BUDAPEST, Feb 25: Hungarian police had stepped up security for French President Jacques Chirac during a visit to Budapest following a threat from a member of the Al Qaeda network, police said on Tuesday after he had left Budapest.

The move followed an inflammatory recording attributed to the Al Qaeda number two, Ayman al Zawahri. "The latest decision by the French president to ban Muslims from covering their heads at school shows once again the grudge the western crusaders have against Islam," said Mr Zawahri.

The official added: "Protection for the French president was already strengthened from the start, but when we have information about this threat, several hours before his departure, we took additional measures." -AFP