Two arrested for conspiracy to commit FGM after airport stop
Two people are arrested for conspiracy to commit Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), following an investigation at London’s Heathrow airport.
A 72-year-old Ugandan was arrested in Newham, east London on Saturday, under Section 2 of the FGM Act, namely aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring a girl to carry out FGM on herself.
The man was stopped at Heathrow airport on Friday, having arrived that morning on a flight from Kampala, Uganda. He was travelling with an 11-year-old girl who is now in the care of social services.
A 40-year-old woman was also arrested in Hackney, east London, and was taken to a local police station. She remains in custody.
.@GirlSummit
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— Integrate Bristol (@FGMsilentscream) July 25, 2014
The FGM Act makes it illegal to participate in any sort of arrangement for FGM to be performed on another person, inside or outside the UK.
These two arrests come after Britain hosted its first Girl Summit, where the government announced new plans to prosecute parents, who carry out FGM. Mandatory reporting and more training for teachers and social workers was also promised.
The UK has previously been criticised by campaigners for a failure to prosecute those responsible for FGM.