The call for a report similar to the one drawn up by Lord Scarman following disturbances in Afro-Caribbean communities in the early 1980s follows unrest among people of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin in towns such as Oldham, Bradford and Leeds.

Iqbal Sacranie, of the Muslim Council of Britain, said that an inquiry was needed to establish why these people were suffering particular economic and social deprivation, and what could be done to improve their opportunities.

He also suggested that legislation to outlaw discrimination on religious lines was "long overdue", as groups like the British National party were now targeting people because they were Muslims as well as because of their racial origin.

"[An inquiry] will bring out into the open the causes of the current riots," Mr Sacranie told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

He added: "There have been various reports coming out highlighting the social and economic deprivation that has been there for many years and has been festering.

"What we really need to do is to identify how this problem has been spreading in the way it has and draw up an action plan to see how best to resolve it.

"The government says it has been doing quite a bit through its inner-city regeneration programmes. One wonders, with all the money that's gone in, what has resulted from that."

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Comment and analysis
16.07.2001, Martin Wainwright: Bradfordians United
15.07.2001, Faisal Islam: How poverty fuels racism