:01:42. > :01:45.And in the North West, nine Asian men are convicted of sexually
:01:45. > :01:55.grooming young white girls. Could it have been stopped earlier if the
:01:55. > :01:55.
:01:55. > :35:23.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2007 seconds
:35:23. > :35:27.Hello, I am Annabel Tiffin. In the next 20 minutes, nine Asian men are
:35:27. > :35:34.convicted of sexually grooming young white girls. How can we stop
:35:34. > :35:36.this happening again? Let me introduce you to our two guests.
:35:36. > :35:41.The Labour MP for Manchester Blackley & Broughton, Graham
:35:41. > :35:45.Stringer, and Professor Jo Crotty, the chair of the North West Liberal
:35:45. > :35:50.Democrats. First, this week nine men from Rochdale were jailed for a
:35:50. > :35:56.range of offences after being found guilty of grooming girls for sex.
:35:56. > :36:00.Eight were born in Pakistan, the other from Afghanistan. Greater
:36:00. > :36:04.Manchester Police insists race was not a factor, but others disagree.
:36:04. > :36:10.So why has it taken years for this kind of abuse to be taken
:36:10. > :36:16.seriously? It has been a high-profile trial,
:36:16. > :36:21.raising volatile issues. If it is a low-key in Pakistan, go back to
:36:21. > :36:26.Pakistan. The British National Party's Nick Griffin, he says he
:36:26. > :36:32.raised concerns nine years ago. Labour Party have spent decades
:36:32. > :36:34.taking political advantage of a Muslim blog vote and refusing to
:36:34. > :36:40.criticise people in those communities. They should have
:36:40. > :36:46.spoken up for these girls and it is to their shame they did not.
:36:46. > :36:49.Greater Manchester Police says ethnicity is not an issue. I am
:36:49. > :36:55.investigating similar offences, grooming and child sexual
:36:55. > :36:59.exploitation, where it is not Asian men. But last year, the former
:36:59. > :37:05.Labour Home Secretary, Jack Shaw, spoke out from Blackburn. There is
:37:06. > :37:11.a specific problem, involving men from Pakistani heritage, who target
:37:11. > :37:16.vulnerable young white girls. he was something of a lone voice,
:37:16. > :37:21.so why have these crimes been too easily dismissed by some? I think
:37:21. > :37:26.political correctness, both within the local authority and the police,
:37:26. > :37:32.a desire not to heighten concerns around racial issues has played a
:37:32. > :37:36.part. I think what has come out of this trial is the fact that race
:37:36. > :37:40.has been a factor in it. None of those jailed and his trial were
:37:40. > :37:43.born in Britain, but do the Pakistani taking money -- but do
:37:43. > :37:51.the Pakistani communities in Rochdale and elsewhere recognise
:37:51. > :37:57.the problem? We should be sent back to Pakistan. Whether you are any
:37:57. > :38:00.colour, the main thing is it is going on everywhere.
:38:00. > :38:07.authorities now wants to make sure it goes on nowhere, but it is to
:38:07. > :38:13.lay out for many. Also joining us is the Chief
:38:13. > :38:19.Executive of the Ramadan Foundation. We have heard from police and other
:38:19. > :38:26.MPs who say this is not a race issue, but you do not agree? Let us
:38:26. > :38:30.look at the case. 67 of 77 recent cases were Pakistani men and the
:38:30. > :38:35.victims were generally white. As a community, we have to recognise a
:38:35. > :38:40.problem. A small minority of Pakistani men who think white girls
:38:40. > :38:44.are worthless, who can be used and abused in this way. We have to
:38:44. > :38:49.confront that. I have been campaigning against this for six
:38:49. > :38:53.years. But you have to put it into the wider context, 80% of sexual
:38:53. > :38:58.abuses in this country are carried out by white men. It would have
:38:58. > :39:02.been nice to see wider coverage of those cases. The media obsession of
:39:02. > :39:07.this is important, so we can discuss this, but it has to be put
:39:07. > :39:13.in context. But do you worry that your earlier comments are inflaming
:39:13. > :39:17.the issue, giving fuel too far right groups? I think I have
:39:17. > :39:24.stopped the British National Party taking political advantage and the
:39:24. > :39:27.English Defence League. Myself and other representatives of the
:39:27. > :39:33.committee have filled that gap. That is how to defeat them,
:39:33. > :39:38.confronting the issue and be open and honest. We have an added
:39:38. > :39:43.responsibility in our community, but also, as referred to in that
:39:43. > :39:48.report, there has been an abject figure of Greater Manchester Police
:39:48. > :39:53.and social services, letting down victims, and just saying sorry is
:39:53. > :39:58.not good enough. Let me bring in Graham Stringer. Why do you think
:39:58. > :40:02.it has taken so long for this to be taken seriously, maybe at year
:40:02. > :40:08.opera coming across as racist? simply do not know the answer to
:40:08. > :40:13.that. -- maybe fears of coming across as a racist? I think there
