FGM arrests in school raid

THREE men have been arrested on suspicion of being involved in female genital mutilation (FGM) after police raided a suspected unregistered school in Birmingham.

The trio were held on Tuesday after Ofsted inspectors found a locked room with a bed and medical equipment, and called the police.

Officers seized computers and other evidence, and arrested two men aged 32 and 61. A third was held later, but all have since been released on bail.

West Midlands Police said that detectives were ‘still working to establish whether any offences have occurred’.

In 2015, a study based on 2011 census data estimated that 60,000 girls, from birth to age 14, were born in England and Wales to mothers who had undergone FGM.

The Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 carries a sentence of 14 years. Anyone running an illegal school, classed as one not registered with the Department for Education, faces a six-month sentence.