The former chief executive of riot-hit Ealing LBC, Darra Singh, has been appointed to head the official inquiry into last month’s disturbances across England.

Mr Singh, the current chief of Jobcentre Plus, will lead a seven-month inquiry into the rioting and looting which quickly spread from London to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and other major cities – and which ended with five people dead and hundreds of business, homes and community facilities damaged.

The worst civil disturbances across London for decades ended only when officers from the over-stretched Metropolitan Police force were supplemented by emergency relief seconded from other forces.

Communities secretary, Eric Pickles, has told The MJ that local government will play a key role in rebuilding communities after the riots, and in tackling some of the possible underlying causes of the disturbances – which commentators have variously blamed on rising unemployment rates, poor housing conditions, economic deprivation and un-tackled anti-social behaviour among youngsters.

The inquiry panel will hear from local residents, parents, businessmen and youngsters as it seeks greater insight into the events – and will consider what motivated local residents to help with the clean-up.

A senior government figure told The MJ that Mr Singh was a ‘wise, experienced and obvious choice’ to lead the inquiry, which will deliver initial findings in November, and will report in full to prime minister, David Cameron, and Labour leader, Ed Miliband, in March 2012.

Deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, said: ‘This will be a grassroots review –we want to know what happened at street level, not from afar.

‘Having worked with young people, and on housing and violence issues in a range of cities around the country, Mr Singh will be able to lead the panel and delve into this gloomy chapter of Britain’s history.’

Mr Singh will be joined on the inquiry panel by Heather Rabbatts, former chief of Merton and Lambeth LBCs – areas affected by the disturbances.

Other panel members include Simon Marcus, who runs a boxing charity in Tottenham, where the riots began on 6 August.

Maeve Sherlock, a life peer and former head of One Parent Families, completes the team.

Mr Miliband said he hoped that, beyond the final report of the inquiry, politicians would purposefully ‘tackle the complex causes of what we saw’.