Ouseley warns of racial deadlock

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The author of a scathing report that blamed many of the racial problems in Bradford on segregation and institutional fear has said no progress has been made since he published his findings last year.

Lord Ouseley, former chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, said yesterday he feared that young people in the city were as disillusioned as ever and his recommendations had been largely ignored. He blamed the city's leaders for failing to act.

The report, Community Pride not Prejudice, condemned the city's entrenched racial divisions. It was compiled before riots in July that caused £25m of damage and led to more than 300 police officers being injured.

Lord Ouseley told BBC's Asian Network: "Young people, I think, have been betrayed. Young people have said to me they feel that nothing has happened. If people who are supposed to be the beneficiaries of change do not know it is happening, then it probably is not happening and that is a real worry."

Reports that examined the summer riots urged government action to bring together Britain's "shockingly" divided communities.

In his report Lord Ouseley accused the city's politicians of "kowtowing" to community leaders to "keep the peace". He also concluded that parental prejudice was being fed through to Bradford's youth, and recommended that city schools set up a programme of citizenship education to enhance racial understanding.