Child sexual abuse victim criticises ‘smug' Badenoch over grooming inquiry
A victim of child sexual abuse has hit out at 'smug' Kemi Badenoch as he accused the Conservative leader of politicising the grooming gangs scandal.
Liberal Democrat MP Josh Babarinde said he was 'really let down and disgusted' by Mrs Badenoch's party political response to the national inquiry.
Labour's Dan Aldridge also spoke of his experience of 'sexual and psychological abuse' as a result of grooming, during the Home Secretary's statement in the Commons.
The MP for Weston-super-Mare said he 'found it galling' to listen to Tory and Reform MPs 'who never once lifted a finger'.
Mrs Badenoch earlier said it was left to the Conservatives to 'force' action on grooming gangs 'time and time again'.
The Opposition leader said: 'They accused those of us demanding justice for the victims of this scandal as and I quote 'jumping on a far right bandwagon', a claim the Prime Minister's official spokesman restated this weekend, shameful. It has been left to Conservatives time and time again to force this issue.'
She added: 'We went further than those recommendations. It was the Conservatives who established the grooming gangs taskforce, which supported police forces to make 807 arrests for group-based child sexual exploitation last year. So don't tell me we did nothing.
'There are legitimate concerns about institutions investigating themselves, especially as some of the most egregious cases of institutional failure occurred in Labour-controlled authorities. They can moan as much as they like but the people out there believe that is why nothing has happened yet.'
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said Baroness Casey's report 'sets out a timeline of failure from 2009 to 2025'.
She added: 'Repeated reports and recommendations that were not acted on, on child protection, on police investigations, on ethnicity data, on data sharing, on support for victims.
'For 14 of those 16 years, her party was in government, including years when she was the minister for children and families, then the minister for equalities, covering race and ethnicity issues and violence against women and girls, and I did not hear her raise any of these issues until January of this year.'
Speaking of his own experiences of abuse, Mr Babarinde said 'the horror, the trauma, the guilt never leaves you'.
The MP for Eastbourne said: 'As a survivor of child sexual abuse myself, I stand in solidarity with the many victims and survivors that the system has failed over many, many years.
'And I can say that the horror, the trauma, the guilt never leaves you, and I so hope that every survivor who is identified here receives the mental health support and otherwise they deserve to rebuild their lives.
'Survivors have witnessed very many promises, 20 recommendations, and the call of 'never again', time and again. What will the Home Secretary do and how will she reassure them that this won't be another one of those examples?'
He continued: 'I am really let down and disgusted that the leader of the Opposition began her remarks with a party political assault on her opponents like this. Victims and survivors deserve more than a smug 'I told you so', diatribe. Victims and survivors deserve action.'
In her reply, Ms Cooper said his speaking out would help other victims and confirmed the Government wants to extend therapy available for victims.
Later in the session, Mr Aldridge said: 'I want to pay tribute to victims, survivors and campaigners. I am 40 years old, and it has taken me to be 40 to be able to talk about some of the abuse that happened when I was a child.
'As one of the countless victims living with the impacts of grooming, sexual and psychological abuse, I found it galling to watch Tory and Reform members who never once lifted a finger.'
In response to groans from the Opposition benches, he added: 'No, you didn't. You didn't.'
Mr Aldridge accused opposition parties of 'appointing themselves as defenders of abuse for political gain', adding: 'Does the minister agree with me that neither history nor the British people will be kind to the sickening political opportunism we have seen from the parties opposite?'
Ms Cooper thanked Mr Aldridge for 'speaking out about his experiences, because to speak out as a victim of child abuse in this way is immensely difficult, and I think everyone should listen to what victims and survivors have to say'.
She added: 'He is right that this should be something that everyone can agree on, because it's about the protection of children, it's about the tackling of serious crime, and I would hope that is something that all of us can do with respect and together.'
Elsewhere in the session, Naz Shah, Labour MP for Bradford West, said blaming 'entire communities' does 'nothing to protect innocent victims'.
She said: 'British Muslims stand on the side of victims and support the full force of the law against all perpetrators of abuse.
'But would the Home Secretary agree with me that those that display selected outrage or fan the flames to blame entire communities do nothing to protect innocent victims or further the cause of victims?'
In her reply, Ms Cooper said 'the horror at crimes committed against children and particularly against young girls' is 'shared right across communities'.