:40:13. > :40:17.is some truth that in many public services, the police in particular,
:40:17. > :40:23.are frightened of a during races, jumping all over the place as to
:40:23. > :40:28.what their definition is. If going back to the definition that what
:40:28. > :40:32.racism is coming out of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, that a victim or
:40:32. > :40:38.witnesses believe the matter to be racist, it should be investigated
:40:38. > :40:41.as such. The police have that in policy statements, so does the
:40:41. > :40:46.Director of Public Prosecutions, but we have not acted on it. The
:40:46. > :40:50.judge thought it was racist. That would be at her lover will slander
:40:50. > :40:55.against many of people from the Pakistani tea cap -- that would be
:40:55. > :41:00.a terrible slander from the people of the Pakistani community that I
:41:00. > :41:04.represent. The idea that everyone in the Pakistani community is
:41:04. > :41:09.racist is a terrible idea. Clearly not and Jack Straw was not saying
:41:09. > :41:14.that. Do you think he was right to see what he said? The worst thing
:41:14. > :41:18.that can happen, and what can give racists are most encouragement, is
:41:18. > :41:25.not to deal with situations objectively. More and find out what
:41:25. > :41:30.is happening, if it is happening in a particular community, and that is
:41:30. > :41:33.why we need an inquiry as strong and investigative as the Stephen
:41:33. > :41:40.Lawrence inquiry, so that all sensible questions can be answered
:41:40. > :41:43.and we can do something. I agree that the police and social services
:41:43. > :41:48.and the Director of Public Prosecutions have a real case to
:41:48. > :41:52.answer about apparently going took the Telegraph and this restoration
:41:52. > :41:58.was known about and going on for ten years. We need to know why.
:41:58. > :42:02.Crotty, what do you think politicians can do? And politicians
:42:02. > :42:06.do anything, particularly looking at these vulnerable girls? I am
:42:06. > :42:10.sure you would agree that you feel terrible for these young girls, I
:42:10. > :42:15.cannot imagine what it would have been like for them. Of course,
:42:15. > :42:19.politicians, Government, social services all have a role, but it
:42:19. > :42:23.concerns me that we leaked to that and that the Government should have
:42:23. > :42:28.done more, we should do more education, police, social services
:42:28. > :42:32.should have done more. But what makes somebody think that winning
:42:32. > :42:38.is all right? We seem to leaked immediately on to all these other
:42:38. > :42:45.services. -- that grooming is all right? This is not all right. What
:42:45. > :42:49.makes a person do this? Do we need to understand more as a society?
:42:49. > :42:54.But how do we do that. I think it is dangerous to say we should not
:42:54. > :42:59.blame the police. One girl went to the police and 2008, made a
:42:59. > :43:04.complaint, which was passed on to the Crown Prosecution Service and
:43:05. > :43:10.those failed. But there has been an apology. I am not saying we should
:43:10. > :43:15.never blame the police. That person was then put back into the abuse
:43:15. > :43:20.and other girls suffered. In Rochdale this week, we have seen
:43:20. > :43:25.leaders come up and speak out against this, some think I have
:43:25. > :43:29.called for for six years. Rochdale has been a catalyst for change. We
:43:29. > :43:34.have to stay focused on the victims because of what they appeared
:43:34. > :43:37.through. Thank you very much for the time being.
:43:37. > :43:41.Up to 60,000 public sector employees from the region took part
:43:41. > :43:47.in a national day of action to protest at proposed changes to
:43:47. > :43:51.their pensions. Strikers ranged from health workers in Merseyside
:43:51. > :43:55.to Border Agency staff at Manchester Airport. Even staff who
:43:55. > :44:01.cannot officially strike, such as prison officers in Manchester,
:44:01. > :44:04.showed support by staging protest meetings. Other police, normally
:44:04. > :44:08.accustomed to keeping order at demonstrations, took leave to stage
:44:08. > :44:13.their own in London against budget cuts. The Government claims their
:44:13. > :44:17.actions were futile. The striker has disagreed. The attack on public
:44:17. > :44:22.sector pensions is not about protecting funds that are no longer
:44:22. > :44:27.viable, but it is an attack on broader public service sectors --
:44:27. > :44:31.an attack on broader public sector services. This is strikes we have
:44:31. > :44:39.seen since the coalition came into power, protesting against coalition
:44:39. > :44:43.policies. Yes, except that we have a demographic time bomb and maybe
:44:43. > :44:47.the recession and they need to do something about the deficit has
:44:47. > :44:52.sped up policy on the reform of pensions, particularly public
:44:52. > :45:02.sector once. So there is less money around and in the future and people
:45:02. > :45:05.
