The Home Secretary has taken to the Mail on Sunday and the airwaves to talk about grooming gangs and singling out criminals of British Pakistani origin
The grooming of young girls is criminal, abhorrent and goes against the tenets of our faith.
We have long spoken against those responsible, whatever their background. In 2020, the Home Office reported that the links between ethnicity and this form of offending could not be proven. It’s research found that group-based child sexual exploitation (CSE) offenders are most commonly white men under 30 years of age.
Race and religion should not be an inhibition to investigating this crime, nor should they be leveraged to pander to prejudices. The Home Secretary would do well in recognising that rather than pursue divisive language for political gain.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- For any media enquiries, contact: media@mcb.org.uk
- Find the Home Office’s policy paper Group Based Child Sexual Exploitation Characteristics of Offending (2020) here
- For MCB’s previous intervention on this issue, see here
- The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is the UK’s largest and most diverse Muslim umbrella organisation with membership spanning national, regional local organisations, mosques, charities and professional networks. It is independent, cross-sectarian and democratic with the leadership team accountable to the membership.