During a Mirpur Airport Demand Grand Conference in Birmingham, Khan claimed that grooming gangs were "a narrative that is done in order to sow division" - a speech which has been branded "naive at best and malicious at worst".

Khan said: "When the right-wing media and those that seek to undermine... They are using their false narrative, and there's nothing new in that.

"We know what they have run in the past... Whether that's in relation to the people that stand up for human rights in Palestine or Kashmir, whether it's to do with grooming gangs, it's a narrative that is done in order to sow division."

These comments prompted Phillips to rage on air: “You disgusting, vile, shallow, spineless, nasty, unpatriotic man! How DARE you!”

Meanwhile, Michael Portillo told GB News that using the term "narrative" suggests he is "not accepting the facts of the matter".

Portillo explained: "He talked about a grooming gang narrative which is being spread to sow division. Now, first of all, I think we ought to call them rape gangs.

"And let's face it, the rape gangs is not a narrative, it is a series of facts, and we don't actually know enough of those facts. Because although a number of men were convicted of terrible crimes, the Government has withdrawn any idea of having an inquiry into how widespread this was, and in particular, what was the institutional and governmental response to these crimes."