'Pakistani sex gang had Punjabi values'

London, June 25 (IANS) A British historian has been termed a "racist" and "bigot" after he said a Pakistani sex gang that preyed on young white schoolgirls in Britain had values "entrenched in foothills of the Punjab".

David Starkey made the comment at the Festival of Education at Wellington College in Berkshire, the Daily Mail reported Monday.

Shabir Ahmed, a Pakistani-origin taxi driver and a father of four, has been sentenced to jail for 19 years. He was found guilty of raping a minor Asian girl 30 times in 10 years.

The other nine Muslim gang members, who groomed girls as young as 13 for sex, were jailed last month for a total of 77 years.

After the Pakistani sex gang members were convicted, Starkey declared that they were "acting within their cultural norm".

He said the gang needed to be "inculcated in the British ways of doing things", the Mail said.

Journalist Laurie Penny, who attended the panel event, termed him a racist and a bigot.

Penny, 25, who writes for the New Statesman, accused Starkey of "playing xenophobia and national prejudice for laughs".

As she spoke, the audience shouted "keep going, keep going".

The historian, however, walked over to her, jabbed his finger at her face and said: "I will not be lectured to by a jumped-up public school girl like you."

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