LONDON, Feb 11 (APP) – A British Cabinet minister has backed calls for a review of the high numbers of birth defects among children from marriages between cousins in Britain’s Asian communities.
The Government Chief Whip in the House of Commons Geoffrey Hoon said there was a ‘particular problem’ that needed expert analysis after a fellow minister warned the issue was not being addressed.
Phil Woolas, the MP for Oldham East in northern England, who raised the matter said the cultural sensitivities made the issue difficult to raise. His constituency covers a large segment of Pakistan-origin population.
A recent research showed Pakistanis accounted for 30 per cent of British children with recessive disorders which require a long term medical attention.