Muslim groups urge Suella Braverman to withdraw ‘irresponsible and divisive’ grooming gang comments

Published

2 years ago

April 11, 2023

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Suella Braverman has been urged to withdraw “divisive” comments around child sexual exploitation (CSE) by dozens of medical bodies, businesses and Muslim community organisations, Sky News can reveal.

A number of Muslim organisations across the country have written to Rishi Sunak to express “deep concern” at what they branded “irresponsible and divisive rhetoric” from the home secretary.

Among the criticism of the home secretary is that her comments around grooming gangs, which were aired in a series of interviews last week, amounted to “inflammatory and divisive rhetoric that is sensationalist and contradicts her own department’s evidence”.

In comments that generated a heavy backlash, Ms Braverman told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme: “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.

“It’s now down to the authorities to track these perpetrators down without fear or favour relentlessly and bring them to justice.”

She also claimed Labour-run areas failed to stop child grooming gangs over fears they would be called “racist”.

In a series of joint letters to the prime minister, Muslim leaders from across the country have urged the prime minister to “separate himself” from Ms Braverman’s comments, which they called on her to withdraw.

Dr Shahid Latif, chair of the British Pakistani Psychiatrists Association who signed one of the letters, told Sky News: “What we would like immediately, we would like a withdrawal of this statement.

“There is no other way about this, and the PM needs to come out and separate himself from these comments, he must realise these comments cause nothing but division.

“Muslims in this country are just coming out from being synonymised with terrorism. This is actually going back to square one and starting all over again, so when people think about child sexual exploitation, the first thing they link to that is British Pakistanis.”

The Muslim Women’s network, which has worked with Asian victims of Child sexual exploitation, said Ms Braverman’s “approach…of demonising an entire community and lending credibility to far-right narratives undermines the need to ensure all victims of CSE are protected and all perpetrators are bought to justice”, while community organisations across England, Wales and Scotland labelled it “an act of collective punishment for the reprehensible acts of a few”.

Medical professionals with frontline experience of working with victims also raised alarm bells about the home secretary’s approach, saying “it enables these heinous crimes to continue by focusing on political exhibitionism instead of implementing impactful action that is evidence-based”.

A Home Office-commissioned study in 2020 found that group-based child sexual exploitation offenders are most commonly white.

Ms Braverman’s comments came as the government unveiled a raft of measures aimed at tackling child sexual abuse.

It said legislation will make being the leader of, or involved in, a grooming gang, a statutory aggravating factor during sentencing, which would allow judges to hand down tougher punishments.

Meanwhile, people working with children in England will have a new legal duty to report knowledge or suspicions of child sex abuse.

Ms Braverman has been defended by Mr Sunak, who said inquiries into grooming gang incidents in Rochdale, Rotherham and Telford showed that victims were ignored often because people did not want to be “culturally insensitive” or because of political correctness.

Ahead of launching a taskforce of specialist officers, Mr Sunak said: “For too long, political correctness has stopped us from weeding out vile criminals who prey on children and young women.

A Home Office spokesperson told Sky News: “The home secretary has been clear that all despicable child abusers must be brought to justice. And she will not shy away from telling hard truths, particularly when it comes to the grooming of young women and girls in Britain’s towns who have been failed by authorities over decades.

“As the home secretary has said, the vast majority of British-Pakistanis are law-abiding, upstanding citizens but independent reports were unequivocal that in towns like Rochdale, Rotherham and Telford cultural sensitivities have meant thousands of young girls were abused under the noses of councils and police.

“That’s why we have announced a raft of measures, including a new police taskforce and mandatory reporting, to ensure this horrific scandal can never happen again, and bring members of grooming gangs to justice for the victims.”

UK

Harshita Brella: International manhunt under way for husband after woman’s body found in car boot

Published

5 hours ago

November 17, 2024

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Harshita Brella: International manhunt under way for husband after woman's body found in car boot

An international manhunt is under way for the husband of a murdered woman, whose body was found in the boot of a car.

The body of Harshita Brella was found in east London on Thursday, tens of miles away from her home in Corby.

On Sunday, Northamptonshire Police said they were looking for Pankaj Lamba – who they believe has left the country.

Sky News understands she had been under the protection of a court order designed for victims of domestic abuse.

“Our inquiries lead us to suspect that Harshita was murdered in Northamptonshire earlier this month by her husband Pankaj Lamba,” said chief inspector Paul Cash.

“We suspect Lamba transported Harshita’s body from Northamptonshire to Ilford by car.”

“Fast track” enquires were made after the force was contacted on Wednesday by someone concerned about Ms Brella’s welfare. After she failed to answer the door at her home in Skegness Walk, Corby, a missing person investigation was launched.

