RE Chris Green’s letter (September 2). I would like to clarify a number of claims he is attempting to make against me.
Firstly, to confirm to all readers, I did not make a comparison between those going to fight for the Israeli army and ISIS jihadists. There is no comparison. I have repeatedly made it clear that ISIS is evil.
The point I was making was that whist it is wrong for British people to fight for ISIS in Syria, the fact that a small minority of young Muslims mistakenly do this should not be used to call into question the loyalty to Britain of the vast majority of British Muslims.
The quotes attributed to me were deliberately twisted and incorrect.
Secondly, the activities of the men in Rotherham, Oldham, Oxford and across the UK who groom and abuse children is repulsive.
Race, colour and creed do not matter when a man is abusing a child. It is wrong, they are evil, no matter what race, colour or creed they are, and they must be brought to justice.
Mr Green’s focus on Muslim men is deliberately misplaced. If he had read the inquiry report from Rotherham, he would know that not all of those involved were Muslim, Pakistani men.
It also states that “the greatest numbers of perpetrators of Child Sexual Exploitation are white men”.
This is not to defend those responsible in the slightest, nor to say that there were not Muslim Pakistani men involved.
There were, but not all were. In the strongest possible way I condemn all of them, whatever their race, colour or creed, and I condemn anyone who has failed the children who have suffered.
Since being elected, I have been campaigning in Parliament to call on the Government to do more to protect and support children who suffer from, and are vulnerable to, child sexual exploitation.
They must do more to protect and support the young people affected so they know they are not alone, and they will be believed when they speak. Something which, for too long, has not happened.
Despite Mr Green’s suggestion, I speak to my constituents about many issues, and I do so openly and fairly.
Some of these issues include how his Conservative government have cut legal aid, introduced the “bedroom tax”, attacked support for disabled people, cut funding to our council, raised VAT, part-privatised the NHS and many, many more.
As their MP, I am challenging and fighting Mr Green’s government as they callously affect the lives of honest, hard-working people across Bolton and the UK without a care for the consequences.
I represent all of the people of Bolton South East as their elected MP, and I can be contacted via my office or my regular advice surgeries.
The race, colour and creed of my constituents do not matter to me, they are all equal. However, it worries me that their race, colour and creed do matter to Mr Green, and I question how you can treat everyone equally when you subdivide people into races, colours and creeds.
Yasmin Qureshi, MP for Bolton South East
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