Keighley MP Ann Cryer fears the streets of Bradford could resemble strife-torn Belfast if integration between whites and Asians fails.

"Unlike Belfast, the conflict is likely to be along race and cultural lines, not religious," she said.

"But the outcome will be the same if people can't live together with whites understanding Asian people and Asians understanding whites.

"If that fails, I can see Bradford going down Belfast's path of segregation, where there is conflict between warring factions and violence on the streets."

Mrs Cryer said she had been encouraged to speak out following Lord Ouseley's race review in which he urged greater integration.

She condemned those Asian young men who were determined to create a violent situation and played into the hands of the National Front.

"If riots happen again the police should use water cannon. I don't think it's an infringement of human rights.

"What about the human rights of the victims? They are the people in their own communities, especially the elderly, woman and children.

Shahid Malik, a member of the Commission for Racial Equality and the British Equality Commission in Northern Ireland, said: "People need to acquire a real understanding of each other's cultures and religions, otherwise that ignorance can lead to prejudice."

But he hit out at Mrs Cryer's demand that the Asian community stops bringing in spouses from Pakistan and Bangladesh who have no command of English.

Today Mrs Cryer called for tougher immigration language rules if the tradition fails to stop within five years.

She is calling on the two communities to accept Lord Ouseley's findings that inter-continental marriages "limited the Asian community's participation in mainstream social and educational activities."

She said the rules should apply to all immigrant people and would mirror rules in countries such as the USA, Canada and the Netherlands.

She also she urges the community to encourage the use of English in the home as well as Punjabi and Bangla.

But Mr Malik claimed her comments were irresponsible in the wake of the riots in Bradford and other northern towns.