Grooming gangs scandal inquiry U-turn leaves tin-eared Starmer facing massive questions over his judgment

The Sun

16 hours ago

WELCOME aboard the 'far-right bandwagon' then, Prime Minister.
It's been six months since Sir Keir Starmer airily dismissed those calling for a moment of reckoning over the wave of Asian rape gangs systematically attacking white British girls under the noses of officials and cops.
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Six months since the PM whipped his Labour MPs to vote down an inquiry into the biggest scandal and cover-up in modern British history, yet mysteriously missed the toxic Commons vote himself.
And six months since our technocratic lawyer leader outsourced the problem to someone else, instead of gripping the issue from the centre.
Now Dame Louise Casey, the go-to woman to write long reports on issues ministers find too sticky, has reached the blindingly obvious conclusion that this blot on our national history deserves more than just mournful words and brushing under the carpet.
As one weeping survivor, Elizabeth, told GB News: 'We're not far-right — we were just children who were abused.'
Horrific abuse
We will find out what exactly Casey has unearthed later today when her report is published — but even on the facts as known already, the case for an inquiry is already overwhelming.
Hundreds of men of Pakistani origin, often working in cabs or takeaways, luring and drugging young girls with drink and drugs and subjecting them to the most horrific ­sexual abuse.
A generation of victims then failed by simpleton social ­services across ­dozens of mostly Labour-run local authorities.
Officials more worried about so-called community cohesion than rape, police forces suspiciously close to so-called ­community leaders, turning a blind eye or even returning young women into the hands of the evil perpetrators.
Girls branded slags and prostitutes rather than child-abuse victims — all in the name of multicultural harmony and cultural enrichment.
If you weren't already angry about this before Elon Musk took the issue stratospheric last Christmas, then you were not paying attention.
Groomed, A National Scandal on Channel 4
The court transcripts alone, such as one case in Dewsbury where a victim was told, 'we're here to f*** all the white girls and f*** the Government', should have been enough to trigger a wider review.
But the Labour Government again and again appeared to close the doors and windows to the much-needed disinfection of sunlight — in what could well be a brand-destroying inquiry into years of failure by the party across swathes of northern Britain.
To his credit, Sir Keir had a strong track record in ­beginning to crack this scandal as Director of Public Prosecution, banging up the first batch of abusers.
Which makes the lawyer leader's obfuscation earlier this year even more baffling — and even more personally damaging.
Rightly or wrongly, it looked like a political leader — who in a past life knew the horrors and evil that was wrought across northern cities and towns — now in charge of a party at the centre of the ­scandal and doing his utmost to avoid ­scrutiny.
A regularly repeated tale from those who have worked closely with Starmer in both Opposition and government is that the lawyer leader often refuses to take advice from those who genuinely mean him well and want him to do the right thing. Instead, the ­barrister locks himself away from aides, reads his brief and makes his own decisions, thinking he knows best.
Inevitable U-turns
It's said to be a trait the PM sticks to, despite the fact he has been shown time and again to suffer from a political tin ear, preferring the comfort of reviews and legalese over instinct and leadership.
And then the inevitable U-turns come when it turns out the lawyer did not know best, after all.
The case for an inquiry was as obvious in ­January as it is now, but the PM was clearly unwilling to be seen to be bounced into it by Musk, Reform or the Tories.
He could have shown a ­genuine moment of strong leadership and got on the front foot, but yet again could not see the chance.
So, the rug has now been pulled from under him by the very 'audit' he clearly hoped would make this thorny issue go away.
And frankly, the PM has only himself to blame for looking like he's been dragged into this kicking and screaming — once again facing massive questions over his judgment, nous or even emotional intelligence.
Plenty in Government saw an inquiry as not just the right thing to do, but a political no-brainer, given their hand would be forced eventually.
But it's not too late for the PM to do the right thing now, as he sets up the probe.
No wishy-washy old human-rights lawyer mate from his past will do at the helm.
Instead, we need a proper judge with a track record of not ­caving in to politically ­correct trends.
No Labour council, official or local organiser spared from testimony.
No police force off-limits for a hauling over the coals.
And Covid Inquiry -style ­powers to have council emails, phone records and court papers turned over and ­published in full, however politically toxic for Labour.
This inquiry needs to be no- holds-barred and it must be televised.
The victims — and this ­country — deserve the whole truth about these horrors, ­however long it takes and ­however hard that is for the PM and his party.
OUR man in Washington, Peter Mandelson, is proving something of a hit in Republican circles, despite initial concerns the Labour ­veteran would rub Trump-world up the wrong way.
His lavish bashes have helped, like the one held last week ahead of the President's controversial parade to celebrate the US Army, first raised to boot out the Brits.
But in a typically Mandelsonian way, he even took credit for that, purring: 'My warmest congratulations to the US Army on their 250th birthday. We may have played a rather outsized role in their formation.'
THE mood among Tory MPs remains as bleak as can be, with a growing fear the party has yet to hit rock-bottom in terms of numbers, despite their wipeout last year.
While many are still petrified of yet more bloodletting and regicide, it feels like the balance is shifting towards addressing the Kemi Badenoch problem sooner rather than later.
Conservative folklore says the one who wields the knife never wears the crown, which puts last year's runner-up Robert Jenrick in a tricky spot if he is seen to move against the leadership.
Now a growing number feel the party's woes will not be fixed until a generation is skipped and a leader emerges who did not serve in any of the previous Conservative administrations.
There were 26 new Tory MPs elected last July, with whips increasingly keeping an eye on a possible ambush emerging from this block of newbies.