DAVID Davies MP defended himself last night, following a scathing attack by other Welsh politicians and leading ethnic minority leaders over alleged "divisive" and "knee-jerk" comments he made during a radio interview.

The Monmouth MP said some communities had "imported backward, medieval and barbaric" views about women, when during a BBC Radio Five interview on Wednesday over the case of convicted 14-year-old rapist Bilal Khan from Stoke-on-Trent.

The teenager admitted rape and robbery and was sentenced to three years in a young offenders' institution.

Mr Davies had written to the Attorney General Baroness Scotland calling for her to investigate the sentence and asking for the sentencing guidelines with a starting point of five to eight years to be enforced in this case.

During the interview Mr Davies said some communities had "imported backward, medieval and barbaric" views about women and added: "I think there is a wider question here - what is it about this young man’s upbringing, what about his community or his parental upbringing that led him to think that woman are second-class people whose rights can be trampled over like this?"

Despite stressing throughout that his comments were not related to Islamic or racial issues, he has come under attack.

The Conservative Party said his comments "do not reflect the views of the party in any way."

Mohammed Shafiq, Chief Executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, a UK-wide Muslim youth organisation, said: "I am disgusted with David Davies’ attempts to link the disgusting case of a teenage rapist to the Muslim and ethnic minority communities. "We in our communities find what Balal Khan has done evil and totally unacceptable in Islam."

He said that he found Mr Davies' comments "deeply offensive and of no substance."

Newport East MP Jess Morden said: "To make such broad sweeping statements are unfair and extremely divisive."

Welsh Secretary Peter Hain MP said Mr Davies should be "ashamed of himself" and added: "I am appalled at this Conservative MP's indiscriminate attack on whole communities in our tolerant society. His was a knee-jerk reaction based on ignorance."

Mr Davies hit back last night, saying: "Peter Hain and I are sworn enemies. For him to put out a statement regarding accusations of racism, I would say to him and anyone else - listen to the interview, show me the quote where I say that.

"I explicitly said throughout the interview that this is not linked to any nationality or race.

"I simply brought up the fact that in the case of Bilal Khan and the case of the Edlington torturers, it is reasonable to question whether their behaviour is connected to their upbringing."

EDITORIAL COMMENT: Error of judgement

MONMOUTH MP David Davies has got himself into very hot water with his unguarded radio comments which appeared to link the attitudes of immigrant men towards women with a rape committed by a boy of Asian extraction in Stoke.

His reference to communities "who have imported into this country barbaric and medieval attitudes towards women" have led most observers to conclude that he was referring to Muslims, although he has denied this.

The fact that he made comments that could be interpreted in this way is very naive, to say the least, and, predictably, he has been hammered especially by political opponents.

While we uphold the right of free speech we expect people to use it responsibly, particularly those in public office.

Comments such as those by Mr Davies are a let down.

He may well not like the attitudes towards women within certain communities and he is free to say so. Many may echo those views.

But to air those views in connection with the crime of rape is the kind of distortion we would expect from the BNP, not a responsible mainstream politician.

He needs to apologise for his verbal clumsiness.