Legal News

A spokesman for Scotland Yard has confirmed that police arrested a 42-year-old woman at Heathrow Airport on Friday (06/02/15) on suspicion of being about to commit female genital mutilation (FGM) offences.

The woman was detained by police as she was trying to board a flight to Ghana via Amsterdam with an eight-year-old girl, the Belfast Telegraph reports.

The eight-year-old girl accompanying the arrested woman has been taken into care of social services.

The woman detained was taken to a west London police station, before being transferred to Northampton, where Northamptonshire Police will investigate the case.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is illegal in the UK – and Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged to eradicate the practice of “cutting” young women and girls.

Last week, a surgeon who “undid” an FGM procedure during surgery on a woman and then restored it after surgery was cleared of charges involving FGM.

In Friday’s arrest, police officers were stationed at Heathrow Airport in west London to carry out preventative and detection work involving surveillance on inbound and outbound flights to "countries of prevalence" for FGM. Police were carrying out an “awareness” operation to coincide with the International Day of Zero Tolerance of FGM.

Both the Metropolitan Police and UK Border Force were involved in the operation to raise awareness of FGM – also known as female circumcision.

The Met Police operation into FGM is called Project Azure. Officers spoke to passengers from countries affected by FGM, including Kenya, Ghana, Doha and Abu Dhabi. Police also distributed health passports and checked luggage. No offences were identified but police gave passengers guidance about the risks of carrying out FGM on young women and girls.

FGM involves the mutilation of the female genitals. In some cultures it is carried out to please men in a community. In reality, the procedure results in immense pain, bleeding, and potential infection for the woman. FGM may also result in difficulties during childbirth – or even death from bleeding or infection. The procedure is carried out without anaesthetic – and often without warning to the child of what is about to happen.

It is reported the woman arrested is a British national who was born in Zimbabwe.

In the UK, FGM is considered child abuse if it is carried out on a minor.

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