The area of England where up to 46% of women of Pakistani descent have children with their cousins – as research reveals shock rate of ‘extreme’ inbreeding in Britain
Cousin relationships are no longer the ‘majority’ in Bradford’s female Pakistani community, as awareness of the risks of birth defects increases.
Ten years ago, a government-funded surveillance project found that 62 percent of women of Pakistani descent were related by blood.
This figure has since fallen to 46 percent, researchers say.
It comes amid a push to ban cousins from marrying.
Independent MP Iqbal Mohamed was widely criticized yesterday after speaking out against the motion.
A senior Tory said it was ‘shocking’ that an MP would ‘defend this abhorrent practice’.
Experts began tracking the prevalence of consanguinity in Bradford – home to one of the largest Pakistani communities in Britain – in the late 1990s.
Nearly 12,500 pregnant women were surveyed about their relationship status with the father of their child.
The Born in Bradford study was later repeated with another cohort of 2,400 women between 2016 and 2019.
The final results were published last month by Wellcome Open Research, a platform run by the prestigious Wellcome Trust.
Sharing an earlier version of the results with the BBC last year, Dr John Wright, lead researcher, spoke of the ‘significant shift’ that has occurred in just under a decade.
He described cousin marriage as a “majority activity that is now almost a minority activity.”
Dr. Wright added: ‘The effect will be fewer children with birth defects.’
The Born in Bradford figures could indicate that the number of Pakistani people marrying cousins across Britain as a whole is also falling.
Reasons for the decline are said to include high levels of education, stricter immigration regulations and changes in family dynamics.
The team wrote in their research: ‘We may be seeing generational changes and newly evolving societal norms.
‘But these changes should be monitored to see if they are indications of lasting change and they should be considered in other settings where consanguinity is common to see how widespread these reductions in consanguinity are.’
More than half of the residents of the Bradford West constituency, represented by Labor MP Naz Shah, are Pakistani.
This figure stands at 36 per cent in Bradford East and almost 17 per cent in Bradford South – the city’s other two constituencies.
This map, by Professor Alan Bittles, an Australian expert in genomics, shows the number of consanguineous marriages, between cousins, around the world
Birmingham also has a large Pakistani community, with up to 40 percent of people in parts of the city belonging to that ethnicity.
Marriage between cousins was once common among Britain’s upper classes.
Historically, it was seen as a way to strengthen alliances and keep wealth and land in the family.
Despite having fallen out of fashion, the practice is still common in some communities, such as Travelers.
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were cousins and shared grandparents.
The reality of ‘extreme’ inbreeding in Britain was exposed before Covid.
Scientists who analyzed the genes of 450,000 Britons believed that 125 had parents who were first or second degree relatives.
This corresponds to a rate of one in 3,600.
When the 2019 study, published in the journal Nature Communications, was extrapolated to the wider population, it would mean that 13,000 Britons were conceived through extreme inbreeding.
First-degree relationships include those between parent and child, while second-degree relationships include more distant but still genetically close relatives such as half-siblings.
The University of Queensland authors noted that given the nature of the subject and the limited variety of Britons in the sample, the actual figures could be significantly higher or lower.
Incest – sexual intercourse between immediate family members – is illegal in Britain, even if consensual.
Marriages between certain blood relatives – as well as some step-relationships – are also illegal.
However, in Britain it is legal to marry your cousin.
Former Conservative minister Richard Holden yesterday introduced a bill to ban the practice completely.
Saying this is a “sensible time” to look at the issue, Mr Holden said: “People already think it’s illegal and then are surprised when you say it’s not.”
He pointed to evidence showing it increases the risk of birth defects and claimed it can “reinforce negative structures and control women.”
Mr Mohamed, representing Dewsbury and Batley, suggested MPs should avoid ‘stigmatising’ the issue, which is seen as ‘very positive’ in some communities.
Rather than banning it entirely, he said a “more positive approach,” involving advanced genetic testing for future married cousins, would be more effective in addressing the issues surrounding it.
Mr Mohamed, who is part of the Independent Alliance of MPs – including former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn, was criticized by senior Tories for defending the practice.
Tory spokesman Robert Jenrick said: ‘It is shocking that an MP is defending this abhorrent practice linked to birth defects and abusive relationships.
‘We know this causes enormous damage. This practice has no place in Britain.”
Labor refused to support moves to ban cousin marriages.
Worldwide, it is believed that one in ten people are the result of a blood relationship.
Estimates about the prevalence of consanguineous marriages around the world vary.
Research shows that Pakistan has one of the highest rates in the world with 65 percent of unions.
This is followed by India (55 percent), Saudi Arabia (50 percent), Afghanistan (40 percent), Iran (30 percent) and Egypt and Turkey (20 percent each).
Data shows that the risk of a child of cousins developing a genetic condition is up to 6 percent, double that of children of unrelated parents.
While this means that the majority of children born in such circumstances will be healthy, the increased risk is undeniable.
In addition to birth defects, possible conditions that children of cousins are at increased risk for include developmental delays and persistent genetic conditions.
These can include conditions such as blindness, low IQ, cleft palate, heart problems, cystic fibrosis and even an increased risk of infant mortality.