Pakistani community leaders in Rotherham were complicit in hushing up the shocking ‘ethnic’ dimensions of the sexual exploitation rather than speaking out, it was claimed yesterday.



Parveen Qureshi, director of the United Multicultural Centre in Rotherham, revealed the shocking issue was widely discussed between leaders who were privately ‘trying to resolve the problem’.



She refused to name those who kept quiet, but was certain the problem of Asian men abusing white girls was known ‘for a long time’.



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Scandal: A Pakistani community worker claims Muslim leaders were aware of the abuse scandal in Rotherham

‘Whispering was going on in the community,’ she said.



Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield, she said: ‘It was discussed, a discussion was going on in the community with community leaders and organisations and other agencies who were aware of what was happening and were trying to resolve the problem.’



No councillors or religious leaders from the Pakistani Muslim community have spoken in the media since the report’s publication on Tuesday.



Mrs Qureshi works daily at the centre for the significant Pakistani community in the South Yorkshire town.



Commenting on local knowledge about horrific cases of young girls being exploited by sexual predators, she said: ‘It was not started overnight it was going on for a long time.



‘It was always discussed in the community.’



Ms Qureshi later appeared to backtrack on her statement, claiming she intended to say the report revealed senior council workers evidently knew about the scandal.

Parveen Qureshi, head of the United Multicultural Centre, said the scandal was widely discussed within the Asian community

Some 3 per cent of the town’s population is of Pakistani or Kashmiri ethnicity and Mrs Qureshi said it was vital to ‘raise awareness’ with families.

The abuse of at least 1,400 girls at the hands of Pakistani gangs in the South Yorkshire town for 16 years was shrouded in secrecy.



Yesterday Lord Ahmed, who has lived in Rotherham for most of his life, said it was now up to the ‘mosques and community leaders’ to teach ‘moral and ethical values’ lost to the younger generation.



HOW ROTHERHAM COUNCIL TRIED TO KEEP THE PUBLIC IN THE DARK

Bosses at Rotherham Council have tried time and again to stop information about sexual abuse becoming public.

After one report was passed to the media in 2012, senior executives ordered that ‘document control’ be tightened as they sought to find the leak.

The council also considered taking out an injunction against a newspaper, minutes reveal.

And Joyce Thacker, head of children’s services at the council, was reluctant to disclose reports about the abuse when called before the Home Affairs Select Committee last year.

She only agreed after chairman Keith Vaz insisted his committee had ‘the power to call for papers’.

Even former Education Secretary Michael Gove reprimanded the authority in 2012 for ‘unnecessarily’ redacting a review.

Lord Ahmed, a member of the House of Lords who was Rotherham’s first Asian councillor, said yesterday: ‘I am deeply shocked by these heinous despicable crimes committed by young Pakistani men.



‘I do think that there’s a huge amount of responsibility that lies on the shoulders of the mosques and the community leaders because they are responsible for teaching ethical values and respect.



‘I came to Rotherham in 1969 when the first mosque was opened and we were taught moral and ethical values and mixed with the community.



‘If someone had a call from the police, people would be embarrassed and ashamed.’



He said he was now ‘worried for Rotherham’ in the wake of the child abuse scandal.



He added: ‘The majority of British Pakistani men are stuck between criminals involved in these problems and a few hundred that are involved with other issues like terrorism or other criminal activity.’



His comments come amid calls for senior council workers in charge between 1997 and 2013 to resign from their current posts both at Rotherham and elsewhere.

The shameless buck-passing between council chiefs continued today even as detectives were urged to finally hunt down the child rapists who they allowed to escape justice for 16 years.

Among the officials shrugging off responsibility was police and crime commissioner Shaun Wright, who stubbornly defied demands for his resignation from the Home Secretary.

Report: Professor Jay's report revealed 1,400 girls had been abused by mainly Pakistani gangs for 16 years

Under pressure: Shaun Wright (left) and Joyce Thacker (right) are facing calls to step down over the scandal

Even his deputy Tracey Cheetham has now resigned - and urged her boss to do the same.

Ms Cheetham said she said she felt 'unable to continue' in the role and added: 'It is vital for people to have confidence in the office of police and crime commissioner and, with this in mind, I believe it would have been the right thing for Shaun Wright to resign.'

It came as Education Secretary Nicky Morgan also announced that Ofsted would carry out an early inspection of child protection services in Rotherham.

Prime Minister David Cameron is among those calling for Mr Wright to quit, describing the report into 16 years of widespread child abuse in the Yorkshire town as 'deeply shocking'.

He said: 'I think the Home Secretary [Theresa May] was right yesterday to say, having looked at the report, the fact that the police commissioner was at the time head of children's services, that the right decision would be to resign and take full responsibility for what happened.'