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A Birmingham MP has sparked outrage by likening the organised sex attacks in Cologne to the situation in her city every week.

Yardley MP Jess Phillips caused shockwaves during BBC’s Question Time on Thursday night when she compared the situation on Broad Street to the mass New Year’s Eve assaults in the German city.

More than 800 women claimed they were attacked or robbed by mobs, with the majority of suspects of North African origin.

Mrs Phillips said: “There is violence against women and girls that you are describing, a very similar situation to what happened in Cologne could be described on Broad Street in Birmingham every week where women are baited and heckled.”

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Jess Phillips on BBC's Question Time

She added: “We have to attack what we perceive as being patriarchal culture coming into any culture that isn’t patriarchal and making sure we tell people not to be like that.

“But we should be careful in this country before we rest on our laurels when two women are murdered every week.”

Last October, Mrs Phillips was targeted by vile rape threats after she spoke out against the idea of MPs debating International Men's Day.

Her Question Time comment brought a swift Twitter response from top city centre cop Insp Gareth Morris who stressed the city centre is a “safe, positive and vibrant place”.

He tweeted: “There is certainly nothing to suggest any crime patterns or trends related to immigration and I would invite anyone to come and enjoy a night out in Birmingham and experience what the city has to offer.”

Mrs Phillips, elected last May, said on the same programme that Britain should take as many refugees as possible - and accept 3,000 children.

But her Cologne comment brought an angry response from viewers.

Birmingham engineer Simon Caswell tweeted: “Shocking statement from Jess Phillips...hurts as a Brummie.”

In his detailed response, Insp Morris addded: “Like any city centre, we, of course, experience issues associated with the night time economy, but my team has worked hard on the policing style in recent years, together with business representatives and other partners, to achieve some great results, the biggest being the reduction in violent crime fulled by alcohol.

“We regularly have help at hand for revellers in the form of high-visibility policing and street triage teams, together with the ambulance service and third sector.”