The Communities Secretary has warned that Britain could see rioting on the streets as the recession takes grip of society.

We could see "a re-run of the Brixton riots" with "cars and buildings burning" unless the Government moves quickly to fund community projects, Cabinet minister Hazel Blears said today.

She used a speech to the Community Service Volunteers in the Edith Kahn Lecture to advocate proactive government intervention - transferring assets such as disused buildings, markets and leisure complexes to community groups to fill the void in town centres.

"Summer of rage"

The Metropolitan Police have warned "of a summer of rage" as middle-class anger at economic crisis spills onto the streets.

People who have lost their jobs, homes or savings could become "footsoldiers" in a wave of potentially violent mass protests - intelligence has noted that former activists from the poll tax riots are starting to mobilize.

The G20 protests were seen as the "kick start" to disorder this summer. Greece, France and Iceland have already seen violent demonstrations against banks that received billions of taxpayer’s money yet still pay fat cat bonuses, government institutions and financial districts.

Recession can "drive people apart or bring us together"

She told volunteers :

"Economic recession has the power to do one of two things to a society, it can either drive people apart, with an increase in distrust between individuals, more naked competition for jobs, and a fracturing of community spirit. We witnessed this in the Eighties and early Nineties, and at its most extreme, it culminated in cars and buildings burning on the streets of Brixton, Birmingham, and Liverpool."

The recession could however act as a "catalyst for communities to come together, bringing neighbours closer and leading "citizens to discover new reserves of courage and kindness.

Which end of this spectrum we tilt towards will depend on a decisive factor: the role of the government in valuing volunteering, in creating space for local action, and in promoting innovation and experimentation.

"In the wake of our mistrust of global financial institutions, there are new opportunities now for a much closer look on how we measure the social return on public investment."