RIOTS could hit the UK again, an Oxford criminology expert has warned.

Violence and looting spread across London, Birmingham, Bristol, Nottingham, Liverpool and Manchester after Mark Duggan was shot dead by the police on August 4, 2011.

Summertown-based Marian FitzGerald, who works as a freelance criminology consultant, said none of the factors which sparked the riots had been addressed.

The 65-year-old said: “It is very unlikely that the riots won’t happen again given what we understand about the conditions that made them possible.

“We are still no clearer about why they happened in some places but not in others.

“It is certainly not going to be a quick fix, which is what governments look for.

“Deprivation and youth unemployment were among the preconditions for the riots, and they are not getting any better so there is a good likelihood that they will happen again.

“At the time there was a lot of talk about problem families and what schools ought to be doing but if you look at the evidence most of the offences were committed by people aged between 18 and 24.”

Oxfordshire escaped with only minor incidents.

Thames Valley Police declined to comment on Prof FitzGerald’s comments.

Spokesman Francine Rodrigues said the force did not comment on “opinions and conjecture”.

After the 1981 Brixton riots which saw around 5,000 people take to the streets of London there was a full public inquiry headed by High Court judge Lord Scarman.

Prof FitzGerald said there should have been a similar inquiry to help look at the causes of what happened last summer.

Ian Hudspeth , leader of Oxfordshire County Council , said: “I think it is very surprising that someone is thinking this given the mood across the country at the moment.

“We all know times are hard but the country seems to be really enjoying itself and everyone seems to be really happy and positive about being British.”

l POLICE officers have commissioned an anti-violence rap song to mark a year since riots spread across the country. Thames Valley Police worked with producer DJ Lomotes and grime artists Lola Coca, Styler, Sicx, Dimples and Treasure to create the single called An Eye for An Eye. To see the video visit youtube.com/watch?v=RpLeEis7D_8.