Excerpt:
An official inquiry into prejudice and discrimination in Britain has revealed a backlash against equal opportunities for immigrants and Muslims.
The report for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), a statutory body, found that 37 per cent of adults believed that efforts to provide equal opportunities to immigrants had gone "too far".
In the case of Muslims, the figure was 33 per cent. By contrast, nearly two thirds of the public felt that more help was needed to support those with a mental health condition, as 63 per cent said that efforts had not gone far enough. The figure for those with a physical impairment was 60 per cent.
The report, which could be the first of an annual "barometer" testing public opinion, also found that significant numbers of people openly expressed negative feelings towards Gypsies, Roma and Travellers (44 per cent), Muslims (22 per cent) and transgender people (16 per cent).