I am a white man who has a black partner born here but raised (like Trevor Phillips) in Guyana and "dual-ethnic" children. The growing segregation in the UK is primarily a socio-economic issue not an ethnic one. As people of ALL ethnicities and backgrounds prosper they also want a better quality of life achieved mainly by leaving the cities. This results in the cities having strikingly segregated areas of very poor versus very wealthy and within those areas there may be further divisions based on ethnicity. There's actually nothing much that can be done to halt this inevitable process unless you suspend the right of people to move, purchase property and make all the normal choices in their lives. Trevor Phillips is right to point out the dangers in this process but is kidding himself if he thinks he can manipulate an alternative into place without curtailing perfectly acceptable age-old individual freedoms. Chris Thomas, Oxford

I recall when I was studying for my A levels, I wasn't accepted in the white crowd because I did not drink alcohol; neither could I mix with my fellow blacks because they dropped their pants too low and dressed differently from me. Fourteen years on, I still find it's still the same. Although, I now meet blacks who think and dress like me, I can never be close friends with a Brit because I can never accept an invitation to a pub; so they stop asking and I remain marginalised. Whether we like it or not, there is a deep racial divide which has its roots in cultural differences. Name and address withheld

Is Britain walking into apartheid? If we are, then perhaps it isn't because 'young children' don't mix in schools, or even because certain areas are "ghettoised", it is because we have politicians and the media constantly telling us that we are 'multi-cultural' and putting us all on edge, telling us that we must be "politically correct". If Trevor Phillips really wants to change this racial division and unite the country, perhaps he should start by making sure everyone can speak English. Isn't that surely more important than "school workshops" and continual lectures on how we are considered "racist"? Yes, certain areas are known for being a place where a particular race of people live, but isn't this just showing that people also value their cultures as well as the one they incur in Britain. Yes, Trevor Phillips is right in saying that there is a racial divide in certain areas of the country, and coming form Birmingham I am more aware of this than most - but perhaps he should look a little closer to home as to why this is and stop trying to shift the blame onto us. Kirsty Gilmour, Birmingham

From my experiences growing up and living in the UK, I feel that there are clear racial divides. I know many second generation British born people from ethic minorities who are all British to the core, but however hard they try to integrate still further in British life, they more often than not experience social antipathy when casting themselves as Britons, be it in the workplace, school, university or clubs. They therefore feel rejected by the very system that urges ethnic minorities to integrate. Naturally there are those who are willing to accept British born and educated ethnic minorities into mainstream Britain, but there are a vast number who still treat them as outsiders. I think the government needs to urgently look at fostering greater tolerance and understanding for a so-called multicultural society at grassroots level. Abdulali Zaki, Huddersfield

Britain is becoming more and more racially divided, and we only have to look to ourselves for the one of the most basic reasons. Inbred discrimination in both cultural thinking and religious doctrine have exacerbated the problem. I pride myself on being fair and open-minded but I won't have reactionary elements from all races and religions telling me it's all the fault of the nasty indigenous white Christian population. There are certain elements pushing this idea who should look to themselves first, people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. We are all too blame, and we all need to work together to resolve the situation. Tolerance goes both ways and there are certain elements who are all too quick to cast attack perceived racism they see as inherent in the British society and way of life, yet are up in arms should you so much as infer any misgivings about issue and matters related to their own culture. Gerard Keating, London

I am a child of an immigrant. I have always been regarded as an immigrant despite being born here. But when I go to the country of my parents, I am regarded as a Brit, a foreigner. Where exactly do people think people like me belong? It is an incredibly insular view to think that what qualifies as British, and more particularly English, is being white and Anglo-Saxon. Having worked overseas, I find the British mentality sadly lacking in this regard. These views are driven by fear and inability to accept there are other around the world perhaps better trained and able to do the jobs on offer. What I find strange is that when Brits go overseas to work and live they call themselves "expats". When others come to the UK to do the same, they are immigrants. Not only that, but they are just as ghetto-ised - living and socialising with other fellow Brits and far less with the members of their host community. Name and address withheld

