UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – In a tense Prime Minister’s Questions exchange (PMQs), Sir Keir Starmer has accused the Conservative leader of “bandwagon jumping” for calling for a new inquiry into grooming gangs.
Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, has warned Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer that refusing a national inquiry into grooming gangs could fuel allegations of a “cover-up.”
She accused the PM of avoiding questions about “Labour politicians who may be complicit” in the matter.
The British prime minister pointed out that numerous investigations had already been conducted into violence by gangs of mainly Pakistani origin and warned that another inquiry would just postpone the necessary actions for victims.
He vowed to “call out” anyone preventing victims of sexual abuse from speaking their stories.
During the Prime Minister’s Questions session, Sir Starmer criticised Badenoch for showing interest in the matter only after Elon Musk tweeted about it multiple times.
The Prime Minister said, “She met her recently acquired view that it’s a scandal, having spent a lot of time on social media over Christmas. Not once in eight years did she stand here and say what she just said.”
Referring to Badenoch’s previous roles, such as children’s minister, Keir Starmer pointed out that he was not aware of her bringing up the topic of sexual abuse gangs in the Commons before.
In response, the Conservative leader stated that she had highlighted the issue in her speeches and explained that, as she was not a Home Office Minister, it was not her place to discuss the matter in the Commons.
Ahead of a vote in the Commons, where the Tory plans to introduce an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to call for an investigation, Ms Badenoch called for a new inquiry at PMQs.
The opposition leader dismissed Keir Starmer’s claim that a new nationwide inquiry following Prof Jay’s 2022 report would not hinder the execution of Jay’s suggestions.
In reply, the Labour’s leader said he had a discussion with some survivors of grooming gangs on Wednesday, who told him they wanted swift action rather than a new investigation.
Sir Starmer also acknowledged that maybe other abuse survivors have different opinions. He strongly criticised the planned amendment, which he argued would halt the progress of the entire children’s well-being and school legislation.
No 10 has indicated that the prime minister is “open-minded” regarding the demand for another investigation into grooming gangs, as urged by the Conservative Party.
Alongside topics like academy chains and school uniforms, the bill focuses on enhancing child welfare, especially by removing the automatic right for parents to home-school a child who is on a child protection plan.
The British PM pointed out that this measure could help stop tragedies like the case of 10-year-old Sara Sharif, who was withdrawn from school before being brutally killed by her father and stepmother.
Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, who rejected the request for another inquiry into Oldham child sexual abuse, believes that local-run investigations have a stronger track record in driving meaningful change as per her observation.
Earlier this month, a controversy sparked online regarding grooming gangs. Elon Musk, the Tesla owner and a close supporter of Donald Trump, raised this issue on his social media platform X and strongly criticised the Labour leader and Ms. Phillip. He even stated that she “deserves to be in prison.” Later on Monday, while announcing NHS reforms, Keir Starmer condemned Musk’s remarks about the safeguarding minister and said he was misleading and sharing false information.