HOME Secretary Suella Braverman has been urged to apologise after she was accused of “parroting far-right myths” about British Pakistani men in a row over “grooming gangs”.
Braverman’s language was condemned by Robina Qureshi, CEO of the refugee charity Positive Action in Housing (PAiH).
She called on the Home Secretary to apologise for her “gross misrepresentation”, describing her language around British Pakistani men as “unacceptable”.
The Tory MP blamed “political correctness” for authorities failing to tackle grooming gangs during a media round on Sunday morning.
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The UK Government is expected to set out details on Monday of a plan to tackle grooming gangs and better protect children, which will include a consultation on introducing a mandatory duty on professionals working with children to report concerns about sexual abuse.
However, on Sunday, Braverman singled out British Pakistani men over concerns about grooming gangs as she accused authorities of turning a “blind eye” to signs of abuse over fears of being labelled “racist” or “bigoted”.
The Home Secretary said that the “systematic and institutional failure to safeguard the welfare of children when it comes to sexual abuse” was one of the biggest scandals in British history.
“What’s clear is that what we’ve seen is a practice whereby vulnerable white English girls, sometimes in care, sometimes who are in challenging circumstances, being pursued and raped and drugged and harmed by gangs of British Pakistani men who’ve worked in child abuse rings or networks,” she told the Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme on Sky News.
“It’s now down to the authorities to track these perpetrators down without fear or favour relentlessly and bring them to justice.
“We’ve seen institutions and state agencies, whether it’s social workers, teachers, the police, turn a blind eye to these signs of abuse out of political correctness, out of fear of being called racists, out of fear of being called bigoted.”
Charity boss Qureshi blasted the remarks, said they were “unacceptable” and demanded an apology for the “gross misrepresentation” of the Pakistani community.
She said: "The Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, has reached a new low.
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“Her remarks are in direct contradiction to her own Department’s research, which found that most groups of child sex offenders tend to be white men under the age of 30.
“She is openly parroting far-right myths about racial groups and amplifying them into national trends.
“Her commentary is unacceptable, and I call on her to apologise for her gross misrepresentations of our communities.”
Qureshi said Braverman’s comments were “grossly offensive” to the thousands of law-abiding British Pakistanis living in the UK, and noted that newly elected First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf is of Pakistani descent.
“Yet she displays all the tact of a bull in a china shop,” Qureshi added.
“Her comments are tantamount to inciting racist violence which is a criminal offence. “Parliament must reign in this government minister who openly tells mistruths in the face of her own Department’s research.
“Sadly, this Home Secretary appears to be on a mission to cause as much offence as possible to those of immigrant stock, and to appease her far right voter base.
“Yet the irony for her is that the far right don’t want brown or black immigrants, or their children, or her, in this country or in positions of power.”
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It comes after the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse last year described sexual abuse of children as an “epidemic that leaves tens of thousands of victims in its poisonous wake”.
The seven-year inquiry into institutional failings in England and Wales concluded that people in positions of trust should be compelled by law to report child sexual abuse.
The report found that there was currently “a marked absence of a cohesive set of laws and procedures in England and in Wales that require individuals working with children to report child sexual abuse”.
The Home Office has been contacted for comment.
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