THE Macpherson report into the murder of Stephen Lawrence has led to a politically correct backlash with police afraid to investigate black and Asian crime for fear of being accused of racism, according to one of Britain’s most prominent Muslim MPs.

Mohammad Sarwar, the Labour MP for Glasgow Central, said some communities are being terrorised by black and Asian gangs, but, in many cases, police have failed to act.

The reluctance of police to tackle ethnic criminals has allowed gangs to operate with impunity in areas of Scotland, the north of England and parts of London.

Sarwar claims that black and Asian communities are as much the victims of this criminal activity as white people and he wants police forces to use a zero-tolerance approach to smash the gangs.

The Macpherson report, published almost seven years ago, followed a year-long inquiry into the Metropolitan police’s mishandling of the murder of Lawrence, a black teenager, in Eltham, southeast London, in 1993.

Sir William Macpherson, a retired judge, concluded that there was a culture of institutional racism within the police service and recommended that officers undergo courses in racism awareness and valuing cultural diversity.

It also said the Home Office, police forces and local authorities should establish databases to record and report racially motivated incidents and crimes.

However, according to Sarwar, the pendulum has now swung too far the other way and the reluctance by some police officers to stop and arrest black and Asian youths is benefiting criminals.

“After Stephen Lawrence, there were a lot of problems,” said Sarwar. “There has definitely been a perception that the police haven’t tackled crime hard enough in Asian communities. I think that is beginning to change, but it’s very early days.

“A lot of people come to me and say the police are not doing much for fear of being accused of racism.

“Gang culture is a problem, it is a big challenge for us all and the police should not have any fear that if they (arrest) people from Asian communities they will be accused of racism.

“I can understand the reasons police have been reluctant, but it worries me, because people from white communities may feel that someone is not treated the same way by the police because of their colour and we need to do everything possible to dispel that.”

Sarwar, whose constituency includes Pollokshields, which houses Scotland’s biggest Pakistani community, has raised the issue with Strathclyde police.

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