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theweaselkingIt began as a whisper, an inflammatory rumour that gained horror and currency each time it was told. It was said that after being caught shoplifting, a girl of 13 or 14 had pleaded for leniency, but had been raped by between three and 25 Pakistani men in a suburban beauty store.
When the attack was supposed to have happened was never clear. And the police, it was said, were never called because the girl was a Jamaican who feared that she would be deported.
By yesterday, six days after the rumour was given even wider circulation by a DJ on a pirate radio station, it was being blamed for much of Saturday night's rioting in Birmingham which left one man dead and up to 35 others needing hospital treatment.
During the disturbances, shops were attacked, cars set on fire and hundreds of police in riot gear were confronted with bricks and bottles. Four people were stabbed, including a 23-year-old black man who later died in hospital. A police officer was shot in the leg with a ball-bearing gun, one of 12 gunshot incidents.
There is still no evidence that the girl exists or that the attack took place.
When the attack was supposed to have happened was never clear. And the police, it was said, were never called because the girl was a Jamaican who feared that she would be deported.
By yesterday, six days after the rumour was given even wider circulation by a DJ on a pirate radio station, it was being blamed for much of Saturday night's rioting in Birmingham which left one man dead and up to 35 others needing hospital treatment.
During the disturbances, shops were attacked, cars set on fire and hundreds of police in riot gear were confronted with bricks and bottles. Four people were stabbed, including a 23-year-old black man who later died in hospital. A police officer was shot in the leg with a ball-bearing gun, one of 12 gunshot incidents.
There is still no evidence that the girl exists or that the attack took place.