Sajid Javid orders probe into ethnic origin of sexual grooming gangs

Sajid Javid has ordered an investigations into why members of sexual grooming gangs are disproportionately from a Pakistani background.



The Home Secretary said looking into the "particular characteristics" of culprits was "critical" to fighting offending such as that in Rotherham, Telford and Newcastle.

Mr Javid made the commitment in a letter to Sarah Champion, the Labour MP for Rotherham, who was last year roundly criticised for claiming the UK "has a problem with British Pakistani men raping and exploiting white girls".

"MPs should be able to do their job without being threatened or intimidated in any way. Sarah Champion has my full support,” he said.

It emerged yesterday that Ms Champion has increased her security around after she received death threats.

Mr Javid's letter comes after a cross-party working group of MPs wrote to him in May, saying they were "alarmed by the similarities in cases across the country", with the call for research into "common patterns of behaviour".

In his letter, the Home Secretary said the Government "attaches the highest priority to tackling child sexual exploitation".

"My officials have been working with investigating officers in relevant cases, and with the national crime agency, to establish the particular characteristics and contexts associated with this type of offending," he wrote.

Mr Javid added that understanding more about gang networks would “support a more targeted response by the police and other agencies”.

“If there is a need for further research, we will take it forward,” he continued.

A Home Office spokesman said: “If evidence suggests that there are cultural factors that may be driving certain types of offending, we are fully committed to addressing these.”