Police force sparks anger with FGM comment
A Midlands police force has been widely criticised for suggesting parents involved in committing female genital mutilation on their children should not be prosecuted.
West Midlands Police said in a tweet that education and safeguarding vulnerable girls was its priority in FGM cases, adding that prosecuting or jailing parents was unlikely to benefit youngsters.
The comments prompted a furious response from Ukip, with Suzanne Evans, a former candidate for Shrewsbury and Atcham in the 2015 general election, branding the force 'an utter disgrace'.
The tweet originally appeared on WMP's official Twitter in response to a comment about the BBC1 drama Call The Midwife, which featured a portrayal of a victim of FGM. It was later deleted.
FGM refers to the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. It is known as female circumcision in some parts of the world, and there are various religious, social or cultural reasons for the practice.
UKIP health spokesperson Ms Evans tweeted to WMP:
The party's West Midlands MEP Bill Etheridge has called for an overhaul of the force's policy on the issue.
He said: "Effectively this is one of the worst crimes in our society and one of the least detected.
"It is the duty of the police to take action. If they don't, they are guilty of neglecting vulnerable people who they have a duty to protect.
"Victims are already scared to come forward. They are even less likely to do so if they think the police won't send the perpetrators to prison.
"The police need to urgently look at how they deal with female genital mutilation to make sure that those who commit this cruel and brutal crime are properly dealt with, regardless of their belief systems. That means jail, not education."
Patrick O'Flynn, a Ukip MEP for the East of England, tweeted: "West Mids Police allowing a flawed multi-cultural ideology to brutalise Britain. This crime should ALWAYS be prosecuted."
WMP has since moved to clarify its position, with a tweet saying the force 'will arrest and bring prosecutions against those committing FGM'.
DC Gill Squires, the FGM expert from WMP's vulnerable crime unit Sentinal, tweeted that the force will prosecute 'parents or cutters' if it is in the child's best interests. Last year the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee said it was a 'national scandal' that the UK had not seen a single FGM case prosecuted.
