Top Tory's 'Excuse' As To Why Party Didn't Call Grooming Gangs Inquiry In Office Torn Apart

Yahoo

6 hours ago

Chris Philp has been accused of using an 'excuse' to explain why the Tories did not call for their own national inquiry into grooming gangs when they were in power.
Sky News'Wilfred Frost tore into the shadow home secretary, who held ministerial positions in the last Conservative government, after Philp tried to attack Labour for only calling for a new national probe now.
The current government initially refused to organise another inquiry into the scandal when the issue resurfaced in January this year.
But, prime minister Keir Starmer suddenly U-turned over the weekend after receiving the recommendations of an independent report by Louise Casey on the scandal, saying it was the 'right thing to do'.
On Sky News this morning, Philp claimed Starmer had to be 'dragged here, kicking and screaming'.
He added: 'He's not doing this because he wants to, or because he believes in it, he's doing it because he was forced to, forced partly by the Casey report and partly by the vote we have scheduled in parliament on Wednesday.'
He claimed Starmer had 'smeared' people who called for a national probe in January by saying they jumped on a 'far-right bandwagon'.
'When he said that, Keir Starmer was essentially perpetuating the same attitude that led to the cover-up in the first place,' Philp said. 'I hope Keir Starmer is going to apologise.'
But Frost reminded him that the Tories were in power for 14 years and did not call a national inquiry into grooming gangs themselves.
Philp said they had initiated the Rotherham inquiry in 2014, the independent inquiry into child sex abuse that ran for seven years, collected ethnicity data and then led a grooming gangs task force which led to 550 arrests.
And, according to Philp, the need for a national inquiry only arose when Oldham council called for it this year.
Frost described this as an 'excuse' and noted: 'As a government you could have done this yourself earlier?'
The presenter continued: 'If the prime minister is guilty of taking too long, six months, to initiate this statutory national inquiry, then you must acknowledge that the Conservative government – over 14 years – is also guilty of taking too long and not doing enough.'
Philp said: 'I've already gone through, I think three times now, all of the things the last government did –'
'Are you saying you deserve praise for that, and the government deserves criticism for six months of delays?' Frost replied. 'Or do you also acknowledge that, despite listing all of those things three times, it wasn't enough and you deserve almost as much if not more criticism for not doing enough to stop this for 14 years?'
Philp said the government had taken 'extensive' action, claiming they were in the process of implementing the last report's recommendations when the election was called – overlooking that it was former Tory PM Rishi Sunak who called it in May 2024.
The Tory claimed testimony from figures in Oldham changed everything, adding: 'Keir Starmer should have responded quickly, he's the prime minister today.'
Wilfred Frost: If the PM is guilty of taking too long, 6 months, to set up a statutory national inquiry, then the Tory govt, over 14 years, is also guilty of taking too long.. so do the Tories not deserve more criticism for not doing enough to stop this?Chris Philp(Tory MP): No pic.twitter.com/qEMGRBDwtJ
— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) June 16, 2025
Keir Starmer Performs Major U-Turn As He Backs National Inquiry Into Groomings Gangs
Rachel Reeves Clashes With Trevor Phillips Over Labour's Grooming Gangs U-Turn
I Found The Real-Life Brand Behind Gangs Of London's Best Briefcase, And It's My New Obsession