70% of Britons do not have close friendships with people from different ethnic backgrounds

Anushka Asthana:

Research carried out to launch the Commission for Racial Equality's race convention showed that, while one out of two people mix with those from different backgrounds at work, school or college, far fewer form meaningful relationships - meeting at least once a month at home. White people are far less likely to mix with ethnic minorities than vice versa, it concluded.

Immigration and race relations are the biggest concerns facing people in Britain, the poll found.

'According to our research, race and immigration has moved from the margins to the mainstream and is now the number one issue,' said Trevor Phillips, the chair of the CRE. 'That's why it's time for a national debate about how we translate this concern into action on the ground and into establishing ways we can all live together.'

Three out of four respondents felt those from ethnic minorities had to make a real commitment to the country before they could be called British, while one out of 10 thought only white people had the right to take the label.

White flight is a fact of British life