:45:05. > :45:11.living too long? Not too long. The. -- longer. Yes, people am
:45:11. > :45:16.working and living longer. And I said I have to peak -- and I accept
:45:16. > :45:21.I have to work more and p less. you would not walk on strike?
:45:21. > :45:26.not think so, as I can see both sides. As a country we need to deal
:45:26. > :45:34.with the issue of an ageing population, except when it happens
:45:34. > :45:40.to you individually. And it is hard to take. Yes. And people are living
:45:40. > :45:45.longer, not enough money, and the judgments need to be made? I do not
:45:45. > :45:50.think the unions denied there had things that have to be looked at,
:45:50. > :45:55.but the Government is putting at 3% tax effectively on pensions, going
:45:55. > :46:00.straight into the Treasury, which will not help individuals pensions.
:46:00. > :46:05.That is unjustifiable and night and see why unions are angry. It will
:46:05. > :46:09.always be a difficult situation. -- and I can see why unions around the.
:46:09. > :46:18.There have been changes in the funding of pensions. That requires
:46:18. > :46:22.long, detailed negotiations. Not a Minister in the Cabinet Office, not
:46:22. > :46:25.understanding his brief, saying to take it or leave it. It needs a
:46:25. > :46:31.long and detailed discussions which the Government and not interested
:46:31. > :46:35.in. Not interested in talking to the unions? I believe the unions
:46:35. > :46:40.were discussed at length at the end of last year, but the reality is,
:46:40. > :46:44.it would not have mattered whether it was Labour, a collision or
:46:44. > :46:49.Conservative Government, these very difficult decisions would need to
:46:49. > :46:55.be made. -- coalition or Conservative Government. We need to
:46:55. > :46:59.make these decisions on the deficit. Why should people paying into a
:46:59. > :47:04.pension pot have to pay a bigger tax than anybody else? But people
:47:04. > :47:09.do not. They are being asked to put extra contributions into their
:47:09. > :47:14.pension, which will not help them, will not replace things in their
:47:14. > :47:20.pension fund, it goes straight into the Treasury. We can agree about
:47:21. > :47:25.the economy, the government and not doing well, but none of that is an
:47:25. > :47:29.excuse for hitting people who are peeing into pensions. All it will
:47:29. > :47:33.do is encourage people to leave pension schemes and leave us with a
:47:33. > :47:36.bigger problem. I think it is unlikely people would leave a
:47:36. > :47:40.public sector pension scheme even though you have to pay more and
:47:40. > :47:46.work longer. Most of them are much better than pensions in the private
:47:46. > :47:51.sector. But the average pension comes out at about �7,000 every
:47:51. > :47:54.year. People will make choices about whether continuing to pay
:47:55. > :48:01.extra tax to the Treasury or whether to look to benefits when
:48:01. > :48:07.retiring. There is this myth about that somehow people in the public
:48:07. > :48:12.sector have gold-plated pension schemes. And that everybody gets
:48:12. > :48:17.huge pensions. The averages only about �7,000. Just coming back on
:48:17. > :48:22.that? That reduce skewed by people at both ends. I still have not
:48:22. > :48:27.heard from any of your colleagues as to what you would do instead.
:48:27. > :48:34.That deficit is a reality and I hear no other plant. You criticise
:48:34. > :48:40.and see no to everything. That is not true. What is Labour's plan?
:48:40. > :48:44.I'm sorry, I have to stop you bowl. Believe it or not, we are going to
:48:44. > :48:49.talk about caravans. Caravan holidays have a reputation for
:48:49. > :48:54.being relaxed, but a storm is brewing. Until now, static caravan
:48:54. > :48:59.is sold as holiday homes have not been subject to VAT, but the
:48:59. > :49:03.Government says that is unfair and plans to tax all sales from October
:49:03. > :49:13.this year. The consultation period finishes next week and the caravan
:49:13. > :49:16.
:49:16. > :49:22.community are up in arms. Katherine loves her holiday home.
:49:22. > :49:27.It was bought it just a few months ago and was not subject to any VAT.
:49:27. > :49:31.But for others wanting to buy, that is set to change. We were fortunate.
:49:31. > :49:38.We did not know this would be happening last summer, so I am glad
:49:38. > :49:42.we got it now. At the moment, all static caravans are VAT free,
:49:42. > :49:47.whether used as permanent residences or as holiday homes.
