Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman were on assignment in the north of England. Credit: Phil Noble/Getty Images
Rishi Sunak and Swella Braverman were embroiled in a row with Labor on Monday over their focus on the role of British Asians in courting gangs.
Premier the minister promised that victims of child sexual exploitation would no longer be «ignored» due to cultural sensitivities. and political correctness.
This followed comments from the Home Secretary in which she cited scandals, including those in Rotherham and Rochdale, as evidence that the grooming gangs included groups of mostly Pakistani men.
Number 10 stressed that the government will take an «evidence-based» approach to address «all aspects» when Ms Braverman's comments singling out British Pakistani men are contested.
While previous Home Office research has not shown Asian gangs are more likely to groom themselves, Mr. Sunak said that is why it is critical to collect ethnic data to help police in their investigations.
Clearing the Problem< p>However, Sir Keir Starmer warned that focusing on ethnicity could hinder efforts to combat full-scale grooming and sexual harassment.
Asked if the government is engaging in a dog whistle policy, the Labor leader said: «I think the government needs to be clear on the scope of the problem.
«Ethnicity is no reason not to lose heart, yes and shouldn't be. So the government is right about that. But, on the other hand, the government must recognize that this is a small part of the things we do.”
He added: “If you look at the total figure, then you know a relatively small element of it. This is not to say that it can't be done, don't get me wrong, but if we don't have the full picture, we won't have the proper answer.
«I want a government that recognizes that a full answer is needed here» .
Mr Sunak and Ms Braverman have been vying with Labor to make their crime-fighting claims ahead of next month's local elections.
They traveled to the north of England to announce new anti-gang measures. including a special team of officers, harsher sentences, mandatory reporting of child abuse by adults working with children, and the collection of ethnic data to assist in police investigations.
Asking whether attention to British- Asian childcare gangs, Mr. Sunak said, “All forms of child sexual exploitation by anyone are horrendous and wrongful, but on the specific issue of childcare gangs, we have had several independent investigations. incidents here in Rochdale, Rotherham and Telford.
“What is clear is that when victims and other whistleblowers put forward their complaints, their complaints were often ignored by social workers, local politicians or even the police. The reason they were ignored was because of cultural sensitivities and political correctness. This is wrong.”
He said the new measures “would go a long way in helping us root out the evils of grooming gangs.”
“Predominance of certain groups”
Over the weekend, Ms Braverman cited cases, including those in Rotherham and Rochdale, as evidence that grooming gangs included groups of mostly Pakistani men.
She pointed to «the predominance of certain ethnic groups — and I'm talking about British Pakistani men — who hold cultural values that are completely at odds with British values, who treat women in a degrading and illegal way, and who have an outdated and downright despicable approach in terms of how they behave.
< p>Her language has been criticized by some campaigners, with the NSPCC stressing that only accounting for race can create new blind spots.
After allegations of dog whistle politics, Ms Braverman said on Monday that «telling the truth not racist» about courtship gangs.
She told GB News: «It's important not to demonize the whole community and the vast majority of British Pakistanis are law abiding and straightforward people, but it's also clear that in these cities … there were cultural trends in practices that we saw and authorities and professionals turned a blind eye from fear of being labeled racist.”
No. 10 defended her remarks, but stressed the lack of evidence linking child exploitation to ethnicity. A spokesman for Mr Sunak told reporters: “She said some of these gangs are mostly British Pakistanis. I believe that this is true.”
He said that a previous report commissioned by the Home Office found that «it is not possible to draw a conclusion, in fact, to draw conclusions about the characteristics due to lack of data.»
«So we want to apply the approach based on evidence and better use the data collected since April 2022 to help the police in their task.»
A 2020 study found that the majority of gang sex offenders were men under the age of 30 , and most of them were white, while adding that there was insufficient evidence that grooming gang members were more likely to be Asian or black than those of other ethnicities.
In response to concerns that undue attention to race may lead to an inadequate response to gangs, the official said: “The Prime Minister's view is that we should not shy away from discussing any issues wherever they arise. But these data will help substantiate this approach.”
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