Riots inquiry chief Darra Singh met his new panel colleagues for the first time yesterday at the DCLG to plan the detail of their seven-month inquiry into the August disturbances.

In an exclusive interview with The MJ Mr Singh, currently head of Jobcentre Plus until the end of the month, said the panel weas preparing a list of areas to visit. He added: 'Some 40 local authority areas had some form of disturbance. We'll be visiting not just the worst-hit areas but also those which had no disturbances and yet had similar characteristics.