MPs are claiming that arranged marriages between cousins in some immigrant communities are causing an increase in birth-defects.
Phil Woolas suggests the culture of first-cousin marriages is now the 'elephant in the room' and it needs to be discussed.
The MP for ethnically-diverse Oldham East and Saddleworth says his claim mainly involves families of coming from rural Pakistan.
Mr Woolas and other MPs have called for a public debate, with cultural sensitivities making the issue difficult to raise.
He said: "Part of the risk, I am told by the health service, is first-cousin marriages. If you are supportive of the Asian community then you have a duty to raise this issue."
His call was supported by fellow Labour MP Ann Cryer who first raised the issue more than two years ago.
Research had showed British Pakistanis were 13 times more likely to have children with recessive disorders than the general population.
Updated:10:19, Sunday February 10, 2008
MPs are claiming that arranged marriages between cousins in some immigrant communities are causing an increase in birth-defects.
Concerns over recessive disorders
Concerns over recessive disorders
Phil Woolas suggests the culture of first-cousin marriages is now the 'elephant in the room' and it needs to be discussed.
The MP for ethnically-diverse Oldham East and Saddleworth says his claim mainly involves families of coming from rural Pakistan.
Mr Woolas and other MPs have called for a public debate, with cultural sensitivities making the issue difficult to raise.
He said: "Part of the risk, I am told by the health service, is first-cousin marriages. If you are supportive of the Asian community then you have a duty to raise this issue."
His call was supported by fellow Labour MP Ann Cryer who first raised the issue more than two years ago.
Research had showed British Pakistanis were 13 times more likely to have children with recessive disorders than the general population.
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Ms Cryer blamed a "medieval culture" of keeping wealth in the family and said some couples ignored warnings not to have more children despite the risks.
Mr Woolas insisted that the marriages - which are perfectly legal in the UK - were a cultural, not religious, issue based in the traditions of rural parts of Pakistan.
Mrs Cryer, who represents Keighley in West Yorkshire, told The Sunday Times: "If you go into a paediatric ward in Bradford or Keighley you will find more than half of the kids there are from the Asian community.
"Since Asians only represent 20%-30% of the population, you can see that they are over-represented.
"I have encountered cases of blindness and deafness. There was one poor girl who had to have an oxygen tank on her back and breathe from a hole in the front of her neck."
