Leicester road 'boasts' of having largest number of non-English speakers' but residents say it's 'unfair' to learn the lingo

The street is part of a pocket of 34 districts stretching through Leicester where at least a fifth of the population have limited English language skills.

Many non-English speakers in the area are either new arrivals or elderly relatives who depend on younger family members to navigate the complexities of the English language.

Ruki, 62, who has lived on Mornington Street since she moved to Britain in 1974, told MailOnline: "Sometimes the little ones have to come into to school office with their mums and dads to translate for them" adding that there were "communication issues" with some families.

The local primary school worker said: "There are people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Africa, Eastern Europe as well as some white English. A lot of the older Asian generations speak no English or very little and it can cause problems.

"But they don't feel the need because all the youngsters in the household speak English as well as their native tongue, so they get by."

Shohel Issufo, who owns Zagros pizza takeaway, said: "It is very important for people to learn English, and I think the reason some don't is that they surround themselves with a comfort zone of people who speak their language."

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According to the 2021 Census, only 57 per cent of Leicester's residents were born in England, down from 65 per cent in 2011. The area around Mornington Street is largely populated by Muslims of Indian origin, mainly from the western state of Gujarat.

The area was the former seat of disgraced former Labour MP Keith Vaz, who was suspended from the Commons in 2019 after he was found to have "expressed willingness" to purchase cocaine for male prostitutes. It is now held by Conservative MP Shivani Raja.

Second-generation Indian immigrant Rukshana Fatiwala thought any suggestion that people should be forced to learn English was "unfair".

"It's important, but surely, it's more vital that people pay their taxes, create jobs for others and improve the prosperity of the country," she said.

In August 2022, unrest broke out in the city between groups of Hindus and Muslims after a cricket match between India and Pakistan which was won by India.

Community leader Mansoor Moghal MBE served for many years as Chairman of Leicestershire's Race Relations Committee and believes the peace will hold between the city's different factions following the recent conflict between India and Pakistan.

He told MailOnline: "This war between India and Pakistan has not affected people directly in Leicester, and I don't think it will. They learnt lessons from the riots in 2022. It was easily preventable, but the police did not take action in time, and things got out of hand."

While he accepted there were "pockets" of non-English speakers, he added the "vast majority" of non-white people in Leicester spoke English, and suggested that European migrants could be a factor behind the high numbers of non-English speakers in the Census figures.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer recently sparked controversy with his "Island of Strangers" speech, where he stated that migrants should "commit to integration, to learning our language."

The speech received mixed reactions, with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage taunting that Labour was "learning a great deal from us", while former Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott condemned it as "shameful."

Moghal also warned against the Prime Minister's speech, saying: "I think, is an unfortunate statement. The non-white people in Leicester have integrity and they've thrived and cooperated, in businesses, in social life, in professional life.

"What he has said will backfire and add fuel to racism. Instead of being able to dilute the agenda of Reform, he has given them a lot of strength. I don't think he has thought it through."