CULTURE Secretary Sajid Javid has become the latest figure following the Bullfinch scandal to call for an investigation into why men in some cultures have a "completely unacceptable" view of women.

Mr Javid asked why there are men in modern British society who have "such a low value of women that they see them as commodities to be abused".

And he also said that political correctness had prevented authorities from properly investigating the abuse of young girls by older Asian Muslim men. 

His comments came after the abuse scandals in Oxford, where up to 373 youngsters were abused or at danger of being groomed, Rotherham and Rochdale.

The politician told the Daily Telegraph magazine: "In order to get to the bottom of this we have to look at the cultural aspects of it, and we can no longer be held back in any sense by political correctness.

"I know plenty of people, British Muslims, men and women, who would 100 per cent agree with that, not only out of a sense of shame but also because of the fear of what else might be going on.

"Some of the values that certain people in some communities have, in their attitudes to women or on the question of freedom of expression, are just totally unacceptable in British society; and we do no one any favours when we don't investigate or talk about them."

Mr Javid said a "misplaced sense of political correctness" prevented authorities "properly investigating" what was going on in the past.

He told the magazine: "Well, first of all the perpetrators were disproportionately Asian Muslim men, and I absolutely think there has been a misplaced sense of political correctness that prevented authorities, whether social workers or police, from properly investigating what was going on.

"If we are to learn proper lessons from this, we have to look at the cultural side of some communities in Britain and see why it is that in some communities there are men that have a view of women that is completely unacceptable in modern British society; why do they have such a low value of women that they see them as commodities to be abused?

"And these are just the cases we know about. But what about the women in their own communities? What might be going on that we don't know about, where girls are too frightened to report something?"

A Serious Case Review released last month highlighted failings by Thames Valley Polcie, Oxfordshire County Council and other authorities to recognise the signs that vulnerable girls were being groomed, abused and prostituted by the 'Bullfinch' gang of men in Oxford.

Det Chief Supt Andrew Murray said at the time of the review's release that there should be an academic study into why the offenders in grooming gangs were predominantly Muslim.