The British Home Secretary, Mr David Blunkett, is investigating whether the weekend's violent disturbances in Burnley involving Asian and white youths were linked to clashes in Oldham and Leeds earlier this month.
Community leaders met police in Burnley yesterday to discuss the disturbances which saw shops and pubs destroyed during incidents involving 200 Asian and white youths. At the same time the Home Office minister, Mr John Denham, said Mr Blunkett would be consulting race relations advisers about the violence.
In an emergency statement in the House of Commons, Mr Denham said Burnley had a good record of race relations and he condemned the "exploitation" of racial tensions by far right groups. It is thought the violence in Burnley was sparked after an Asian family asked their white neighbours to turn down loud music being played at a party.
A dispute followed and an Asian taxi driver was injured when he was hit in the face with a hammer. Police said yesterday that three men arrested in connection with the attack on the driver had been released on bail pending further inquiries. Six other men involved in violence at the weekend were waiting to be questioned.
On Sunday night separate groups of Asian and white youths took to the streets, clashing with police and destroying premises.
Mr Denham said everyone in the area was disgusted by the weekend's events but he suggested the way forward was to find a local solution to local problems.
"Burnley has had a good record of race relations and I hope that those who want to build on and take forward that tradition will identify what needs to be done in Burnley over the weeks and months ahead," he told MPs.
Clashes between Asian and white youths in Oldham and Leeds and the subsequent damage to property over several nights earlier this month were for the most part blamed on the far right British National Party (BNP). The events came after BNP candidates won a high level of support in the general election.
Police in Burnley said yesterday that they did not believe the violence in Burnley was linked to the disturbances in Oldham and Leeds. But one Asian community leader said tension between the Asian and white communities had been building since the BNP polled more than 11 per cent in the general election. "Throughout the north of England, Asian communities are starting to feel vulnerable and under siege," said Mr Shahid Malik, a local representative for the Commission for Racial Equality. "In the long-term, people have to work to ensure all the political parties work to eradicate the scourge of the BNP. June 7th was a wake-up call.