The former head of Barnardo's has said that grooming of teenage girls for sex in the north of England appears to be "overwhelmingly" carried out by men of Pakistani and Afghan origin and urged and investigation into the issue.
Martin Narey's comments came as nine men – one from Afghanistan and the rest of Pakistani backgrounds – await sentencing for being part of a child exploitation gang that passed vulnerable girls around a group of men for sex in the Heywood area of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, in 2008 and 2009.
He said he was not stigmatising the Asian community as a whole, noting that during his time managing the prison service – prior to joining Barnardo's – sex offenders were "overwhelmingly white", but the Labour MP Keith Vaz warned that the BNP was setting the agenda.
Narey told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "For this particular type of crime, the street grooming of teenage girls in northern towns … there is very troubling evidence that Asians are overwhelmingly represented in the prosecutions for such offences."
The former Barnardo's chief executive said he did not know the reason for their "overrepresentation" and rejected the idea they were specifically targeting white girls. He suggested that vulnerable girls on the streets were more likely to be white, while Asian girls subjected to strict parenting were more likely to be at home and so less prone to fall victim to such crimes. He added: "I'm not saying this is just Asian or Pakistani men… [but] street trafficking in the north does appear be overwhelmingly about Pakistani and Afghan men." » | Haroon Siddique | Wednesday, May 09, 2012
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Rochdale grooming trial: Police accused of failing to investigate paedophile gang for fear of appearing racist – Police and social workers were last night accused of failing to investigate an Asian paedophile gang for fear of being perceived as racist, allowing them to prey on up to 50 young white girls. » | Nigel Bunyan | Tuesday, May 08, 2012
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