Her body was found inside the boot of a vehicle on Brisbane Road, Ilford, in the early hours of Thursday morning.

A post mortem – conducted at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday – established she had been murdered.

More than 60 detectives are working on the case, with lines of enquiry including going house to house and property searches, as well as looking at CCTV and ANPR.

“We are of course continuing to appeal for any information that will help us piece together exactly what happened as we work to get justice for Harshita,” said chief inspector Cash.

“I urge anyone listening to or reading this statement, that if you saw anything suspicious in the past week or have any information, no matter how small, please contact us. We would always rather receive well-meaning information that turns out to be nothing as opposed to not receiving it all.”

Force referred to police watchdog

On Saturday, Northamptonshire Police said it had made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct due to previous contact between the force and the victim.

Northamptonshire Police previously said officers had been conducting investigations at three locations: Skegness Walk and Sturton Walk in Corby and Brisbane Road, Ilford, where Ms Brella’s body was found.

East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit (EMSOU) and Northamptonshire Police said they were working “around the clock to establish the circumstances behind her death, including the exact location and timeframe in which it took place”.

UK

King Richard III given Yorkshire accent using state-of-the-art technology

Published

5 hours ago

November 17, 2024

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King Richard III given Yorkshire accent using state-of-the-art technology

State-of-the-art technology has been used to create a voice for King Richard III – giving him a Yorkshire accent.

A digital avatar of the medieval king’s head went on display in front of excited history fans at York Theatre Royal.

Richard III was king of England from 1483 until his death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, at the age of 32.

His remains were found in a car park in Leicester in 2012 by historian Philippa Langley.

Speaking about the recreation, she said: “We’ve got leading experts in their fields who have been working on this for 10 years and so everything has been meticulously researched, meticulously evidenced, so you are seeing the most accurate portrayal of Richard III”.

A team based at Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University created the avatar based on the reconstruction of Richard III’s head with the help of a craniofacial expert.

Experts from various fields helped put the pieces of the puzzle together, including speech and language therapy, dentistry, forensic psychology and archaeology.

His voice has been created by Professor David Crystal, a leading linguist in 15th-century pronunciation. He admitted that it’s impossible to know exactly how he spoke, but this is as close as they will get.

The king was born in Northampton but spent a lot of his life in Yorkshire. His parents were also from the north of England.

Vocal coach Yvonne Morley-Chisholm spent a decade researching how the monarch would have sounded. She worked with the actor Thomas Dennis who was chosen as his body and face were such a good physical match.

Speaking to Sky News, she said people will be shocked at how different he sounded compared with traditional portrayals of the king on stage and screen.

The coach and actor also examined the king’s letters and diary so that “as you pronounced a word that’s how you would write it”.

The voice shows the change in pronunciation over the centuries – from regional variations to the Queen’s English.

History fans at the unveiling were delighted with the accent, with one telling Sky News: “Northerners are known to be happy, positive, all those lovely qualities.”

Born in Northampton but a northerner through and through, technology has brought the king’s speech back to life

UK

South Yorkshire Police warning after 13 dangerous dog reports in 48 hours

Published

5 hours ago

November 17, 2024

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South Yorkshire Police warning after 13 dangerous dog reports in 48 hours

South Yorkshire Police have warned pet owners to “step up before someone dies” after receiving 13 reports of dangerous dogs in less than 48 hours.

One man was attacked by his own American bulldog in Sheffield on Thursday afternoon, the force said, when he attempted to separate it and a pocket bully inside a property.

The owner suffered lacerations to his face, neck and head, and was taken to hospital, while his dog was seized and remains in police kennels.

Warning: Distressing images below

Another incident saw a woman walking home with her baby in a carrier on her chest, when she was approached by a loose XL bully who began to show aggression and jump up to her baby.

An elderly woman and her grandchild were attacked by another loose dog in Sheffield.

“As dogs causing harm and fear in our communities continues to place significant demand on our force, we’re urging owners to step up, before someone dies,” South Yorkshire Police said in a statement.

The warning comes after 10-year-old Savannah Bentham was killed at her family’s home in North Yorkshire by their dog on 1 November.

Chief Inspector Emma Cheney, leading the work on dangerous dogs across South Yorkshire, said: “Recently we have sadly seen another fatal incident in the UK of a dog causing death.

“People think it won’t happen to them, that their dog won’t cause harm, but it can happen to anyone. Any dog can cause fear and harm and owners who do not step up and prevent harm to our communities will not be tolerated.

“You are responsible for your dog’s actions, and we continue to put people before the courts.

“We only have a limited number of resources, attending dangerous dog incidents takes officers away from other calls. If every owner steps up and makes small changes, we can make a difference.”