Man and woman arrested for conspiring to commit FGM on 11-year-old British girl

A man and a woman have been arrested on suspicion of conspiring to commit Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) on an 11-year-old British girl.

The 72-year-old man, a Ugandan national, was held at Heathrow airport yesterday morning after arriving in the UK from Kampala, Uganda, with the girl.

Police alerted social services and she was subsequently taken into care.

A 40-year-old woman was later arrested in Hackney in connection with the case.

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Both suspects remain in custody at east London police stations today, Scotland Yard said.

The arrests come amid growing pressure for UK authorities to crack down on the practice, which is most prevalent among sub-Saharan and north-east African communities.

In May, Metropolitan Police officers stationed at Heathrow arrested a 38-year-old British woman who got off a flight from Sierra Leone as part of their recent investigations.