SARAH Champion has resigned from the Shadow Cabinet, apologising for her "extremely poor choice of words" in a newspaper article about child abuse.

Her decision to quit the role of Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary comes as Jeremy Corbyn prepares to take his summer campaign to Scotland with a rally in Glasgow next Thursday.

Ms Champion, the MP for Rotherham, cited her column for The Sun last Friday as the reason for her apology and resignation. In it, she warned Britain had a "problem with British Pakistani men raping and exploiting white girls".

Explaining her decision, she said she was concerned that continuing in her Shadow Cabinet role would distract from the "crucial issues" around child protection.

Mr Corbyn said: "I have accepted Sarah Champion's resignation and thank her for her work in the shadow cabinet. I look forward to working together in future."

Ms Champion's column in The Sun followed an interview for the BBC last Thursday in which she warned people were not raising potential cases of child abuse as they feared being labelled racist.

She also told the BBC there was a need to acknowledge the "majority of perpetrators have been British-Pakistani" in the English towns and cities where grooming gangs had targeted girls.

Her remarks emerged after 18 people were convicted of or admitted offences in a series of trials related to child sexual exploitation in Newcastle.

In her article, she wrote: "Britain has a problem with British-Pakistani men raping and exploiting white girls. There. I said it. Does that make me a racist? Or am I just prepared to call out this horrifying problem for what it is?

"For too long we have ignored the race of these abusers and, worse, tried to cover it up. No more. These people are predators and the common denominator is their ethnic heritage."

Later, Ms Champion sought to distance herself from the article, claiming it had been altered.

More than 100 MPs and peers, including the Yorkshire MP, later complained about "Nazi-like" language in The Sun following a comment piece by its former political editor Trevor Kavanagh in which he asked what could be done about "the Muslim Problem".

A spokeswoman for The Sun said: "Sarah Champion's column, as it appeared on Friday, was approved by her team and her adviser twice contacted us thereafter to say she was 'thrilled' with the piece and it 'looked great'.

"Indeed, her only objection after the article appeared was her belief that her picture byline looked unflattering. Her office submitted five new pictures for further use."