Simon Danczuk reports Katie Hopkins for race hate

Simon Danczuk MP

Katie Hopkins, the Sun columnist and businesswoman, has been reported to the police for possible race hate crimes after being accused by Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk of equating men of Pakistani origin with child abusers, reports The Guardian.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/mar/29/katie-hopkins-reported-police-race-hate-rochdale-pakistani-sex-abuse

The complaint follows Ms Hopkins and Mr Danczuk becoming embroiled in a vitriolic row on social media after Mr Danczuk attended the raising of the Pakistani flag outside Rochdale Town Hall on Pakistan Day, 23 March.

Ms Hopkins claimed that it is outrageous to raise the Pakistani flag in Rochdale in light of the grooming cases that have come to light.

In her column in the Sun on Friday, she wrote: “I tell you what, Mr Danczuk, let’s chat to the families of the white girls passed around like meat because they were ‘fair game’ and see what they think of your views on community cohesion.”

Simon Danczuk said: “I don’t think we should beat about the bush here, Katie Hopkins is inciting racial hatred. Not only am I receiving threats from extreme right groups, but, as a consequence of her irresponsible grandstanding, our town now has to deal with an extreme right rally that’s planned in May.

“Rochdale has a proud history of coming together to mark special days in different cultures from St Patrick’s Day to the Ukrainian Holdomor and our town will not take any lessons from Katie Hopkins on community cohesion. She has waded into something she doesn’t understand and her ignorance is extremely dangerous. What’s just as bad is that the girls she talked about, who I’ve supported and who were victims of grooming gangs, are precisely the people that Katie looks down on and dismisses. She cannot pretend to be a champion of vulnerable working class kids.”

The father of the main prosecution witness in the child sex grooming scandal backed Mr Danczuk, accusing Ms Hopkins of stoking racial divisions for her own purposes. He told The Guardian: “She’s trying to exploit what has happened to our family. The town has been cut very deeply. It is not going to heal if people are allowed to write whatever they like without taking responsibility.”

Mr Danczuk’s office said he sent a complaint to the office of Greater Manchester’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Tony Lloyd. 

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/94908/flag-raised-for-pakistan-day