Annan yesterday said he shared the distress of Muslims upset by the cartoons but urged them to accept an apology from the Danish paper that first published them.

The paper's editor has told the BBC his intention was to show Muslims they were not exempt from satire.

Islamic tradition regards any depiction of the Prophet Muhammad as blasphemous.

Annan said he was "distressed and concerned at the whole affair" and appealed for no-one to "inflame an "I share the distress of the Muslim friends who feel that the cartoon offends their religion," he said.

"I also respect the right of freedom of speech. But of course freedom of speech is never absolute. It entails responsibility and judgment."

Fleming Rose, editor of the newspaper that first published the pictures, and the Muslim cleric who has led protests in Scandinavia, Ahmed Abu Laban, met on BBC News 24's Hardtalk programme.

Rose, of Jyllands-Posten, told the programme Denmark had a "tradition of satire and humour" which included satirising anyone from the royal family to Jesus Christ.

"By publishing these cartoons, we are saying to the Muslim community in Denmark 'we treat you as we treat everybody else'."

Ahmed Abu Laban admitted violent protests would cause "great damage" to Islam.

He added: "I swear in the name of God, I will use everything in my capacity that no violence should come and spread to Scandinavia."