Downing Street rebuke for minister who warned of birth defects in Pakistani cousin marriages

Phil Woolas: Could be fired for comments on Islam

The Environment Minister faced calls to resign by some Muslim leaders after he said marriage of blood relations was the "elephant in the room".

However, according to Gordon Brown's spokesman, the issue was not one for ministers to comment on. Instead, he said, it should be addressed by members of the local community and scientific experts.

The Prime Minister's spokesman said Mr Woolas, MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, had been speaking in his capacity as a constituency MP.

"The Government's position is we believe these matters are best addressed locally, by local members of the community as well as by professional healthcare advisers," he added.

"This is a scientific debate. It is really for scientific experts to comment on."

Mr Woolas insisted that he had a duty to raise the subject of cousin marriage - which is legal in the UK - based on cultural and not religious grounds.

He was backed by fellow Labour MP Ann Cryer, who represents Keighley, West Yorkshire.

She warned that parts of the Pakistani community are in denial about soaring rates of genetic defects among children born to first-cousin marriages.

Mrs Cryer said as many as eight out of ten transcontinental marriages in Bradford were between cousins and could have "tragic" impacts.

She first raised the issue more than two years ago after research showed British Pakistanis were 13 times more likely to have children with recessive disorders than the general population.

On Radio 4's Today programme yesterday, she said: "The vast majority of marriages in the Muslim community in Bradford, 80 per cent, are transcontinental.

"The vast majority of those are to cousins. Many of those do result in either infant mortality or in recessive disorders."

Asked if the problem was recognised in the British Pakistani community, she said: "They are in denial. But I am hoping that now we have broken the silence, leaders will start to have a debate about it and perhaps even give advice and say 'Look you can carry on marrying your cousins, but there is a price to pay'.

"The price to pay is often in either babies being born dead, babies being born very early and babies being born with very severe genetically transmitted disorders.

"This is a blight on that community, but particularly on specific families."

Steve Jones, professor of genetics at University College London, backed the calls to raise public awareness. He said, in general, mortality and disability almost doubled among marriages between cousins.

But he warned that the risks should not be overstated, adding: "Let's bear in mind that families like the Rothschilds married their cousins frequently.

"In Bradford, the Office of National Statistics says there is an increase of about five or so infant deaths a year because of cousin marriage, particularly among the Asian community there.

"There are something like 70 infant deaths altogether in Bradford per year, so the effect isn't that great."

He said smoking and drinking alcohol during pregnancy is "as bad if not worse".

Professor Jones added that cousin marriages are quite common in Spain and are still common in Muslim communities around the world.

But he said: "Among Hindu communities, quite often you get an uncle-niece marriage - marrying your brother's daughter.

"That is even closer inbreeding than cousin marriage, so it is not by any means a uniquely Islamic issue."

Receive our newsletter