:49:47. > :49:50.Other holiday caravans that can be towed are taxed at 20%. The
:49:50. > :49:55.Government says that is an unintentional loophole that it
:49:55. > :50:00.wants to close. The average holiday home costing around �30,000, you
:50:00. > :50:05.are looking at an increase of around �6,000 on that. Caravans are
:50:05. > :50:09.used as permanent homes will still be VAT free, but those used as
:50:09. > :50:15.holiday homes would be subject to the tax and holiday parks are
:50:15. > :50:19.worried what it would mean for them. If the 20% VAT was to come in, we
:50:19. > :50:24.would see a reduction in business of over 50% turnover on holiday
:50:25. > :50:30.homes sales. If there had been another 20%, we could not have
:50:30. > :50:35.afforded it and would not have got one. The Treasury told us that,
:50:35. > :50:40.over time, significant anomalies have developed in the VAT system,
:50:40. > :50:45.causing very similar products to be taxed very differently. It says the
:50:45. > :50:49.Co VAT rate was only Abba meant to apply to residential caravans, so
:50:49. > :50:55.this change brings static caravans in line with other holiday caravans,
:50:55. > :50:59.all of which are already subject to VAT. It is not just caravan parks
:50:59. > :51:04.and owners who expect to field the effects of the change. This firm in
:51:04. > :51:09.Stockport provides security and monitoring equipment for caravans.
:51:09. > :51:14.We have a broad at taking a year to develop a product of a holiday home
:51:14. > :51:20.industry and we envisage we would be earned �3.5 million for the
:51:20. > :51:25.first year, �3.5 million the next year. It looked like it would be a
:51:25. > :51:29.fantastic piece of business for us, but the 20 cent -- but the 20%
:51:29. > :51:33.increase in VAT has made a holiday home companies think twice about
:51:33. > :51:38.their investment. What looked like a massive earner has turned out to
:51:38. > :51:43.be a year down the pan. Local MP wants the Government to rethink its
:51:43. > :51:47.plans. They have announced that they are going to consult for an
:51:47. > :51:52.extra two weeks, which was their gift to the House of Commons when
:51:52. > :51:56.it looked like they were going to be defeated. I hope they are
:51:56. > :52:01.listening in those two weeks and that they decide to back down,
:52:01. > :52:05.because it is really unfair. And to rural areas like the Fylde, there
:52:05. > :52:09.are fears that other local businesses could be affected, too.
:52:09. > :52:13.People will look to going on holiday abroad, and instead of
:52:13. > :52:17.investing money in a caravan holiday warned, and spending their
:52:17. > :52:23.tourist pounds in local shops and businesses and public houses, going
:52:23. > :52:27.abroad, going on cruises, taking the money out of this country.
:52:27. > :52:30.Owners like Susie are lobbying the Government to rethink their plans,
:52:30. > :52:35.which was the VAT imposed on all holiday caravans are sales from
:52:35. > :52:40.October. Jo Crotty, the Government sees this
:52:40. > :52:47.as plugging a loophole. But very and four rip -- but very on fair
:52:47. > :52:55.and businesses. Yes, there is no way to spin that, it is against
:52:55. > :53:00.business and growth. You do not agree? The fact is, we are in a
:53:00. > :53:06.difficult arena, with the deficit, so if tax is not raised, tax has to
:53:06. > :53:13.be raised elsewhere. No one is immune from making counter-
:53:13. > :53:21.intuitive Budget decisions. It is not counter-intuitive, it is a
:53:21. > :53:27.shambles. We have pasty tax is, at the granny tax, taxes on caravans,
:53:27. > :53:31.all of which are likely to lead to less money raised, because it is
:53:31. > :53:36.sending passengers to Paris instead of London. Caravans will not be
:53:36. > :53:41.built and purchased. Thousands could lose their jobs. This Budget
:53:42. > :53:46.has been a disaster and will not even raise any extra cash. It is a
:53:46. > :53:51.government that has lost its way. Thank you, I am sorry to interrupt,
:53:51. > :53:58.we have to stop. Now it is time to look at what else has been going on
:53:58. > :54:03.in the region. A week on from the elections, the
:54:03. > :54:08.region's two new mayors got to work. Joe Anderson promises new jobs,
:54:08. > :54:10.schools and housing or Liverpool. In Salford, Ian Stewart was
:54:10. > :54:16.addressing May Day ralliers protesting against Government
:54:16. > :54:19.spending cuts. I will work with the Labour movement, employers, the
:54:19. > :54:25.voluntary sector, higher education and anybody else who will help us
:54:25. > :54:30.to mitigate the worst effects of the cuts, because those affecting
:54:30. > :54:34.Salford and people and their family. In Lancashire, the chairman of the
:54:34. > :54:41.Environment Agency has come out in support of fracking for shale gas.
:54:41. > :54:45.Lord Smith says, provided there are safeguards, he sees no reason why
:54:45. > :54:50.ejection -- extraction should go ahead. His support has angered
:54:50. > :54:54.critics. Illiterates -- villagers in the
:54:54. > :54:58.Trough of Bowland have taken Big Society to heart by begin in and
:54:58. > :55:02.setting up their own broadband. It is hoped it will benefit 1,400