LONDON – The political future of Jack Straw, former British Foreign Secretary, is at stake after his refusal to apologise over his remarks about British Pakistani men.
Straw, a member of the parliament from the Blackburn constituency, which is largely dominated by Pakistanis from the Gujrat district, spoiled his relations with the electorate last month by telling a local channel that there was a specific problem in some areas, including his constituency, where men of Pakistani origin targeted white girls.
“They see those women, white girls who are vulnerable, some of them in care… who they think are easy meat” said Straw. His comments were followed by widespread criticism and condemnation from community leaders across Britain. More than 2,000 people signed a petition demanding a public apology for his remarks.
In a damage control exercise, Straw held a meeting with representatives of Blackburn’s Pakistani community to clarify his position on Tuesday. He told the meeting that he regretted his choice of words but refused to apologise for the remarks.
With the Pakistani community in Britain against Straw, a local Blackburn based leader and close aide of Straw said, it would be difficult for Straw to retain his position under. He said the sooner he made amends the better it would be.
Straw, who was the former justice secretary in the previous government, has been elected as an MP eight times consecutively from the North England constituency of Blackburn since 1979. In his 2005 election campaign, Straw as British foreign secretary specially visited Gujrat and requested Pakistan Muslim League President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain to use his influence over the voters from his area living in the UK.
He also addressed a public meeting organised by PML leaders for him in Gujrat.
