DAVID Cameron’s controversial speech on multi-culturalism has split opinion in East Lancashire.

The Prime Minister, outlining how to tackle radicalisation and terrorism, said a tougher stance was needed as ‘state multi-culturalism’ had not worked.

At a security conference in Munich, he argued the UK needed a stronger national identity to prevent people turning to all kinds of extremism.

Mr Cameron said ‘state multi-culturalism’ was ‘the idea that we should respect different cultures within Britain to the point of allowing them – indeed encouraging them – to live separate lives, apart from each other and apart from the mainstream'.

He said the state must confront, and not consort with, the non-violent Muslim groups that are ambiguous about British values such as equality between sexes, democracy and integration.

East Lancashire has one of the largest ethnic minority populations in the country, and a major report in 2009 found Blackburn to be one of the most ethnically divided towns in the country.

But Salim Mulla, the chair of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, criticised Mr Cameron, saying he is ‘out of touch’.

Mr Mulla, who is also a Labour councillor, said: “He is looking at isolated communities but he won’t find that here.

"I completely disagree with him because multiculturialism hasn’t failed in East Lancashire.

“There are countless examples of the work we have done to encourage community cohesion.

"We have carried out partnership work with the Anglican cathedral, Building Bridges and other organisations.”

Blackburn MP Jack Straw also criticised Mr Cameron’s comments.

He said: “The idea that the Labour Government had a casual tolerance to extremism and terrorism is absurd.

“The overwhelming proportion of British citizens of the Muslim faith have the same abhorrent view of extremism and terrorism as anyone else and it is insulting to pretend otherwise.

“The majority of people from Asian heritage want to live close to the mosque.

But I know an increasing number who want to live in mixed areas.

"They have moved in and gone to find white flight. It is a complex issue.

"In a free society people are free to chose where they live.

"Unless Mr Cameron is going to introduce zoning, what is the answer?

“The speech was ill thought-out and unhelpful.”

However, Conservatives in East Lancashire backed Mr Cameron.

Andrew Stephenson, MP for Pendle, said: "I would agree that multi-culturalism in Pendle and East Lancashire as a whole has failed.

"We know we have a long way to go to with our inter-faith relations but we need to open up the issue for national debate.

"Even in a multi-cultural society we must not forget our British values, history, traditions and cultures that all need celebrating."

Sajjad Karim, an MEP for the North West who lives in Simonstone, said: "Multi-culturalism has definitely failed.

"The previous government labelled people as British Muslims.

"We need to strip this away and use British full stop.

"Of course we all have many different layers to our heritage but as a nation we are all British.”