Norfolk MP says sorry for 'inbreds' comment

A Norfolk MP apologised today after suggesting that a rise in diabetes in his constituency was because people were "inbred".

Ian Gibson, Labour MP for Norwich North and a former science lecturer, admitted that his comments had upset many people.

"It has obviously caused a lot of offence and for that I unreservedly apologise," he said on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

He said that he had been trying to make a serious point about the high incidence in the county of type 1 diabetes which was thought to have a genetic component.

"Words like in-breeding and out-breeding are very professional, genetic terms," he said.

"We use them all the time but to the public that has connotations which they don't understand, or feel that it demeans them and I understand that and that is why I apologise."

Dr Gibson originally made his comments in an interview when he was asked what he thought was causing high levels of the condition in the county.

"I would imagine it is linked to the fact that people in Norfolk are quite inbred with many not leaving the county," he was quoted as saying.

Challenged by the Eastern Daily Press on whether local people would be offended, he replied: "Probably, but they are inbred. If you look at the names in Norfolk, there's a lot that are the same.

"There is an inbreeding complex in villages - people inter-marry. That might mean more of them have got the same gene which predisposes them to it."

Research has shown that some 345 children in Norfolk suffer from type 1 diabetes - more than double the 160 predicted cases for the county.

Dr Gibson said that he still hoped that there would be a proper study of the influence of genetics as a cause.

"I just hope in the study that is taking place they will look at the genetic influences and take it into consideration when they come to understand the structure of the genetic pool in an area like Norfolk," he said.

"This is a particular form where there is some evidence that there is a genetic component and you have to unravel the interaction between the genes and the environment, which is a very difficult area."