Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effect on community relations with citizens of Asian origin of crime reporting referring to "the Asian community" without further specifying the group concerned.

No such assessment has been made.

As a broader observation, it is important to recognise that the recent horrific sexual grooming crimes in Rochdale and Rotherham were committed by a small minority of men drawn from a British Pakistani background, whilst in Bristol most recently the convictions were of men drawn from a Somali background. I welcome both communities strongly condemning these vile acts, as it tarnishes their reputation. However, such criminal acts were compounded by a failure of public authorities to take action because of institutionalised political correctness.

We need to tackle this head on – acknowledging that there is a criminal element in some communities; that there is a sexist mindset that allowed these men to prey on vulnerable women of all backgrounds; and that the authorities shied away from tackling such crimes.

If we fail to do so, it will merely help extremists hijack and exploit the issue for their own ends, undermining our strong community relations, whilst they seek to spread divisions and mistrust.