Following Labour’s dilution of its previous measures—set up as an alternative to a national ‘grooming gangs’ inquiry—sections of the party are in uproar. Westminster evasion has prompted campaign group Blue Labour to join the growing chorus of cross-party criticism, with its founder Lord Glasman calling the gangs
a national evil that requires a national response …. a national inquiry with full statutory powers. The decades-long abuse of young girls and its cover-up is a sickness that must be exorcised from the body politic.
Demands for a full public inquiry into the historical sexual abuse of thousands of children by gangs of men—predominantly of Pakistani heritage—won support partly because it would have the statutory power to summon witnesses. Instead, up to five initial local investigations were suggested, to be run by municipal authorities but with Westminster funding. Then, just as Parliament closed for Easter, it was announced that councils would have greater discretion as to how this money was spent—including not on inquiries.
Jess Phillips, the UK’s grotesquely mistitled ‘safeguarding minister,’ was widely derided for supporting this “flexible approach” at the expense of predominantly white, working-class girls, victimised over at least the past 30 years. Calls for a full national inquiry are supported by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage of Reform UK.
