Latest news with #PakistaniCommunity
The Independent
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Grooming gangs report author says word ‘Pakistani' was ‘tippexed out' of a child's file
The author of a damning report into grooming gangs has revealed she found the word 'Pakistani' 'tippexed out' in archive files about child victims. Louise Casey, whose national audit on grooming gangs was published on Monday, said 'do-gooders' had covered up information on race and ethnicity believing that otherwise 'all the racists are going to be more racist'. Speaking to Sky News after the publication of her report, she said: 'I was following through on a children's file in archive and found the word 'Pakistani' tippexed out. 'I thought whoever did that inadvertently was giving ammunition to the English Defence League that were every week, in and out, campaigning and doing their stuff in that town. "I think the problem is that people are worried about being called racist.... if good people don't grasp difficult things, bad people will, and that's why we have to do it as a society." She said not collecting more data on the ethnicity of grooming gangs does a "disservice" to the British Pakistani community and could leave them at risk, saying it was only helping perpetrators not to bring a fuller picture to light. Baroness Casey's highly critical report called for tougher prosecution of men who have sex with under-16s to ensure their charges are never downgraded from rape. And she said the UK 'failed in its duty' to properly understand this kind of group offending as she hit out at an 'appalling' lack of data over offenders' ethnicities. 'If we'd got this right years ago – seeing these girls as children raped rather than 'wayward teenagers' or collaborators in their abuse, collecting ethnicity data, and acknowledging as a system that we did not do a good enough job – then I doubt we'd be in this place now,' she wrote. Yvette Cooper accepted and vowed to immediately act on the 12 recommendations in Baroness Casey's report, including holding a time-limited national inquiry and mandatory collection of data on the nationality and ethnicity of perpetrators. The home secretary described Baroness Casey's findings as 'damning', adding: 'She has found continued failure to gather proper robust national data despite concerns being raised going back very many years. 'In the local data that the audit examined from three police forces, they identify clear evidence of overrepresentation among suspects of Asian and Pakistani heritage men, and she refers to examples of organisations avoiding the topic altogether for fear of appearing racist or raising community tensions.' The national inquiry into grooming gangs will aim to tackle 'continued denial, resistance and legal wrangling', she added. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the probe 'must start with known hot spots' such as Bradford and Rochdale as she hit out at the prime minister for 'dithering and delay'.
Sky News
25-05-2025
- Sky News
Teenage girl remains in critical condition following deadly house fire
A 13-year-old girl remains in critical condition in hospital while a 71-year-old woman has been discharged following a deadly house fire in northwest London. A 43-year-old mother and three of her children - a 15-year-old girl, and two boys aged eight and four - died at the scene of the fire, which gutted two homes in Stonebridge, near Wembley, in the early hours of Saturday. A 41-year-old man was arrested at the scene and remains in custody. Neighbours said the family are of Pakistani origin and had lived in the area for a long time. Brent councillor Tariq Dar MBE named Usman Ghani, known as Ozzy, as the man who lost his wife and three children in the tragic fire and asked the community to keep the family in their "heartfelt duas (prayers) during this incredibly difficult time". He wrote on Facebook: "It is with profound sadness that we share the heartbreaking news of the passing of the wife and three beloved children - a daughter and two young sons - of brother Usman Ghani in a tragic house fire in Wembley." Flowers and a blue teddy bear have been left near the scene, where crews wearing helmets and respiratory equipment were seen building scaffolding against the burnt-out buildings. Neighbour Cecilia Marquis, 60, said she was "stunned by the devastation". "This will leave a devastating impact," Ms Marquis, who witnessed the fire, said. Witness Mohamed Labidi, 38, said he "can't even look at the house right now". "We used to socialise together. "They're very good people, no problems on their side at all. It's really shocking. It's a really strong community here, we look after each other." A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: "It's horrible, we saw people running outside. "It's hard to process. I only just moved in, so it's hard to think about it." Eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters responded to the blaze, London Fire Brigade (LFB) said. Two terrace houses, each with three floors, were severely damaged in the fire, which was under control by around 3.25am, the fire service added. Superintendent Steve Allen, from the Met's local policing team in northwest London, said: "My thoughts and the thoughts of all the emergency services are with the four people who died in the fire, as well as the two people who were taking to hospital. "Detectives from the Metropolitan Police are leading the investigation, and we are working closely with the London Fire Brigade to establish the cause of the fire." He added: "We remain in the early stages of our investigation, however, one man was arrested outside the house. He remains in custody and is being questioned by officers." "I remain in close contact with the London Fire Brigade and Metropolitan Police as they work to establish the cause of the fire and offer support to all those impacted."
BBC News
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Black Country actor aims to inspire South Asian community
A 19-year-old who landed his dream role in the TV series Man Like Mobeen says he is "proud" to help break down barriers for South Asian Zafar, from the Black Country, plays the character Moped in the BBC comedy's fifth and final did his audition on a Zoom call from his bedroom and said landing the part took him "one step closer to the dream I had when I was eight years old".Mr Zafar said he believed the success of programmes like Citizen Khan, Man Like Mobeen, Virdee and Ackley Bridge showed there was a growing appetite for South Asian television series. He believes it is important for series like these to break down barriers."I'm from the Pakistani community, so acting is very looked down upon in my community of South Asian people," he said."It's a cultural hangover, where doctors and lawyers are seen to be proper jobs." Man Like Mobeen, which was filmed in Birmingham and Coventry, has been described as a launch pad for young acting Zafar said he had been "chilling out" at home after finishing at his acting BTEC Halesowen College when he saw the invitation on Instagram to a casting call in Birmingham and thought to himself, "why not".He said his college course had prepared him well for auditions and added: "You're quite confident in yourself when you're doing them regularly."Appearing on set was a different matter though and he admitted to feeling a bit starstruck when he first met the star of Man Like Mobeen, Guz Khan."A few years back I was just watching the show with my friends," he said."It was just seeing someone you only see on screen in real life." Mr Zafar has recently filmed a small part in the upcoming film I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning and said his preference would be to do more television and film he said: "If I just get to perform and I like the role and I like the script, I'll do it."He also said he hoped his story could encourage others from his community to take up acting."If I can inspire anyone to just follow what they want to do when they dream, honestly that would be the best feeling on earth," he said. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
