WHOLE towns have changed “out of all recognition" and sunk into ghettos because of a failure by governments to handle mass immigration, a bombshell Downing Street report reveals today.
Instead, segregation along religious and race lines has spiralled, worsening the pulls of extremism.
In an extraordinary and damning indictment, Dame Louise Casey heaps blame on leaders across the board for not being “robust” enough to tackle the crisis.
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Towns including Bradford have dramatically changed due to mass immigration during recent yearsCredit: Getty Images
For 15 years too many politicians and religious bosses failed to act, either “worrying about being labelled racist” or “hoping it might change”, the senior civil servant insists.
The shocking verdict comes in Dame Louise's long awaited, year-long report on integration – seen in full by The Sun.
It was commissioned by David Cameron in July 2015, but delayed for months amid fears it will embarrass ministers.
Writing for The Sun today to mark the Casey Review’s publication, Dame Louise also insists far too little has been done to support under pressure schools, hospitals and housing in areas hit by new arrivals.
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A Roma man walks his daughter to school in the streets of SheffieldCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
And much more effort should have been made to help integrate the influx, as well as foreign-born Brits already here.
Respecting and upholding our long standing traditions of tolerance, democracy and respect should be far better enforced - starting with a new system of oaths for all public officials as well as new immigrants.
The PM should lead a push to define and spread "a common sense of what it is to be British and what our common values, rights and responsibilities are".
“People are understandably uncomfortable when the character and make up of a town change out of all recognition in five or 10 years.
"What I say in my report today is that, whatever the level of immigration now or in the future, we need to do better at helping people adapt to life in the UK when they arrive and helping all of us who are already here to get to know each other better".
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The government has been criticised for not being 'robust' enough for managing the crisisCredit: Alamy
Among a long series of recommendations that Dame Louise makes to ministers to tackle the integration is also to enforce an “expectation” for everyone living in the UK to speak good English – as The Sun revealed on Friday.
Her exhaustive 198 page report – which saw her team interview more than 800 people nationwide – also shines a light on the miserable plight of women in some Asian Muslim communities.
Officials have ignored women for too long who are forced to suffer “coercive control, violence and criminal acts of abuse, often enacted in the name of cultural or religious values”, she insists.
Too many public institutions have “ignored or even condoned regressive, divisive and harmful cultural and religious practices, for fear of being branded racist or Islamophobic”, the Casey Review itself finds.
Louise Casey calls for the government to instil a far deeper sense of British valuesCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
Stark new racial divides are also unearthed.
In some areas of Blackburn, Birmingham, Burnley and Bradford, as much as 85% of the population is Muslim.
In the 10 years between 2001 and 2011, the number of Muslims in Britain almost doubled, going up by 72% - or 1.2 million – to a total of 2.8 million.
And in 2015, a total of 511 schools across 43 different local authority areas nationwide had 50% or more pupils from Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic backgrounds – the two heritages which see the most segregation.
At the same time as damning leaders’ response to the pace of change, Dame Louise insists she isn’t “anti-immigration” and says Britain has benefited hugely from it, as well as the diversity it has brought.
She also calls for “more of a spirit of unity, compassion and kindness that brings people together under our common British values of tolerance, democracy, equality and respect.”
The report will come as a personal embarrassment to PM Theresa May, who was in charge of immigration policy as Home Secretary for six years.
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It was commissioned by David Cameron in July 2015, but delayed for months amid fears it will embarrass ministersCredit: Getty Images
But spreading the blame far and wide, the Casey Review finds: “For generations we have welcomed immigrants to the UK but left them to find their own way in society, while leaving host communities to accommodate them.
“As some communities have become more segregated, the increased pace of immigration has added new pressures, leaving long-standing communities struggling to adjust.
“Too few leaders in public office have dealt with this key issue, perhaps hoping it might change or worrying about being labelled racist; or indeed fearing that they will lose the support of minority communities.
“As a nation we have lost sight of our expectations on integration and lacked confidence in promoting it.”
It adds: “We need leaders at all levels – in Government, in public sector and faith institutions, and in communities – to stand up and be more robust”.
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Communities Secretary Sajid Javid referred to the report as 'a valuable contribution'Credit: EPA
Despite making attempts to solve the problem, the last Labour as well as current Conservative governments allowed action plans “to be diluted and muddled”, the report found.
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid last night dubbed Dame Louise’s work “a valuable contribution” and pledged to study her findings closely.
Mr Javid – who is of Asian Muslim heritage – added: “Our country has long been home to lots of different cultures and communities, but all of us have to be part of one society – British society.”
The Casey Review was also welcomed by senior opposition politicians and charities last night.
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Labour's Chuka Umunna said the crisis has been 'swept under the carpet for too long'Credit: Getty Images
Labour MP Chuka Umunna, who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Social Integration, said: “The fact people live parallel lives in modern Britain has been swept under the carpet for far too long.
“A lack of integration deprives people of jobs and opportunities, increases isolation, ill health and anxiety. Above all, it is sapping our communities of trust.”
Jon Yates, director of social integration charity The Challenge, dubbed the report “brave and timely”.
He added: “Unless we act urgently our country is in danger of becoming a less integrated and more divided place.
"We must not repeat the mistakes of the past by watering down or ignoring its recommendations.
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CASEY REVIEW RECOMMENDATIONS
Dame Louise Casey makes a series of hard hitting recommendations to ministers to tackle the integration crisis and instil more Britishness.
The main ones are:
* All holders of public office – from MPs to council workers – should be made to swear a new oath to uphold fundamental British values and put their importance on a par with honesty and integrity.
These are defined as: democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.
* Everybody living in Britain must be able to speak good English as “a shared language is fundamental to integrated societies”.
The government must stump up significantly more cash than the current £20m to fund council classes, as well as lessons in how to tackle cultural barriers.
* School curriculums should be rewritten to include more specific teaching of British values, such as tolerance, democracy and free speech.
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Theresa May was in charge of immigration policy as Home Secretary for six yearsCredit: PA:Press Association
British laws and history should also be promoted better in classrooms, and how well schools do that should be part of their performance assessment by Ofsted.
* Encourage children from different ethnic and religious to mix better in schools and neighbourhoods.
The need for young people to integrate with each other should be engrained in them as soon as possible and not left to later in life.
* New immigrants should swear an oath to uphold British values as soon as they arrive in the UK and not wait until they gain British citizenship, up to 10 years later.
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They should also be left in no doubt of what the expectations on them to integrate as early as their visa application to come.
* Councils should monitor neighbourhoods closely so any integration concerns are spotted early and acted on.
Measurements of tell tale factors should be documented, including hate crime and poor standards in English language.
* An action plan should be drawn up by ministers for all councils to improve community cohesion in their areas.
It should include how to break down barriers, freeing women from being trapped at home and boosting access to adult learning, for example in IT skills.
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