UNCONTROLLED immigration has led to a "cold war" between ethnic communities, according to the head of Britain's race watchdog.
Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), said policy failures risk engendering racism among millions of educated professionals.
He said Enoch Powell's infamous "Rivers of Blood" speech had left the country with
suppressed political debate on the subject, and that Britain needed to shed its "40-year shadow".
Speaking to a crowd of about 200 at the same Birmingham hotel in which Powell gave his speech, Mr Phillips said: "For 40 years we have, by mutual consent, sustained a particular silence on the one issue where British people most needed articulate political leadership.
"Powell so discredited any talk of planning that we have plunged along with an ad hoc approach to immigration.
"Powell predicted 'hot' conflict and violence. However, we have seen the emergence of a kind of cold war in some parts of the country, where very separate communities exist side by side … with poor communication across racial or religious lines."
Mr Phillips said it was necessary to take a renewed look at immigration to ensure Britain kept up with a "tide of talent" that was washing across the globe.
He said it was necessary to achieve a level of integration that would allow Britain to realise the potential skilled immigrants could bring to the economy.
He said: "Whatever we feel about immigrants, immigration is part of our future. The real question will be whether we can, as a modern economy, seize the restless tide of talent that is currently sweeping across the globe.
"So far we are lagging behind our competitors. But while we cower in fear and fret about whether to admit clever foreigners from other nations – America, Australia and Canada are already sailing on that tide of talent."
He said a new debate was needed on the issue: "There is creeping resentment in all directions which can only be halted by a policy of manifest fairness. I believe that the more we talk about immigration the better. Many think that this is not the time or the place for this debate. I understand their anxieties. If we cannot talk about it now, then when?
"We cannot allow discussion of race and immigration forever to be seen as playing into the hands of extremists. The 40-year-old shockwave of fear has gagged us all for too long.
"Our aim is the integrated society – one built on fairness, respect and dignity, confident in all aspects of its diversity. We need to start a new conversation about how we get there, a dialogue guided not by fear, but by hope."
Addressing representatives from local authorities, police, and a range of equality groups present at the MacDonald Burlington Hotel, Birmingham, Mr Phillips said he thought Powell's dire predictions had not been fulfilled. In his speech, delivered on 20 April, 1968, the Tory front-bencher had warned of disastrous social consequences if immigration levels were not reduced.
But Mr Phillips said Powellism had ultimately failed, because ethnic diversity had not led to "chaos and hatred". He also said any suggestion that an answer would be to merely lower the number of immigrants was incorrect, and a new system, based on managed migration, would be the way forward.
Speaking in the same hotel, only a few hours after Mr Phillips' speech, the British National Party's leader, Nick Griffin, predicted within three years the country would be divided by "peace walls" constructed to prevent race wars. About 30 people met in the BNP's own gathering to watch a re-enactment of Enoch Powell's speech by member Peter Mullins. Mr Mullins broke down in tears during the speech, which he repeated verbatim to the group, finishing to a standing ovation.
