MP causes race row after crime jibe at refugees

Volunteers in the Somali Youth Union (SYU) office opposite a car repair centre in a Southall back street enthusiastically helped the campaign to re-elect their Indian Labour MP last year.

So it was with disbelief and anger that they learnt yesterday that Piara Khabra had blamed the Somali community for a rise in street crime in one of London's most ethnically diverse boroughs.

Mr Khabra, 77, originally from the Punjab, had warned of vigilante action by Southall's Asians if police failed to act.

His comments brought bitter condemnation from Somalis and organisations representing Asians and all ethnic groups in Southall, as well as threats of legal action from refugee welfare organisations.

''It is absolutely unacceptable,'' said Jama Warsame, the SYU chairman. "Piara Khabra is not an Indian man for us, we gave him respect and consideration as the area's MP. Members of my staff worked unpaid for five weeks to help him get elected. I was writing to him this morning to ask him to help a client.

''It is unbelievable to think he has said these things. It is impossible to say any one community is responsible for crime. He is introducing prejudice between two peace-loving communities and is inciting people to take action against Somalis.

''The responsibility will be on him if any fight happens between the communities.''

Mr Khabra, MP for Ealing Southall, had gone on national radio to highlight crime fears in his constituency after a heated public meeting last week when he promised to put pressure on Scotland Yard and the Home Office for more police.

He suggested that the culprits were the latest group of immigrants to settle in Southall, which became one of Britain's most well-known Indian communities after previous waves of immigration in the 1960s.

''There is a perception in the community that crime is being committed by Somalis who come to settle in Southall. Particularly I have been told that youngsters have committed crime.

''If it is not reduced I think the community have got every right to organise to protect themselves. There are ways and means to do that.''

His words horrified Fawzia Adam, director of Southall's Refugee Aid and Development group, which is considering legal action against the MP for inciting prejudice against the area's 5,000-strong Somali community.

''These people have already suffered through war and killing but most of them are now British citizens. When their MP, who is elected to represent the whole community, incites more problems, I think the Government should intervene. He is risking bringing the fighting and killing here,'' she said.

''He should have learnt the lessons from when the Asian community came to Britain and struggled to settle in. It is no different to how the Somalis have been struggling.''

Harsev Bains, chairman of the Southall Community Alliance, who, like his MP, was born in the Punjab before moving to Britain, said Mr Khabra was known for the occasional ill-judged comment but he should have realised the potential damage of his words. "In Southall we have the ingredients for something to blow up because the community is stretched and under pressure. It's like a household, when times are hard you fall out with each other," he said.