Straw sorry over 'offence' caused by grooming comments (From Asian Image)

Straw sorry over 'offence' caused by grooming comments

1:25pm Wednesday 23rd February 2011 in North of England news By Mushtaq Quraishi

Jack Straw MP has said he is sorry that he caused ‘offence’ to members of the Pakistani community on the issue of sexual grooming.

His admission came in a special meeting with representatives of Blackburn’s Pakistani community at Audley Community Centre.

The meeting came on the back of a petition asking for a full public apology which now had more than 2000 signatures on it. The petition did not say the issue should not have been raised but focussed on the damage caused by a section of Mr Straw’s comments. In particular on his comments which linked Pakistani males to the criminal act of sexual grooming.

The Blackburn MP came in for widespread criticism when he said some Pakistani men saw white girls as ‘easy meat’.

Speaking at the meeting Mr Straw outlined some of the background to the comments he made on the BBC Newsnight Programme in early January. But last night he admitted, “I am sorry for the fact that many people were offended by what I said and because of my choice of words and I have made that point to many friends “I regret the choice of words that I used and I am sorry for the offence I have caused.”

He was referring to the statement he made with regards to Pakistani males seeing white girls’ as ‘easy meat’ In a frank and open exchange with members of the audience he was asked to apologise for ‘stigmatising a whole section of the community’ by some in the audience who said his comments were careless, offensive and inflammatory. However, Mr Straw, said although he was upset with himself for the words he used he did not acknowledge the damage his comments may have caused to members of the Pakistani community.

Khalid Saifullah, who was amongst a group of people who helped organise the meeting said, “It is important that a senior politician of Mr Straw’s calibre has apologised to the community in this way.

“Yes, there are issues to be addressed but I think politicians should be very careful with the language they use. Many will accept we have many challenges ahead and these comments have overshadowed the real issues and the plight of the victims.

"His comments may have also provided campaign material for extremist groups.

“Overall, I think there was mixed feelings about his apology. Some people were content with his admission others wanted him to go further and apologise for stigmatising a whole section of a community.

“The room included young people and those who would not normally get involved in politics and I think it was imperative Mr Straw saw how his comments have affected the lives of ordinary people particularly the young.”

“What is important is where we go from here. We are pleased that Jack has agreed to work with us to address the key challenges but most importantly to help us restore the damage these comments have caused.”