them more vigorously in an attempt to reduce the net number of people coming to the country.

Mr Cameron was speaking as his centre-right Conservatives launched a £20 million (Dh104.7m) language fund for women in isolated communities as part of a drive to build community integration.

“I am not saying there is some sort of causal connection between not speaking English and becoming an extremist, of course not,” the prime minister said.

“But if you are not able to speak English, not able to integrate, you may find therefore you have challenges understanding what your identity is and therefore you could be more susceptible to the extremist message.”

However, Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, which campaigns for better community relations, accused Mr Cameron of “disgraceful stereotyping”.

“David Cameron and his Conservative government are once again using British Muslims as a political football to score cheap points to appear tough,” he said.

Andy Burnham, the home affairs spokesman for the main opposition Labour party, accused Mr Cameron of a “clumsy and simplistic approach” that was “unfairly stigmatising a whole community”.

“There is a real danger that it could end up driving further radicalisation, rather than tackling it,” he said.

“The prime minister is right to talk about empowering women, but his emphasis should be on women of all faiths and none.”

Immigration rules already stipulate that migrant spouses of Britons must be able to speak English before they come to Britain to live with their partners. But from October, Britain will begin testing those who come to Britain on a spousal visa.

Mr Cameron said they would face further tests after two and a half years in the country to make sure that their language skills were improving.

“You can’t guarantee you will be able to stay if you are not improving your language,” he said.

“People coming to our country, they have responsibilities too.”

The government estimates that about 190,000 Muslim women in England – about 22 per cent – speak little or no English.

He said Britain needed to take on the “backward attitudes” of some men whom he said exerted damaging control over their wives, sisters and daughters.

“Someone can move here with very basic English and there’s no requirement to improve it over time. We will change that. We will now say: if you don’t improve your fluency, that could affect your ability to stay in the UK,” Mr Cameron wrote in an article for The Times newspaper. “This will help make it clear to those men who stop their partners from integrating that there are consequences.”

There are an estimated 2.7 million Muslims in England in a population of 53 million people.