Dad accused of allowing girl's FGM says it is 'against religion'

The court heard the man denied he had allowed his daughter to be cut

A man accused of allowing his six-year-old daughter to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM) said the practice was "against his religion".

The man from Bristol, who at one point drove a private hire vehicle, is alleged to have confessed to a passenger that he had allowed her to be cut, saying it was a "tradition".

The 29-year-old is on trial at Bristol Crown Court accused of child cruelty in relation to the procedure.

He denies allowing her to be assaulted.

Det Con Katherine Crowe, of Avon and Somerset Police, told the court the man said in a police interview he could "guarantee nothing happened to my daughter".

She said the man told officers that although he moved to the UK from Somalia in 2004 and his own wife had undergone FGM, he did not "want my children to go through that situation".

'Not religion, tradition'

In interview, the man, who cannot be identified to protect the child's identity, described his religious faith as "50:50, moderate. I follow the rules of God, Ramadan and prayer".

The court heard he added: "The Koran is against FGM so only ignorant people believe in it. It's not religion, it's tradition."

Earlier the jury heard how a medical examination of the girl revealed a small lesion, "a couple of millimetres at most".

However, two doctors questioned said they could not confirm FGM had taken place.

The court heard that in the police interview the man also denied his wife had taken his daughter for FGM and said she had never suffered any injury or illness that could explain the lesion.

He denied that he spoke about FGM to Sami Ullah when he picked him up at Bristol Temple Meads station in March 2016.

When asked if he had told Mr Ullah his daughter had had the "small cut", he replied: "I didn't say that, he's a liar."

The case continues.