JACK Straw today denied there was a North South divide despite a Government report which said that Blackburn with Darwen was one of the most deprived areas in the country.

The borough came 15th out of 354 local authorities in the new "indices of deprivation 2000."

And three of its wards were in the 100 most deprived wards in England -- Audley at 61st, Shadsworth at 82nd and Higher Croft at 97th.

Whitefield ward in Pendle was the 39th worst while Daneshouse in Burnley came 62nd and Central in Hyndburn 95th.

Overall Burnley was the 62nd most deprived local authority, Hyndburn the 53rd most deprived and Pendle the 30th most deprived.

But Ribble Valley, Rossendale, and Chorley were among the 200 local authorities which did not figure in the deprivation index and came 158th equal indicating that they did not have major problems. Blackburn MP and Home Secretary Mr Straw seized upon this contrast to deny Tory claims that there was a North South divide. He said: "I think the facts that cheek by jowl with Blackburn is Ribble Valley, one of the least deprived authorities in the country, shows that the North South divide is too simplistic. There are areas in the North and South which suffer from great deprivation although the aggregate income of the south is higher. What we need to do is to tackle areas of great deprivation all over the country such as Audley, Shadsworth and Higher Croft in my constituency."

Tory spokesman Archie Norman said that 15 of the 20 most deprived areas in England were in the North and the rest were all in London. He said: "This destroys Tony Blair's claim that the north south divide is a myth. The fact is that regional inequality has worsened not improved under this government."

Indicators of deprivation include low income, unemployment and poor health.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescot said the government report showed that "differences within regions are at least as great as the differences between them. This is why so many of our policies are targeted at the local and neighbourhood level."

Hyndburn MP Greg Pope said: "Talk of a North South divide is too simplistic and an insult to the north. There are areas of Accrington that are deeply deprived but equally there are areas of Tower Hamlets in London that are just as bad."