by Atul Hatwal

When boxers are past their prime, it’s the movement and speed that go. The power is still there, but when they throw a punch, it’s slower and off-target. Politicians are the same.

When Jack Straw stepped in to the ring on street grooming and the Pakistani community, he swung hard, but what did he hit?

If the intention was to draw attention to the problem, then he was late and missed. The debate was already raging; that’s why he was on Newsnight. If he wanted to add some insight, then he missed again; all he offered was more opinion.

On this issue so far, there has been a lot of comment but a shortage of actual evidence. There are some statistics; the Times cited a study which showed that out of 56 convictions for this type of offence, 53 were Asian men, predominantly Pakistani. (more…)