Pakistani cousin marriage has no place in UK

Inbreeding is bad, actually.

You’d think that would go without saying. Not in the United Kingdom, where the Genomics Education Programme of NHS England recently published guidance touting the supposed “social advantages” of cousin marriages.

In Redbridge, East London, one in five child deaths was linked to consanguineous parents.

This is what happens when a subject becomes so controversial that no one dares to speak plainly. For years, journalists avoided discussing rampant cousin marriage for fear of alienating the Pakistani population. Even right-leaning newspapers mostly looked the other way.

Imported dysfunction

Last year, however, the Daily Express broke ranks, running a story headlined: “Pressure mounts for marriage ban for first cousins over birth defect fears.” The paper u