World peace and community harmony was on the Agenda at an event in Blackburn.

The dinner event held on the first anniversary of the start of the Iraq war was entitled 'One Community - One Britain' and was organised by Blackburn with Darwen Racial Equality Council.

Speaking on the night was Foreign Secretary and Blackburn MP Jack Straw, Kieth Vaz MP, Lord Adam Patel and leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council Cllr Sir Bill Taylor.

In a unique coup for the organisers both the Indian High Commissoner NP Sharma and the Pakistani High Commissioner HE Dr Maleeha Lodhi also spoke at the event.

The evening which was attended by over 400 people from around the North West and aimed to celebrate the excellent community relations in towns such as Blackburn. It also aimed to highlight the steps taking by both India and Pakistan to resolve their differences through peaceful negotiations.

Jack Straw said on the night it was time to celebrate the good community relations in the town. He also referred to the French Government's banning of the Hijab. "I would like to say that we will never ever ban any hijabs in schools. We must learn to celebrate the fact that we have state funded religious schools."

The spectre of terrorist atrocities worldwide remained a key issue in some of the speeches made on the night.

Speaking on the night Lord Adam Patel said, "These are difficult times for the Muslim community. Terrorists should not be deemed as Islamic terrorists as this term stigmatises a whole community.

"It is our role as Muslims to uphold the true Islamic values."

Whilst not on the official speakers list, Shere Khan Restaurants owner Nighat Awan familiarly took to the stage.