Gypsy mother forces minor daughter to marry

London, May 12 (UNI) A Polish gypsy mother pooh-poohing British values forced her 13-year-old daughter to marry a boy of 14 here which is not recognised by the law.

The mother Renata Gural who hails from Polish gypsy origin condemned British values yesterday as irrelevent to her and said she remains unconcerned over the euphoria and outrage over her daughter's wedding ceremony that took place at a pub in East London on April 28.

''I'm not bothered what anyone thinks,'' was the remark of 31 year old mother who is pregnant with her sixth child, Daily Mail reported.

''I'll be the one who decides if my daughter is old enough to marry. I got married when I was 14 in such a ceremony and it hasn't done me any harm,'' was her remark to justify her act citing her own personal example.

''Just because I live in Britain doesn't mean I've got to behave the way you lot think is right. I'll live my life the way I want and that includes the way I bring up my kids,'' was the way the mother of 13 took on the British value system.

''I don't care what the neighbours think, or social services. It's not my problem people around here don't understand our culture and values,'' she remarked.

Her daughter of 13, Bozena married Bezo just a year older than her and the son of another gipsy family originally from Poland, in front of 150 guests at the Central pub in East Ham.

A community elder clasped the couple to his chest, bound their hands in a scarf, kissed them both on the lips and pronounced them man and wife while the guests danced to Polish music all the night.

''I'm really happy with married life and for the first time in my life I feel like a proper grown-up,'' remarked the daughter Bozena yesterday.

''Before I was just a little girl and then suddenly there I was married. That's every girl's dream isn't it?'' she remarked.

Her mother insisted the young couple had not consummated the marriage and that she will not allow her daughter to have sex until she is 18.

Their marriage is not recognised under British law, but there are fears that similar underground ceremonies could become common as the number of gypsies in Britain rises following the eastwards expansion of the EU.

Often girls are ''promised'' to a boy from the age of seven or eight in return for a cash dowry in gypsy Polish societies.

UNI XC SZ PK KP1143