Female genital mutilation is most commonly carried out in parts of Africa and the Middle East, which attempts to cut, or change female genitalia. It is usually carried out on girls before puberty and can be practiced on infants.

It is illegal in the UK and Ireland: however, the NHS statistics for April 2015 to March 2016, recorded by doctors and nurses, shows there are 5,702 new cases in England, 18 of which were carried out in the UK.

It’s estimated that figures are actually much higher – and that around 170,000 women and girls in the UK have undergone the procedure.

A groundbreaking step in raising public awareness of the brutal procedure came recently thanks to an episode of prime time TV show Call The Midwife, which centered around an FGM survivor. Ali consulted on it and the sensitively handled episode was lauded by the NSPCC for shining a spotlight on the hugely important topic .

Anti-FGM activist Nimco Ali recalls being asked "if she can orgasm" by Jeremy Hunt