The ethnic minorities 'who feel stronger ties to Britain than whites'

Nine in ten Bangladeshis and nearly as many of Indian origin feel strongly that they belong to Britain, it said.

So do 87 per cent of Pakistani people and 85 per cent of Black Caribbeans.

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But only 84 per cent of whites said the same - meaning that around one in six white people have only a slender attachment to their own country.

The survey also found that whites are more likely than those from ethnic minorities to believe that race prejudice and discrimination is getting worse.

And they are less likely to think they can influence events or decisions in their own neighbourhood.

The Citizenship Survey, carried out by the Department for Communities and Local Government, is aimed at measuring the success of efforts to help minorities integrate and encourage a common sense of nationhood.

The evidence it found pointing to increasing disillusionment among the white majority follows suggestions this week that one in three is considering emigrating.

At the same time, the survey's claim that a huge majority among minority ethnic people feel strongly British appears to be contradicted by the separation of different groups obvious in some cities.

Trevor Phillips, head of the Government's equalities commission, has warned that many areas are "sleepwalking to segregation", and support for extremist groups among some Muslims lingers.

Last week figures on ethnic minorities and schools confirmed that schools in some city areas remain dominated by single minority racial and religious groups.

This summer, the Communities Department abandoned the Government's longstanding attachment to the Left-wing doctrine of multiculturalism - now blamed for encouraging separatism - and instead began advocating integration and "cohesion".

But Communities Secretary Hazel Blears said: "Britain has a great deal to be proud of.

"This survey shows our commitment to fairness, fair play and civic duty hold true and we live in a society where the overwhelming majority of people get on well together.

"The fact that so many people feel such a strong connection to Britain is evidence that there remains more uniting us than dividing us."

The survey was conducted among nearly 10,000 people chosen to be representative of the country as a whole, and another 5,000 from ethnic minorities.