Dominic Grieve sorry for calling Pakistanis corrupt
The government's chief legal advisor has apologised after suggesting the Pakistani community in Britain is endemically corrupt.
In an interview with the Telegraph earlier this week, Attorney general Dominic Grieve suggested corruption was "endemic" in the Pakistani community and said politicians needed to "wake up" to the problem.
He added that corruption, such as voter fraud and bribing public officials was present among all races including the "Anglo-Saxon" community but insisted the problem was found "mainly [in] the Pakistani community".
His comments were swiftly condemned by Labour, the Lib Dems and even some Conservatives.
"As a member of the British Pakistani community myself, I've found these comments to be offensive [and] divisive," Conservative MEP Sajjad Karim said, adding that they appeared to be "purely populist".
The Conservative leadership also distanced themselves from Grieves' comments.
"I don't agree that pinpointing one community over another is the right thing to do," Conservative chairman Grant Shapps said.
"Actually corruption is something which, wherever it is, this Government wants to root it out.
Grieve yesterday issued a full apology.
"If I gave the impression that there is a particular problem in the Pakistani community, I was wrong," he said in a statement.
"It is not my view. I believe the Pakistani community has enriched this country a great deal as I know full well from my extensive contact with the community over a number of years.
"I'm sorry if I have caused any offence."
Karim later tweeted that he "completely" accepted Grieves' apology.
