The controversial activist Tommy Robinson has been suspended from Twitter for quoting research which found that nearly 90 per cent of convicted grooming gang members in the UK are Muslim.

Mr. Robinson was suspended from the social media platform for 7 days for stating the findings of the Quilliam Foundation think tank, whose founder worked as an adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron on issues around Islam.

“90% of grooming gang convictions are Muslims,” Mr. Robinson wrote in a tweet on February 25th, rounding up the number identified by the Quilliam research, which found that 84 per cent of convicted groomers were Muslim in December last year.

Twitter decided the statement of fact “violated the Twitter rules” and “temporarily limited some of your account features”, which included tweeting publicly on the website – effectively censoring him for a week.

Former government adviser Maajid Nawaz responded by messaging Twitter directly, informing them Mr. Robinson had stated a fact rather than saying anything defamatory, hateful, or untrue.

Tommy& I argue lots, but here he’s quoting a FACT. @TwitterSupport are confused. Type 2 (individuals sexually attracted to children) are 85% white (+majority UK pop. is white). Type 1 (gangs targeting girls) are 84% Muslim compared to just 7% of population https://t.co/opZTrHItRw https://t.co/FQuDcA7xQK — Maajid (@MaajidNawaz) February 28, 2018

“Tommy [and] I argue lots, but here he’s quoting a FACT. @TwitterSupport are confused,” he said, before explaining the difference between grooming gang attackers and other types of paedophiles – who are mainly white because the UK is majority white.

He added: “Type 2 (individuals sexually attracted to children) are 85% white (+majority UK pop. is white). Type 1 (gangs targeting girls) are 84% Muslim compared to just 7% of [the] population.”

The data he quotes reveals the fact that Muslims are dramatically over-represented in grooming and rape gangs – a fact that some people perceive as offensive and even hateful.

Quilliam’s report explores “why this demographic features so prominently in this specific crime”.

It also “recognises there to be a disproportionate representation of males with (South) ‘Asian’ heritage who have been convicted in such cases… Most of these men are of Pakistani (Muslim) origin, and the majority of their victims are young, white girls.”

Twitter once advertised itself as a platform for free speech, but has become increasingly political and censorious, taking blue ‘verification ticks’ away from right-wing users and frequently banning and suspending people for sharing views the firm disagrees with – including Breitbart London Editor in Chief Raheem Kassam.