TONY Blair gave Burnley MP Peter Pike a personal promise of extra cash to regenerate the town and prevent any recurrence of last year's racial disturbances.

The Prime Minister was quizzed on the issue by Mr Pike when he faced a two-and-a-half-hour grilling by senior backbenchers of all parties in the House of Commons.

In an unprecedented move he took questions from the chairmen and women of House of Commons committees on a range of issues.

Mr Pike, who chairs the deregulation committee, asked him whether he thought that social exclusion was one of the reasons for the Burnley disturbances.

And he asked the Prime Minister if extra government cash announced in this week's comprehensive spending review could improve housing and other public services to prevent poor social conditions being exploited by right wing racists to cause a repeat.

Mr Blair said: "I hope so, and I would like to thank you and other leaders in Burnley and elsewhere for the help you gave to do that. It is a big issue and a big problem.

"It's very important that we strengthen the cross-community dialogue.

"It is important that we look at what we can do in the way of regeneration."

Mr Pike was delighted with the answer and is now awaiting tomorrow's statement by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescot on cash for urban regeneration, which is expected to pave the way for the £670 million plan to improve East Lancashire's decaying Victorian housing stock to go ahead.

Burnley, Blackburn with Darwen, Hyndburn, Pendle and Rossendale councils put together the bid to tackle the problem of low value, low demand, terraced homes which are being abandoned causing dereliction and crime.

The joint strategy involves the clearance of some areas, new building and the refurbishment of other homes as better transport links and improved security.

Mr Pike said: "I was very pleased with the reply. It was very positive and we are now waiting for Mr Prescot's statement tomorrow.

"I was also pleased with the personal compliment. It was unexpected but still welcome.

"I now hope we will get the government cash to tackle the housing problems I have been campaigning to deal with since I came here to Westminster, and particularly in the last 12 months."