A prominent Labour MP and key ally of Jeremy Corbyn shared a social media message telling victims of sickening sex abuse to shut up for “the good of diversity.”
Naz Shah retweeted and liked a post on Twitter by an account parodying left-wing writer Owen Jones which said: “Those abused girls in Rotherham and elsewhere just need to shut their mouths. For the good of diversity.”
Her actions have reignited the furious row over Pakistani sex gangs which last week saw Labour MP Sarah Champion hounded out of Labour’s front benches for writing an article in The Sun addressing the issue.
Ms Shah, who later deleted the retweet and unliked the post, was a key figure in leading the furore against a column written by The Sun’s Trevor Kavanagh about the grooming sex scandal last week.
Equality and Human Rights Commission chief executive Rebecca Hilsenrath immediately condemned the Labour MP last night.
She said: “Ms Shah should know better.
“We need to keep the victims of these horrific crimes at the heart of the debate and always remember that diversity is not served by silence.”
The British-born Muslim MP, 43, who was once a key aide to Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, accused Mr Kavanagh of using “Nazi-like terminology”.
She organised an open letter to The Sun signed by 107 MPs demanding action.
Ms Shah, who served on the influential House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, wrote The Sun’s piece was “irresponsible” and that it set “a dangerous precedent.”
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn praised her for the letter on his Facebook page.
Last year the Bradford West MP was suspended by Labour for anti-semitic online posts.
In one, she shared rants on Facebook calling for Israel to be uprooted and dumped in America. In another she likened Israeli policies to those of Hitler and also wrote: “The Jews are rallying.”
She later blamed her anti-semitism on “ignorance”.
A total of 20 girls gave evidence during the trials at Newcastle crown court, which saw 17 men and one woman jailed for grooming.
A spokesman for Ms Shah said: “This was a genuine accident eight days ago that was rectified within minutes. To suggest otherwise is absolute nonsense.
“Her record speaks for itself. Naz has been working for over 20 years on the issues of child abuse, violence against women and grooming, which is well documented.
“She has and will continue to advocate for all victims, and work towards eradicating this evil from society.”
Jeremy Corbyn’s office did not respond to The Sun’s request for comment.