‘Clan culture’ warning: Tory MP fears first-cousin marriages undermine integration and enable grooming gang cover-ups

Holden warned that when "people are literally marrying within a clan structure, that's a really big problem for our country" as "some of these communities are having real problems with integration."

Holden explained how interwoven family relationships within cousin marriages create barriers to reporting criminal activity.

"It's quite clear that you're not just marrying someone, you're also their cousin," he said.

"All of those interwoven relationships mean you can't speak up. How can you get divorced where you share the same grandparents without huge consequences?" Holden argued that this "traps people, not just within the wider community but also within that one family" and "really closes people off."

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The MP claimed there is majority support for banning first-cousin marriage even within the Pakistani-Bangladeshi community, despite high rates of such marriages in parts of the country.

He described meeting people from these communities who "really didn't like some of the cultural practices being forced on them" and felt "trapped" by what he called "cultural relativism."

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has suggested that some form of government inquiry could consider the links between cousin marriage and grooming gangs. Researchers have indicated that first-cousin links can limit the instinct to refer relations to the criminal justice system.

However, Badenoch warned that she did not want a lengthy national inquiry that was bogged down by academic questions. Her comments came after meeting with victims and hearing their experiences of gang abuse.

The suggestion for an inquiry follows growing concerns about how family structures may impact the ability of communities to report criminal activity to authorities.

Dr Patrick Nash from the Pharos Foundation told GB News that cousin marriage would likely have an impact on the ability to deal with grooming gangs as groups seek to actively suppress the issue to preserve family honour.

"Cousin marriage sustains close-kin networks which incentivise clan members both to dehumanise out-group victims and suppress knowledge of criminal activity to preserve family honour," Nash said.

His analysis suggests that these family structures create systematic barriers to criminal justice responses.

The expert's comments provide academic backing for concerns raised by politicians about how certain marriage practices may enable criminal networks to operate with reduced scrutiny.

Nash's research indicates that the preservation of family reputation becomes a priority that overrides reporting criminal behaviour to authorities.

Badenoch gave an interview to GB News after meeting Fiona Goddard, one of the few women in Bradford to have achieved successful convictions for gang abuse.

The meeting appears to have reinforced the Tory leader's commitment to addressing the issue.

After meeting with Badenoch, Goddard expressed cautious optimism about the politician's motivations. "I've had my doubts all the time whether people are using things just for political gain and to gain traction. I do actually believe that she is quite genuine," Goddard said.

"I think her meeting the victims and hearing their stories has had a big impact on how she sees this. I do think she is genuine about that, and I do think that she is doing it for the right reasons. Well, I'm hoping she is anyway."