David Blunkett has urged immigrants to practise English inside their homes.

David Blunkett believes that speaking English is essential for immigrants to become involved with "wider modern culture".

His comments are made in an essay for "Rethinking Britishness", a review of modern British identity published by the Foreign Policy Centre think tank.

Blunkett has come under fire on previous occasions when he has entered the debate about multiculturalism in Britain.

In April he warned that rising numbers of asylum seekers could "swamp" local public services, and earlier this month he told protesters jailed for their part in the Bradford riots to stop "whining" about their tough sentences.

The home secretary has now re-entered the debate by pointing to research suggesting that English is not spoken at home in "as many as 30 per cent of Asian British households".

He argues that while fundamental human rights mean that some practices such as forced marriages must be prevented, people must be free to lead their lives as they wish.

"But there must also be greater content to citizenship beyond these foundations," he writes.

"Citizenship should be about shared participation, from the neighbourhood to national elections.

"That is why we must strive to connect people from different backgrounds, tackle segregation, and overcome mutual hostility and ignorance."

Blunkett denies that he is suggesting that a poor grasp of English by some communities was a factor in last year's rioting in towns in the north of England.

"I have never said, or implied, that lack of fluency in English was in any way directly responsible for the disturbances in Bradford, Burnley and Oldham in the summer of 2001," says the home secretary.

"However, speaking English enables parents to converse with their children in English at home and participate in wider modern culture and it helps overcome the schizophrenia which bedevils generational relationships."