Home Secretary says home town grooming scandal felt ‘personal’
ROCHDALE-BORN SAJID Javid has spoken of how he took the town’s grooming scandal personally as it involved his hometown and men who were from a Pakistani background like him.
The Home Secretary defended the Government’s decision to strip some members of the gang of their British citizenship, insisting his job was to keep the British public safe even if it meant offenders being sent to a country where they may face fewer checks on their actions.
Mr Javid yesterday said that he was right to speak out about “sick Asian paedophiles”, and argued that ignoring their ethnicity would give a boost to extremists.
The Home Secretary was born in Rochdale, one of a series of towns where members of grooming gangs targeted young girls including Rotherham, where the National Crime Agency is currently carrying out the largest investigation into non-familial child sexual exploitation and abuse in British history.
Asked if his hometown connection meant that he took it more personally, Mr Javid told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “Sometimes I have, yes. Especially with reference to Rochdale because it is my home town, I still go there now and again because I have family there that I care deeply about. When I heard about – and there has been more than one case – grooming gangs where almost every individual involved is of Pakistani heritage... I can’t help noting the fact that Rochdale is a town that means something to me and I am also of Pakistani heritage.”
He added: “I think it would be true of anyone that if they heard about something – in this case bad – connected to a town that was something special to them, naturally that would be a thought in their mind.
“But in terms of a response, what matters is, first of all, the law enforcement response which rightly is completely independent of Ministers.”
He defended the Government’s response, after the Court of Appeal in August upheld a decision to strip three grooming gang members of their citizenship.