A terrorism think-tank has warned that Bradford could be attacked by bombers in an attempt to inflame relations between Muslims and non-Muslims.

A briefing paper by the Centre for Defence Studies at King's College, London, warns that the terrorists behind the London bombings could be preparing attacks on other British cities, including Bradford.

It calls for a "fundamental reassessment" of existing security arrangements, including basic training in intelligence-gathering by MI5 for all police officers.

Professor Michael Clarke, who edited the paper, warned that the terrorists could now switch their target from London in an attempt to catch the authorities off guard.

The paper said there was a "very real fear that an attack may occur in an area with a large Muslim population, such as Bradford or Leeds, if only to drive a wedge within that community."

But police and Muslim leaders in Bradford played down the chance of the city being at risk.

Community relations inspector Martin Baines said he did not agree with the report's conclusions.

He said: "It is not a view we have. We have no indications of that being the case.

"There are no indications currently that Bradford is particularly at risk.

"Tensions in the district are low - people have come together in the area since July 7.

"Across Bradford we are working extensively with Muslim organisations and communities to ensure that we engage properly with them, address their concerns and work with them for the good of Bradford."

The Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, Colin Cramphorn, declined to comment before seeing the report.

But he has previously said there was a real threat from international terrorism which could manifest itself anywhere in the UK.

He has also said there was a need to get the risk into proportion and to be alert and not alarmed.

Khadim Hussain, chairman of Bradford Council for Mosques, said the fear of a terrorist attack was always there.

He said: "Nobody knows who they are associating with and where they are coming from.

"We have been lucky so far that we have not had a single incident in Bradford but we should be more vigilant and more careful.

"It might happen here because it could happen anywhere. They could be living in Bradford, we don't know. No-one suspected they were living in Leeds. Let's hope it won't happen but I can't say 100 per cent that it wont.

"If people see anybody they think is suspicious they should report it to police and let them deal with it.

"But we should carry on with our normal lives. We can't stop everything because our lives might be in danger.

"There are very few youngsters going to mosques now but we are trying to encourage them. It is going to take time but we can achieve that."

He added: "If there is a controlling hand behind the July attacks, the next phase is likely to be marked by a determined attempt to mount attacks in cities other than London, probably against targets other than the transport infrastructure, and using methods which feature some new novelty."

Prof Clarke said the terrorists could try new methods, such as chemical contamination, although bombs were likely to remain their favoured form of attack in order to create the "maximum psychological impact".

He said: "Planting a bomb, especially a 'dirty' bomb contaminated with chemical or radiological elements, still represents the main aim of most jihadi terrorists."

He added that in introducing new counter-terrorism powers the Government needed to be careful as one of the aims of the terrorists was to provoke an "over-reaction" which would "polarise" the Muslim and non-Muslim communities.

"Nothing acts as a better recruiting sergeant for terrorism than a sense of injustice among the potential supporters of the terrorists' cause," he said.

The paper suggests the Government sets up a major public inquiry, along the lines of the 9/11 Commission in the United States, into the terrorist threat.

It calls for greater co-operation and intelligence pooling among the various agencies involved in counter-terrorism, both within the UK and abroad, and a more visible security presence on the transport infrastructure,.

The paper also questioned the Government's policy of cultivating so-called "mainstream" Muslim groups, like the Muslim Council of Britain, which had little influence over the more radical elements and at the same time had their own political agenda to pursue.

"Inflating the powers of the so-called moderates may appease a select but highly vocal group of Muslims, but is not likely to gain much leverage among extreme elements. Indeed it may even make the divisions within the Muslim communities worse," it said.

"Well-meant attempts to engage with the problem at community level have so far done little to insulate Britain from the effects of terrorism."