"This is surely the point that has been at issue thruout ~~ that fear of accusations of racism has been the inhibiting factor to the whole matter's having been exposed"

M - I don't know if this is in fact correct. The discussion of these crimes on this thread began some time before I entered it, and I think the 'conversation' has taken a number of shifts in focus both before and since then.

I believe it was Jack Straw's et al comments on Pakistani marriage customs and "fizzing and popping testosterone" which was - at least initially - more of a key issue of contention between other contributors. Though personally that branch of the discussion was never of interest to me.