Phillips: 'Give whites positive discrimination'

WHITE workers should benefit from "positive discrimination" to help them fend off competition from better-skilled immigrants, equalities chief Trevor Phillips urged today.

Mr Phillips warned Britain risked a surge in far-right extremism unless it took urgent action to target training and skills at people stuck in a new white "underclass".

The chairman of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission defied political convention to call for the law to be changed in favour of disadvantaged Britons.

His startling intervention was seen as a rebuke to Equality Minister Harriet Harman, who earlier this year trumpeted plans to make companies discriminate in favour of women and ethnic minorities.

Mr Phillips said ministers should allow councils and education authorities to introduce "positive action" programmes aimed specifically at young whites unable to compete with highly skilled immigrants because the "need is so great".

And he warned that immigration has fuelled "resentments that are real and should not be dismissed resentments felt by white, black and Asian".

Ahead of an appearance at a CBI event on immigration today, Mr Phillips said failure to help white families could drive them into the arms of far-Right parties.

He also warned that ministers needed to acknowledge the resentment by some whites over what they see as unfair help given to blacks and Asians.