Race riots danger list revealed

Oldham was one of three northern towns hit by riots in 2001

Race advisers named nine "areas at risk" of further race riots after the 2001 disturbances in northern England.

Camden in London, Rochdale, Preston and Nottingham were among those listed by Gurbux Singh, former head of the Commission for Racial Equality.

The list was obtained from the Home Office under the Freedom of Information Act.

The riots in Oldham, Bradford and Burnley led to scores of injuries and millions of pounds of damage.

They were blamed on segregation of white and Asian residents living "parallel lives".

'Tense summer'

Mr Singh's letter to then home secretary David Blunkett in June 2001 said: "A national steer from you at this point seems essential to defuse what is shaping up to be a long, hot and tense summer for communities who feel vulnerable and the public services who pick up the pieces."

The other areas listed in the letter were Bolton, Huddersfield, the London borough of Tower Hamlets, Leeds and the towns of Ilford and Barking in the London borough of Redbridge.

It also emerged that members of Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council lobbied the Home Office to close a loophole in the law to stop British National Party rallies taking place in the town.

Councillors, whose names were deleted from released documents, pointed out that while marches could be banned by the Home Secretary, there was nothing to stop the BNP staging static rallies.