LONDON, Dec 11: The police, central and local governments, media and the inward-looking Asian communities have all been blamed for last year’s race riots in northern England by an enquiry committee looking into them.

The ten-member committee’s report — called “Cantle Report” which was published on Tuesday — said that all immigrants should be made to swear an oath of allegiance to show their “clear primary loyalty” to Britain.

The report suggested that an oath of national allegiance on the Canadian model might help future race relations. It found a “depth of polarization” around segregated communities living “a series of parallel lives”.

Its author, Ted Cantle, warned that further violence would follow if this polarization was not broken. “We believe there is an urgent need to deal with the polarization of communities within our towns and cities to prevent further trouble,” he said.

His report, as expected, called for a national debate on citizenship and attacked the central government for a host of incoherent area-based initiatives.

Analysing the riots in Oldham, Burnley and Bradford — which caused damage worth tens of millions of pounds — the enquiry committee called for councillors to promote social cohesion. They were of the view that absence of positive leadership had led to the growth of extremist party political support”.

Criticizing the ethnic communities in the riot-affected areas, their report claimed that women and girls suffered discrimination. It added: “Whilst such customs and norms may be the result of the most sincere intention, half of these communities can be effectively disenfranchised.”

The report, according to The Guardian, also suggested that there “should be an expectation that the rise of the English language will be rigorously pursued”. The committee’s report had a harsh message for central government about its community initiatives, which the report said were constantly being introduced, even before the old ones had been completed.

In a challenge to the idea of faith schools, the report called for 25 per cent of all intake to come from outside the local dominant ethnic group or community. White and ethnic communities have in some cities come to lead parallel lives, according to the enquiry.

The enquiry committee was of the view that political parties should agree to an anti-discrimination code in time for next May’s local elections. Councillors too often “give sweetheart deals with self-appointed and often unrepresentative community custodians”, the report claimed.

Meanwhile, at the weekend the home secretary,

David Blunkett, called for an end to arranged or “enforced” marriages, adding that ethnic minorities had a duty to develop a sense of belonging in Britain.

However, members of the enquiry committee on Monday sharply criticized Mr Blunkett for concentrating his demand on the need to speak the English language. One member warned: “If he has been quoted correctly, it is very dangerous.

“His remarks sanction extremist rightwing groups to blame the riots on women who were not learning English or going into forced marriages. The idea that learning more English or an end to faith schools will stop riots is absolute nonsense.”