British-Pakistani Group Seeks UK PM’s Clarification On Minister’s Remark
A British-Pakistani network institution has written an open letter to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, urging him to make clear the comments of his Home Secretary Suella Braverman which, they say, stigmatised their network with regards to grooming gangs in the back of baby sexual exploitation.
The British Pakistani Foundation (BPF), which claims to symbolize 18,000 Pakistani network members, known as on Mr Sunak to invite his Cabinet minister to withdraw her “irresponsible words” as it might be perceived as normalising bigotry in opposition to the network.
Similar letters have additionally been issued via way of means of different Pakistani network companies, all calling for the Indian-beginning Cabinet minister`s remarks to be withdrawn.
In a chain of tv interviews in advance this month beforehand of the release of a brand new Grooming Gangs Taskforce, Ms Braverman stated that the perpetrators of such crimes are “companies of men, nearly all British Pakistani”.
“We are writing to you to percentage our deep situation and sadness on the Home Secretary’s current remarks and for you now no longer speakme out in opposition to them,” reads the open letter issued on Tuesday.
These remarks singled out best the involvement of British-Pakistani men in so-known as ‘grooming gangs’ and maintaining cultural values completely at odds with ‘British values’, it stated.
“Words have consequences – via way of means of stigmatising a whole network, and making it the ‘face’ of baby sexual exploitation, the Home Secretary’s comments will detract interest from perpetrators who do not meet her stereotypes, harming the very sufferers the Home Secretary ostensibly got down to shield however additionally in addition perpetrating violence in opposition to minorities,” it reads.
The letter references a record commissioned via way of means of the United Kingdom Home Office in 2020, entitled ‘The traits of institution-primarily based totally baby sexual exploitation withinside the network’, which had concluded that notwithstanding a few high-profile cases, hyperlinks among ethnicity and this shape of offending can not be proven.
It additionally references the maximum current conviction of 21 males and females of “white British ethnicity”, who had been final week determined responsible of sexually abusing younger kids in Walsall withinside the West Midlands area of England over a decade.
“The divisive and perilous manner wherein the Home Secretary is looking for to painting all British Pakistani men and insinuating that the network is complicit of their moves is reprehensible,” the BPF open letter notes.
“We, therefore, ask you to right now make clear the Home Secretary’s claims and ask her to withdraw her comments. We additionally ask on your spark off engagement with the British Pakistani network, and others, in this problem to make sure that the Home Secretary’s irresponsible words, and a central authority led via way of means of you, aren’t visible as encouraging and normalising bigotry focused at British Pakistanis,” it concludes.
Earlier this month, Mr Sunak had condemned the political correctness which avoided motion in opposition to “vile” criminals as he unveiled his new taskforce to move after grooming gangs.
“The protection of girls and women is paramount. For too long, political correctness has stopped us from hunting down vile criminals who prey on kids and younger girls. We will prevent at not anything to stamp out those risky gangs,” he stated on the time.
Led via way of means of the police and supported via way of means of the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA), Downing Street says that statistics analysts will paintings along the brand new Grooming Gangs Taskforce the usage of slicing facet statistics and intelligence to pick out the styles of criminals who perform those offences, which includes police recorded ethnicity statistics.
