YESTERDAY'S Cantle Report on the summer's race riots in Northern towns spoke of how the different communities were leading "parallel" lives. It said that part of this was due to a "polarisation" of races and faiths.

In reply, the Government said it was committed to "inclusivity". Yet Home Secretary David Blunkett said yesterday that the Government remained committed to a policy which is bound to polarise Britain further and force the country's children to lead parallel lives. It is still committed to more single faith schools.

As the Cantle Report acknowledged: ''A significant problem is posed by existing and future mono-cultural schools, which can add significantly to the separation of communities."

We only need to look at Northern Ireland to see how polarising faith schools can be. The scenes outside Holy Cross Primary, where young children had to have military escorts to escape the abuse thrown at them by members of a slightly different brand of Christianity, were shameful. The whole point of the Irish peace process has been about building bridges between the two communities and bringing them together and yet, from when children are barely out of nappies, the state is deliberately segregating them on grounds of their religion.

To allow the Islamic populations of Bradford, Oldham and Burnley to have their own state schools in the future - or to allow further single faith Christian schools which the Islamic population will choose not to attend - will not bring those towns closer together: it will, in fact, be state-sponsored segregation.

If ever a situation showed how dangerous such polarisation between the faiths is, it is the current world one. Constantly Tony Blair has, rightly, preached the virtues of understanding Islam but he is committed to a policy where a Christian child may never meet an Islamic child - just as, in Northern Ireland, he is committed to a policy which prevents Catholic children growing up with Protestant ones.

It is strange that the Government is so committed to this idea when even the monarchy has realised that, if it is to appeal to all people and be a unifying factor, it might be best if Prince Charles is seen as a "Defender of Faiths" rather than as the Defender of the Faith.

Similarly, if future generations are to be more unified, we must have schools that are Educators of All Faiths and not Educators of a Single Faith.