THE new leader of one of Britain’s leading Muslim organisations has condemned the grooming of girls for sex — but said using the issue “to misrepresent an entire faith is unacceptable.”

Dr Wajid Akhter’s comments came as he was chosen as the new secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain.

He said: “Let me make it crystal clear. One groomer is one too many, Muslim or otherwise.

“But using the heinous acts of a few to misrepresent an entire faith and an ethnicity is also unacceptable.

“We will act against both injustices.”

Far-right groups and parts of the media have exploited the issue of grooming in towns including Rotherham and Rochdale to promote racism, ignoring the involvement of white British men in the crime.

A Home Office study in 2020 found that group-based child sexual exploitation offenders are most commonly white.

An earlier study involving 19 police forces in 2015 found that of 1,231 perpetrators of “group and gang-based child sexual exploitation,” 42 per cent were white, 14 per cent were defined as Asian or Asian British and 17 per cent were black.

In his inaugural address, Dr Akhter spoke about the issues facing British Muslims, including recent spikes in Islamophobia on social media.

“We must sidestep the culture wars that force us into a corner and label everyone who criticises us as racist or Islamophobic,” he said.

“We must be willing to engage in good faith with even our most ardent critics. Build bridges, not barriers.”

The organisation, established in 1998, describes itself as Britain’s largest Muslim umbrella organisation, with more than 500 affiliates, though successive political administrations have refused to engage with it.

Labour minister Alex Norris confirmed to Parliament in August that the government’s policy not to engage remained unchanged and that there were no plans for ministers to meet the council.