The UK’s national weather service has been forced to offer a grovelling apology after it chose to name an impending storm after the prophet Muhammad.

The announcement has been met with outrage from the Muslim community who have called for the resignation of CEO Rob Varley and demanded an investigation be carried out.

The Met office have released a statement which states that they “offer their sincerest apologies for the offence caused” and have asked for the “forgiveness and opportunity for repentance”.

Preacher Ali Hammuda has called on Muslims to reject the apology and claimed there will be “serious consequences” for the “unprovoked attack”. The Welsh based Imam has claimed it would cause “young Muslim men to become radicalized”.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan had earlier criticised the decision saying, “Islam should never be associated with something that causes damage and devastation”. He added, “We should never forget that Islam is a religion of peace”.

Head of public weather services at the Met, Derek Ryall, has declared that a “thorough internal enquiry” was already underway as they “seek to find out what went wrong in the naming process”.

The Met Office have been naming storms since 2015 in the hope that the publicity would help to raise awareness and make the weather more relatable to those affected by them.