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Last Updated: Monday, 9 August, 2004, 14:15 GMT 15:15 UK
Race documentary to be broadcast
Bradford race riots
Police feared the show would spark riots, as seen in Bradford in 2001
A documentary which police feared could incite racial violence is to be broadcast later this month.

Edge of the City was supposed to be broadcast on Channel 4 in May, but it was withdrawn from schedules.

It features claims that Asian men in Bradford are grooming white girls as young as 11 for sex and drug abuse.

The British National Party (BNP) based an election broadcast on the show. Channel 4 said it now plans to screen the documentary on 26 August.

'Public interest'

The documentary was originally postponed on the advice of West Yorkshire Police, who said they were concerned it could lead to inter-racial violence in the city.

Peter Dale, Channel 4 head of documentaries, said: "Edge of the City is an important, well-researched and produced documentary film.

"We believe that it is a fascinating insight into the work of the social services in Bradford, crafted in a fair and measured way, and it is in the public interest that this film be shown."

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said there was "never an issue of censorship".

He added: "West Yorkshire Police had concerns regarding the timing of the broadcast in relation to a number of factors, including the European and local elections.

"We never had any intention of preventing it from being shown at some stage."

Race riots

The documentary, which follows the work of Bradford Social Services over the course of a year, shows social workers raising fears over the grooming of young white girls by older, predominantly Asian, men in Keighley.

It is alleged the girls are showered with gifts then given heroin or crack cocaine. Some are allegedly subjected to rape and gang rape.

The BNP election broadcast, which was used in the run-up to the local and European elections, featured an actress voicing the words of a mother who claimed her young teenage daughter had been drugged by her Asian boyfriend and gang-raped by his friends.

In a joint statement, West Yorkshire Police and Bradford Council said they had spent the past two years investigating the allegations, but had found "no evidence of systematic exploitation".

In July 2001 Bradford was the scene of some of the worst race riots Britain has seen for 20 years.




SEE ALSO:
Businessman jailed over Bradford riots
03 Jul 03  |  West Yorkshire
BNP's broadcast based on C4 film
26 May 04  |  Politics
Documentary pulled over race fear
20 May 04  |  Entertainment
Channel 4 defends abortion film
05 Apr 04  |  Entertainment


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