LONDON: The UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman has been accused of peddling extremist far-right lies about Pakistanis after she singled out British Pakistani men over concerns about grooming gangs as she accused authorities of turning a “blind eye” to signs of abuse involving young people.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman racist and bigoted generalisation of Pakistanis has been condemned widely and she has been urged to apologise to Pakistanis for putting their lives in danger and for increasing the threat of racist attacks on them after her unfounded allegations.
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 National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) also condemned the Home Secretary and expressed its shock at her hatred towards Pakistanis and for singling out Pakistanis.
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 Sky News.
Charity boss Qureshi blasted the remarks, said they were “unacceptable” and demanded an apology for the “gross misrepresentation” of the Pakistani community. “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.”
