David Lammy criticized the focus on ethnicity in grooming gang cases, arguing it fuels far-right sentiments and risks violence against minorities.
Huddersfield: So, David Lammy recently made some waves by saying that calling out the ethnicity of grooming gangs just plays into the hands of the far-right. He said this after Sajid Javid, the former home secretary, praised the sentencing of a group of Asian men for serious crimes back in 2018.
These guys were from Huddersfield and were mostly of Pakistani descent. They were convicted of some really awful stuff, including raping girls as young as 11. It’s heartbreaking to think about the impact on those young victims, some of whom even tried to take their own lives.
After the trials wrapped up, Sajid Javid made a statement saying these “sick Asian paedophiles” were finally facing justice. He really wanted to highlight the bravery of the victims, saying they had been ignored for too long.
But Lammy wasn’t having it. He called out Javid for bringing disrepute to his office by singling out “Asians.” He argued that this kind of talk only stirs up more violence against minorities in the UK.
Javid, who has Pakistani roots himself, later expressed anger over how some members of the grooming gangs had “disgraced our heritage.” He even pushed for research into why so many grooming offenders were of Pakistani descent, suggesting there might be some cultural factors at play.
Lammy took to social media to criticize Javid further, saying he only plays to the hard-right crowd for his own political gain. He pointed out that when historic abuse was uncovered in other areas, Javid didn’t call it a disgrace to British culture.
In a radio interview, Javid insisted it was important to acknowledge the ethnicity of the abusers, claiming it was obvious that many recent offenders had Pakistani backgrounds. Lammy responded by saying that such xenophobic language could lead to real-world violence.
One of the gang leaders, Amere Singh Dhaliwal, got a life sentence for his role in these crimes. The court described his treatment of the girls as “inhuman,” and it was shocking to hear how they were treated like objects.
Things got even messier when far-right activist Tommy Robinson tried to film outside the court during the trials, which led to his arrest. He ended up serving time for contempt of court.
Recently, there’s been a renewed outcry over the grooming gangs scandal, especially after some graphic details about the abuse went viral. Even Elon Musk weighed in, criticizing the Labour Government for not launching a new inquiry into past child abuse cases.
Despite the calls for a fresh investigation, Labour leader Keir Starmer confirmed there wouldn’t be one. Instead, the Government announced tougher prison sentences for child groomers and new rules for mandatory reporting of abuse.
These changes are part of recommendations made by Alexis Jay, who led a national inquiry into child sexual abuse. It’s a tough situation, and it seems like there’s still a long way to go in addressing these issues.
A spokesperson for Lammy was reached out to for comments, but it’s clear this topic is far from settled.
