The British National Party
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What next, free cars? 
Young Asian men have been offered free lessons to improve their driving, it has emerged.
The classes, which are funded by taxpayers, are designed to cut accidents by teaching road safety.
But critics accused the organisers of racism and sexism because they were not available to girls or white residents.
Labour-controlled Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, where the courses are being run, said it was planning to extend the scheme.
The project is to be expanded from the predominantly Asian area of Bastwell in Blackburn, where it started, into two mostly white wards.
But Tory opposition councillor Colin Rigby said: "It's a bit late in the day. The scheme was badly thought through from the start. When I first heard about it, my initial opinion was that it was racist and sexist. Blackburn is a very deprived area. There is no great problem finding a deprived district to focus on.
"The decision to extend now is just a face-saving exercise."
The Kick Start Safe Driving Project, created by the Blackburn with Darwen Primary Care Trust, is funded by cash from the Government's Neighbourhood Road Safety Initiative.
It includes classes on wearing seatbelts, the dangers of driving after drinking or taking drugs.
The trust said the scheme was offered in Bastwell because it had the highest number of young-driver casualties between 2000 and 2004.
Jennifer Butterworth, the trust's acting director of corporate development, said: "Research shows that people in deprived areas are five times more likely to be injured in a road accident than others in affluent areas.
"It also shows that young Asian men are three times more likely to be injured in an accident than others in affluent areas."
The council denied it had deliberately focused the initial scheme on Asians, and insisted the decision to extend it was not a result of the criticism.
Council leader Kate Hollern said: "We successfully applied to the Neighbourhood Road Safety Initiative for funding earlier this year after consulting with UK Youth, who had expressed an interest in supporting an educational programme for young drivers.
"Areas were chosen according to levels of accidents, not on race grounds, and young men and women are able to attend regardless of race."
Young Asian men have been offered free lessons to improve their driving, it has emerged.
The classes, which are funded by taxpayers, are designed to cut accidents by teaching road safety.
But critics accused the organisers of racism and sexism because they were not available to girls or white residents.
Labour-controlled Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, where the courses are being run, said it was planning to extend the scheme.
The project is to be expanded from the predominantly Asian area of Bastwell in Blackburn, where it started, into two mostly white wards.
But Tory opposition councillor Colin Rigby said: "It's a bit late in the day. The scheme was badly thought through from the start. When I first heard about it, my initial opinion was that it was racist and sexist. Blackburn is a very deprived area. There is no great problem finding a deprived district to focus on.
"The decision to extend now is just a face-saving exercise."
The Kick Start Safe Driving Project, created by the Blackburn with Darwen Primary Care Trust, is funded by cash from the Government's Neighbourhood Road Safety Initiative.
It includes classes on wearing seatbelts, the dangers of driving after drinking or taking drugs.
The trust said the scheme was offered in Bastwell because it had the highest number of young-driver casualties between 2000 and 2004.
Jennifer Butterworth, the trust's acting director of corporate development, said: "Research shows that people in deprived areas are five times more likely to be injured in a road accident than others in affluent areas.
"It also shows that young Asian men are three times more likely to be injured in an accident than others in affluent areas."
The council denied it had deliberately focused the initial scheme on Asians, and insisted the decision to extend it was not a result of the criticism.
Council leader Kate Hollern said: "We successfully applied to the Neighbourhood Road Safety Initiative for funding earlier this year after consulting with UK Youth, who had expressed an interest in supporting an educational programme for young drivers.
"Areas were chosen according to levels of accidents, not on race grounds, and young men and women are able to attend regardless of race."