Before I moved to the UK from Australia, a friend said, "You won't make many English friends. You'll only meet Australians, Kiwis, Americans and a few well travelled Brits. Most English people aren't interested in anything outside a small circle that encompasses their work, home and their local pub. And those that are interested are too reserved to ask." A year later, I am sorry to say, he is right. Every single one of us immigrants brings with us experience, ideas and the ability to make Britain a better place. When we arrive we find a culture of obstruction, bureaucracy, mediocrity, the constant assumption that we are criminals, and obvious resentment if we appear to have more than the natives. I am fortunate enough to have a white face and live in an affluent part of London. Every day I thank my lucky stars that I do not wear my status as a foreigner on my skin. Britain is not the centre of the universe - it needs to ope the borders of its consciousness to new influences, not so that it becomes less British, but so that it becomes more understanding, because understanding leads to respect, and respect leads to a better society. Name and address withheld

I don't know why we all can't live as we wish. If whites want to live by themselves, then let them. Aren't the UK and USA free countries with laws based on personal liberty? If blacks or Asians want to associate mainly with each other, then let them. It isn't a government's duty to interfere in our individual personal relationships. Don Monroe, Wolfe City, USA

In principle, I fully agree that immigrants need to integrate into British society, especially with respect to learning English. However, when I stop to think about the "British" culture we expect people to accept, I understand why people such as Muslims may be reluctant to integrate. By this I mean binge drinking, pornography, casual sex, single parenthood, consumerism, and increasingly, gambling. If more "indigenous" Britons could uphold their own belief in some solid and decent values apart from "tolerance", there might be more chance of immigrants following suit. James Thomas, Cambridge

The heading here is racial divide, but do we really mean cultural divide? For centuries, Britain has always had pockets of Chinese, of Jewish, or Indians, or some other race huddled together in little ghettos, and lived several generations in such arrangements. There were no real problems and forced integration did not seem necessary. Within a few generations, these people eventually merged into the community and became invisible. But with the influx of larger groups of immigrants living in larger ghettos, absorption was must less digestible. Yet they were still tolerated and accepted as in say, Leicester, which has a predominant Indian population, mainly of Hindu faith. Despite the large ghetto-like existence, it is not known as a troublesome city. The Hindu faith is non-confrontational and retaliatory. But Britain's quest to integrate a multi-cultural society into the English society will be fruitless among certain ghettos because of the rigidity of certain cultures. This basic problem must first be recognised and acknowledged before any real integration is possible. Unless there is a compromise of the basic cultural divide and a solution to this, harmonising irreconcilable cultures will be impossible. I believe there are other moves afoot to resolve some of these problems but it must be tackled with a firm and determined hand. The present teaching of the Islamic world is on collision course with the Western culture, and this problem has to be solved. And to be solved permanently to work. M Lee, West Bridgford, Nottingham

The ghettos have been developing for decades. In areas of the North, there are white areas and there are Asian areas. Simple. If you are white, you do not generally go into an Asian area unless you have to and vice versa. There appear to be one set of rules and policies for white people and there are another set of rules and policies for ethnic minorities. I know this and just about anyone who lives or has lived in the North knows this. The police are caught between the communities who are living alongside each other in a state of constant racial tension. I have recently moved "down South" and the first thing I noticed was not the warmer climate or any other characteristics of the North/South divide, but the absence of a very damaging and insidious racial tension. Britain is not divided by poverty, although it undeniably exists, it is divided by racial tension. The most positive step we could take at this point is to acknowledge that racism is very much present from all parts of the community, not just white people as is most commonly represented in the media. Only when this happens can we take steps to address the real issues behind racism. R Park, Huddersfield

The racial divide appears to be growing and it is no wonder really. We have a government that has the most lax restrictions on immigration and asylum. Too many people are being allowed to settle before integration can happen for those already here. The Government is to blame for this situation and can only rectify it by putting a halt on all further immigration to this already crowded island. Brian Frost, Crawley

I can't help but notice that the discussion seems to centre on the white/black divide yet this is not the limit of immigration. We don't appear to worry about the integration of Eastern Europeans, or South Africans, but that is probably because we can't tell they are immigrants until they start talking. It's time we saw the worrying about immigration for what it really is - thinly veiled racism. Simon Clark, London