A pro-Gaza independent MP has branded outrage over Britain’s grooming gangs a “false right-wing narrative” at a meeting of British Pakistani politicians and community figures.
Ayoub Khan, part of Jeremy Corbyn’s “Independent Alliance“, had told attendees at the Mirpur Airport Demand Grand Conference Birmingham that grooming gangs were “a narrative that is done in order to sow division” – a speech which has been branded “naive at best and malicious at worst”.
Khan, standing in front of a panel which included Labour MP Tahir Ali, said: “When the right-wing media and those that seek to undermine… They are using their false narrative – and there’s nothing new in that.
“We know what they have run in the past… Whether that’s in relation to the people that stand up for human rights in Palestine or Kashmir, whether it’s to do with grooming gangs, it’s a narrative that is done in order to sow division.
Khan told attendees at the Mirpur Airport Demand Grand Conference Birmingham that grooming gangs were ‘a narrative that is done in order to sow division’
“We must prevent that from happening and one of the ways to achieve that is to make sure that the moment a false narrative is arisen, that we address it immediately.
“And we fail to do that as parliamentarians. I spoke to Tahir Ali MP and I said to him that one of the things that we must make sure is that false narrative doesn’t catch air… Because when that catches air, it runs round all communities and it causes division.”
Ex-Labour MP Khalid Mahmood, who lost his seat to Khan last summer, told GB News in response that the British Pakistani community needed to “face up to the reality” of the abuse gangs scandal.
Mahmood said Khan’s speech was “very naive at best and malicious at worst to say that this is a false narrative”.
“It is important to address issues within the community that divide our community,” he added. “There must be no space in our community and in our society for the people who commit these sort of heinous acts against very young girls.
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Labour’s Tahir Ali (right) watched on as Ayoub Khan (left) spoke in Birmingham
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“We’ve got to face up to the reality and the truth of what’s happening and what’s happened.
“I’ve experienced a case of a Mirpuri Pakistani girl who was taken away for 24 hours, raped a number of times, but she did not take the case forward because there was a huge amount of ‘shame’ associated with it.
“And when this happens to white English girls, when they are pleading for help and no one takes any notice, then something has to be done, we have to get up and say this, and we can’t describe it as a right-wing narrative.”
His criticism echoed that of rape gang justice campaigner Adam Wren, who branded Khan’s speech “obscene” on social media.
While Sam Bidwell, of the Adam Smith Institute, added: “Thousands of children, across dozens of towns and cities, were raped by these evil gangs. Does Khan not believe that this happened, or does he just not care?”
Ex-Labour MP Khalid Mahmood told GB News in response that the British Pakistani community needed to ‘face up to the reality’ of the abuse gangs scandal
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Khan also appeared to swipe at GB News in his address.
The Pakistani community “are enormous contributors to the British economy”, he said. “Hundreds of billions of pounds… And we create jobs and opportunities. In fact, we work in all the key sectors. Hospitals, the legal profession, entrepreneurship, but we contribute enormously to British society.
“When you have right-wing media and GMB News [sic] attacking MPs, it’s not because they are right, it’s because they seek to cause division.”
In response, Khan told GB News: “I strongly disagree with the suggestion that acknowledging the political misuse of grooming gang narratives amounts to either naivety or malice.
“Let me be clear – any and all forms of child sexual exploitation are abhorrent and must be confronted with zero tolerance.
Pro-Gaza Independent MP Ayoub Khan has blasted Sir Keir Starmer over Labour’s “disgraceful” Birmingham bin strike failuresPARLIAMENT TV“My argument, made in good faith, is that we must resist selectively focusing on certain ethnic or religious groups, particularly Muslims or British Pakistanis, when the data simply does not support that they are uniquely culpable.
“In 2020, the Home Office itself published a review into group-based child sexual exploitation which concluded that ‘there is no credible evidence that this type of offending is more prevalent among Asian or Muslim communities’.
“In fact, most group-based offenders in the UK are white men. But the national conversation continues to be dominated by high-profile cases involving British Pakistani men, often used as a vehicle by the far right to stoke division, distrust, and Islamophobia.
“This isn’t about denying the lived experiences of victims. It’s about addressing all perpetrators equally – and ensuring that justice isn’t hijacked by political narratives that serve agendas rather than truth.
Khan spoke at the Elegance Suite in Birmingham
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“If the real concern is justice for survivors, then let’s look at the bigger picture: according to NSPCC and police data, the majority of child sex abuse is committed by white men, often in family or institutional settings, not ‘grooming gangs’.
“Yet the term ‘grooming gang’ has become racialised shorthand – too often synonymous with Muslim men – and that is both dangerous and inaccurate.
“We must also ask why so many survivors, regardless of ethnicity, struggle to be heard. Systemic failures in policing, social services, and institutional cultures of disbelief are the root of that. Shifting the blame to a community deflects from these failings.
“So no, recognising that the grooming gang narrative has been weaponised by sections of the right is not naive – it’s necessary.
“Because if we want real justice for victims, we must tackle exploitation wherever it occurs, without prejudice or political opportunism.”
GB News has approached the Labour Party and Tahir Ali MP for comment.
