Jeremy Corbyn has forced one of his senior ministers to resign after she claimed that some Pakistani men groom and rape young white girls, it has emerged.

Sarah Champion, the Labour MP for Rotherham and former shadow secretary of state for women and equalities, was asked to resign after writing an article in The Sun newspaper warning that more must be done to stop gangs of Pakistani men targeting young girls for sex.

Issuing a desperate plea she called on the Government to investigate why so many men who share the same cultural background are behind bars for abusing young girls.

But following the Labour leader's demand Ms Champion stepped down from Mr Corbyn's top team.

A source close to Mr Corbyn confirmed he requested she leave his top team, adding that it was not appropriate for Ms Champion to have suggested that Pakistani men are largely responsible for the grooming and rape of young white girls.

Ms Champion apologised for her "extremely poor choice of words" and said she was concerned that continuing in her shadow cabinet role would distract from the "crucial issues" around child protection.

But a source close to the MP said her words had been stripped of "nuance" in the article.