UK MP links organised child sexual exploitation to men of Pakistani heritage

A private probe by Rupert Lowe’s office finds a higher number of Pakistani men involved in street-based grooming

British MP Rupert Lowe. Photo: Reuters

A speech by British MP Rupert Lowe has renewed debate in the United Kingdom over organised child sexual exploitation networks after he highlighted survivor testimonies and cited findings that many perpetrators were men of Pakistani heritage.

Speaking in parliament, the independent MP read accounts from women who said they had been abused as children by organised grooming gangs over a number of years, reports NDTV.

He urged lawmakers to take stronger action and accused authorities of failing victims.

The issue has remained contentious in Britain since a series of investigations uncovered child sexual exploitation scandals in towns including Rotherham, Rochdale, Oxford, and Telford.

Lowe said a private inquiry he led last year identified gang-based child sexual exploitation in at least 85 areas across the UK.

According to a statement released by his office, the inquiry found recurring patterns involving groups of men of Pakistani heritage and alleged failures by public bodies to intervene, NDTV said.

The review found that perpetrators involved in group-based child sexual exploitation came from a range of ethnic backgrounds, but said available evidence indicated a disproportionate number of suspects in some high-profile cases were men of Pakistani heritage, particularly among groups involved in street-based grooming.

The debate has been fuelled by allegations that authorities were slow to respond to reports of abuse because of concerns about community relations and accusations of racism, read the NDTV report.

The issue first drew national attention following investigations in Rotherham, where an independent inquiry found that more than 1,400 children were sexually exploited between 1997 and 2013.

Similar cases later emerged in several other British towns and cities, leading to hundreds of arrests and convictions.

The Child Sexual Exploitation Taskforce, established in 2023, reported more than 115,000 child sexual offence cases in the UK in 2023.

Of those, 4,228, or 3.7 percent, were classified as group-based offences.

The task force said it arrested more than 550 suspects during its first year.