Multiculturalism in the UK has left a "terrible" legacy, creating a vacuum that has been filled by extremists from across the political spectrum, the shadow home secretary, Dominic Grieve, was quoted as saying by the Guardian newspaper on Saturday.

In an interview with the Guardian on the eve of the Conservative party conference, Grieve said that "long-term inhabitants" have been left fearful, while second- and third- generation immigrants have felt alienated and unsure what British values stand for.

He also warned against downplaying Britain's Christian heritage.

His remarks on such a contentious area came as a poll for the Guardian shows that Labour has narrowed the gap on the Tories, whose lead over the government is now into single figures -- the lowest since April.

The survey puts the Conservatives on 41 percent, down three points from last month, while Labour is up three on 32 percent with the Liberal Democrats on 18 percent.

(Xinhua News Agency September 27, 2008)