City 'left bleeding by riots'

Speaking in the House of Commons yesterday, Mr Singh said he was shocked and dismayed by the events of the weekend.

During a debate on the trouble, Home Secretary David Blunkett warned the thugs involved in the "wanton destruction and violence" in Bradford that their actions would not be tolerated.

In an uncompromising message to those involved in the rioting, Mr Blunkett said: "From today we will not accept the destruction of hard-won improvements in the most difficult areas of our country.

"The message must be unequivocal and unwavering: whatever the debate about alienation and disaffection, attacking the police, destroying the well-being of the local community and playing into the hands of organised groups will simply not be tolerated."

And Mr Singh told how dangerous the situation now was and how forced relations were.

"The majority of the Muslim community of Bradford is peaceful, decent and law-abiding and should not be scape-goated along with this mindless minority," he said. "Bradford is bleeding, it needs to heal and we need his (the Home Secretary's) support and that of the whole house for that to begin."

Terry Rooney, MP for Bradford North, echoed Mr Singh's sentiments and said that communities like Bradford would never feel safe as long as fascists and Nazis - such as those who appeared on the streets on Saturday - were allowed to walk around.

Mr Blunkett said that the Community Safety and Disorder Partnership needed to offer people the courage and protection they required to come forward if they had witnessed people destroying their neighbourhood and area.

He said a ministry group which had been formed following disturbances in Oldham, Burnley and now Bradford, was seeking ideas from the local community about what could be organised for youths over the summer in terms of recreation and activities.

Tory MP David Lidington told the House: "We condemn the violence and criminal attacks on both people and property which we saw in Bradford over the last few days.

"The fact that no fewer than 164 police officers were injured is, itself, a stark reminder that the police were in no way perpetrators of violence.

"It is too simplistic to brand what happened in Bradford as a product of racial tension, social problems, poor education, lack of skills and poor job opportunities - these are all things which have to be tackled, but do not provide justification for the sort of behaviour we saw in Bradford on Saturday night."

During the debate, Mr Blunkett praised the role of local newspapers and their coverage of the riots. "There is a crucial role for local newspapers to play," he said. But he was critical of some local TV reports. "Regional television reporters should ask sensible questions and not set up hatred where it does not exist."