The government apologised today for causing offence as it withdrew a teaching pack about the 7 July terror attacks that asked pupils to imagine they were the bombers.

The 2005 attacks killed 52 commuters in London and injured 700 others.

The pack was put together by the borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire and displayed on the Department for Children, Schools and Families' Teachernet website as a way of teaching pupils about extremism.

But ministers have decided to withdraw it after admitting it was "inappropriate".

A DCSF spokesman said: "While the resource in no way looks to justify or excuse the terrible events of 7/7, and is designed to educate against violent extremism, we appreciate that it may not be appropriate for use in schools.

"It's important young people discuss these difficult and controversial issues in a controlled environment but, in this case, ministers apologise for any offence caused."

The pack, called Things Do Change, is aimed at 11- to 19-year-olds and looks at life in multicultural Britain.

But it has been used by madrasas and mosques in West Yorkshire, schools in Birmingham, Sandwell and Lancashire and police forces in London, the Thames Valley and Greater Manchester.

Its author, Sail Suleman, told the Times Educational Supplement that schools should not shy away from asking pupils to think about what turns people into extremists.

She said: "Radicals, extremists and fundamentalists come in all different forms. Is it right? Is it wrong? Is it justified? Was it pressure from individuals they were hanging out with? Hopefully, we'll encourage pupils to stay away from those individuals."