The Faith Minister Wajid Khan has told a major conference on national cohesion that faith communities are key to long-term harmony.

The conference, in response to the riots in August following the fatal stabbing of three children in Southport, was organised by Belong, British Futures, and Together and brought together experts and practitioners to develop a collective response to the violence.

Labour peer Lord Khan, who took up the role of Faith Minister after the general election in July, said a more unified society where communities can thrive benefits us all and described the role of faith communities as key in sharing both diversity and common ground:

"It’s been great to meet so many people this week to hear about the wonderful contributions our faith groups across the country have made to strengthening cohesion and inter faith relations. Faith communities are vital. They address immediate needs and foster harmony through long term work.”

Areas discussed included racism, prejudice and hate, the complex root causes of conflict and the role of social media.

Many attendees expressed the need for a national long-term cohesion strategy with cross party support providing resources at a local level to address the many challenges of our fractured world. Others noted that the UK’s Inter Faith Network closed in April after government funding was withdrawn.

The conference was held at Quaker offices in London and Paul Parker, recording clerk for Quakers in Britain, said: “Quakers see something of the divine in every person. When we collectively fail to treat each other equally and without violence, we all suffer.”