The press regulator Ipso, has ruled that the Home Secretary
Suella Braverman, misled people when she falsely claimed that child grooming
gangs in the UK were "almost all
British-Pakistanis." Ipso said that what Braverman had claimed had
contradicted data from her own Home Office department. Although a number of
high-profile child grooming gangs have involved British-Pakistanis, research
published by the Home Office in 2020, showed that offenders are "most commonly white" and come from
diverse backgrounds.
The Mail on Sunday who published Braverman's "significantly misleading" comments,
said they had double checked Braverman's decision to single out
'British-Pakistanis' with advisers to the Home Secretary and the prime
minister, Rishi Sunak, who confirmed they had 'no concerns with this particular line" and were happy for it
to be published.
This is not the first time that politicians have used racism
to further their own political agendas and to mislead the public. Both
Braverman and her predecessor at the Home Office, Priti Patel, have claimed
that most migrants who cross the English Channel in small boats are economic
migrants and not genuine asylum seekers. In 2021, Patel told parliament, "70% of individuals on small boats are single
men who are effectively economic migrants." In December 2022,
Braverman backed the assertion, saying: "There is considerable evidence that people are coming here as economic
migrants, illegally."
When the Home Office was asked to confirm what Patel and
Braverman had said in March 2023, they were unable to do so, stating that they
did not hold "the information
requested." However, Home Office data does confirm that of those
people who reached the UK by small boat in 2022, some 60% would've been
recognised as refugees. In the year to June 2023, some 70% of asylum claims
made by people wishing to enter the UK, were successful.
Politicians like Cruella Braverman, need to be reminded of
what the 18th century satirist Jonathan Swift said: "where falsehood flies, truth comes limping after it."
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1 comment:
I`ve just read your article on Ms. Braverman and again you hit the bullseye . I understand that various Conservative MPs also complained to the party whip about her comments . There are undoubtedly people travelling from eastern Europe to the UK for reasons other than fleeing persecution /abuse , or because their lives are in danger , but to promote the idea that most immigrants are doing that is ridiculous .
It would have been difficult , if not impossible, to imagine a worse Home Secretary than Priti Patel , but we have one . I remember years thinking the same thing about George Bush Jr , and then along came Trump ! Never underestimate the shittiness of politicians .
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