The Conservative party has unveiled new proposals to crack down on the "scourge" of forced marriage in the British Asian community.

Proposals revealed by the Shadow Immigration Minister, Damian Green, include a requirement for spouses to register, before going abroad, the name of their potential husband or wife.

Damian Green said: "The continuing existence of forced marriages in modern Britain is a stain on our social fabric. "It is the extreme and unacceptable end of the clash of values between a plural democracy which values individual human rights and belief systems that regard women as second class citizens. Shockingly, forced marriages are not isolated events.

"The government's Forced Marriage Unit does some good work but more effective action is needed. "The Conservative Party has a number of proposals which we are putting out to consultation to minimise the incidence of forced marriage.

"Our aim is that all those who come here to live will participate fully in British society, and that British society will be confident enough to allow diversity (as it always has) without losing its central values. One of those values is individual freedom over the key decisions in our lives. Choosing who to marry is one of those decisions, so there is no place in Britain for forced marriage."