THE chairman of Lancashire Police Authority has renewed calls to the Government asking for the repeal of the Riot Damages Act in the forthcoming Police Reform Bill.

Ruth Henig, also chairman of the National Association of Police Authorities, says the Act, which makes police liable for damages during a riot, places huge burdens on police budgets if they are forced to pay up.

The cost of the disorder in Burnley, which lasted for three days at the end of June, has been estimated at more than £1m.

Last month Bedfordshire Police were hit with a £43m claim for damages following the disturbances at the Yarl's Wood detention centre.

Lancashire Police are expected to reject claims they are liable as they were careful not to refer to the disorder as a riot -- a move which should exempt them from payouts under the 1885 Riot Act.

The Burnley Task Force, set up to examine the causes of the disturbances, also refused to use the word "riots". However, police authorities covering Oldham and Bradford, where there was also trouble during the summer, could be liable for payouts amounting to millions.

The repeal of the Riot Act would ensure that Lancashire Police Authority, and those in other areas of the North West hit by the disturbances, would not be liable for claims.

That would increase the burden on private insurance companies which could be hit with claims for compensation for damage to homes and businesses.

Mrs Henig has already written to Home Office Minister John Denham, calling for a change in the law which she called unjustified and archaic.

She has renewed her calls to scrap the 115-year-old law. She said: "It needs to be resolved as a matter of urgency. The Government should signal its intention to do so.

"It is an anachronistic law which causes police authorities enormous problems with their budgets. It all costs money which, given the current financial situation, is money police authorities do not have."