Jess Phillips: Policeman rails at MP's comparison of Cologne sex attacks to night out in Birmingham

One Birmingham police officer has hit out at claims by his city's MP, Jess Phillips, that the Cologne sex attacks, in which 800 women were sexually assaulted or robbed in one night, was the same as a night out in the city centre in the Midlands city.

"There is violence against women and girls that you are describing, a very similar situation to what happened in Cologne could be described on Broad Street in Birmingham every week where women are baited and heckled," Jess Phillips said on the BBC programme Question Time.

The comparison to the attacks in Cologne on New Year's Eve, allegedly carried out by men of a North African appearance, has sparked controversy across the country but particularly in Birmingham.

The Birmingham Mail quoted one upset resident as saying: "Shocking statement from Jess Phillips... hurts as a Brummie."

However, the most damning comments against the member of parliament for Birmingham came from Inspector Gareth Morris who knows Broad Street well, the area Phillips referred to.

"There is certainly nothing to suggest any crime patterns or trends related to immigration and I would invite anyone to come and enjoy a night out in Birmingham and experience what the city has to offer," the Birmingham Mail quoted Morris as saying.

"Like any city centre we, of course, experience issues associated with the night time economy, but my team has worked hard on the policing style in recent years, together with business representatives and other partners, to achieve some great results, the biggest being the reduction in violent crime fuelled by alcohol.

"We regularly have help at hand for revellers in the form of high-visibility policing and street triage teams, together with the ambulance service and third sector," he added.