Cameron criticises forced marriages among Brit-Asians

LONDON: Describing the practice of forced marriages particularly prevalent among Asian immigrants as “utterly bizarre”, Conservative Party leader David Cameron has said that he would consider making them a “criminal offence” if his party came to power.

In a speech at Bradford, a town in Yorkshire with a large minority of Asian origin, Cameron also called forced marriages “unacceptable” and insisted that the laws to stop them needed to be enforced and people behind them arrested.

Several cases of forced marriages involving young British Asians are reported every year. The Foreign Office has set up a dedicated unit to help British Asians being forced into marriages. Cameron said the ‘Forced Marriages Act 2007’ only made it possible to pursue civil prosecutions. If it did not help end forced marriages, he said, they will consider making them a criminal offence.