'It is in the interests of those children and of those victim survivors that we have reforms now,' she added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
6 minutes ago
- BBC News
Church of England admits failure over 'sadistic' abuse of sisters
The Church of England has apologised to three sisters who say they were "fobbed off" after reporting historical child sex abuse Wendy and Christina Read said they were "frequently" abused as young children by their father, a female church warden and a male curate in night-time "sadistic rituals" at a north-east England independent review commissioned by the Church found the institution's failure to take action "compounded" the women's trauma, while Cleveland Police "missed opportunities" to investigate for which the force Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury when two of the reports were made, said he regretted how he handled the allegations. This report contains distressing detailsThe sisters, who have waived their right to anonymity, said they reported the abuse three times to the Church and police years later but inadequate action was Church, which never investigated, acknowledged its response "fell short of today's standards".Meanwhile the police agreed they missed opportunities in their investigations, but said they would reinvestigate if new evidence came to light. The women's father died in 1996, while church warden and family friend Mary Wairing died in 2015. The BBC is not naming the curate or the sisters' father for legal said she was raped by her father and the curate and then forced "to watch when they did the same thing to my sisters".Jenny said her memories were of violence while Christina recalled being subjected to physical, emotional and spiritual abuse by Ms you have been affected by any issues raised in this report, help and advice is available on the BBC Action LineAll three sisters have been diagnosed with several mental health conditions linked to childhood sexual have also shown the BBC hundreds of documents detailing their correspondence with the Church of England since the early 1990s and said their attempt to get evidence of what action the Church took had been a "horrendous" experience. 'Dismissed and trivialised' The sisters reported the allegations to three Bishops in the Church of England – in 1993, 2003 and curate and Ms Wairing still had active roles in the Church at the time of those disclosures. In 1993 Wendy had sought the informal advice of the then-Bishop of Monmouth Rowan Williams, who she knew from said he told her he had spoken to the relevant bishop "to support Wendy's approach and urge him to respond".Dr Williams told the BBC he also took steps to confirm the identity of the curate at the 2003, a year after becoming Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Williams was formally informed in writing of the allegations when Wendy reported the claim to the Bishop of Whitby Robert said Bishop Ladds left her feeling "dismissed and trivialised" when he "questioned the reliability of childhood memories".Bishop Ladds recommended at the time she contact the police, but she felt she had "been there and done that" after a criminal investigation 10 years earlier brought no charges."It felt like he wanted nothing to do with it," Wendy Ladds said the Church of England had responded on his behalf, he had cooperated fully throughout and he would be making no further comment. Dr Williams told the BBC that Church structures made it difficult for him to take action."At the time this would have meant in practice that a local bishop would normally assess, with professional advice, whether action should be taken and of what kind," he said."There are some difficulties in overruling such a locally based process."I could not as Archbishop simply have suspended a priest in another diocese on my own authority."After learning Bishop Ladds was not going to investigate, Dr Williams said he "could and should" have pressed the local archbishop to take it up, adding: "I very much regret that I did not follow up in this way."He said he "may have misjudged what needed to be done".Wendy said the Church's failure to commission a formal investigation was "really disappointing and frustrating".The sisters reported their allegations to the Church again in 2005, but Dr Williams said he was not aware of that report. 'Church truly sorry' An independent report commissioned by the Church – known as a Learning Lessons Review (LLR) – concluded the sisters "had been subjected to abuse based on the consistency of their testimonies, the graphic and detailed re-telling of their abuse, and therapy required".It concluded the "initial disclosures were poorly handled" and the response from the institution in 1993 and 2003 "compounded the harm" for the was shocked to learn the Church had no record of two of the sisters' reports being made."There's fobbing off," she said, adding: "It feels deliberate. I don't think they want to give me answers."They're either incompetent or they're covering up." Jenny also accused the Church of "a lack of transparency" and being "secretive".The Church of England said it "strongly" denies suggestions of a cover up.A spokesman said it was "truly sorry" for the response the sisters received when they made their initial Church said its "response to survivors who come forward today is very different" and it "would always seek" to put them at the centre of its relevant Diocese said it had "worked closely" with the sisters since 2020 and ensured they received "ongoing therapeutic, specialist and financial support".The Church said the case was reviewed by its national child protection lead in 2003, but admitted the pastoral care initially provided "fell short of today's standards".It said it was "committed to listening to survivors and the individual needs of the sisters".The Church's interim leader, the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, had met the sisters and offered a "formal apology", the spokesman said. 'Police apologise unreservedly' The LLR concluded the police response meant "opportunities have been missed" and the force's initial investigation appeared "to lack thoroughness".The force has also apologised to the father was arrested in 1992 when they first reported the abuse but neither the curate nor Ms Wairing were complaint was made to police in 2003 but there was no 2020, Cleveland Police investigated the allegations again and the curate was arrested but released due to insufficient said the fact Ms Wairing was never formally investigated by the force was the "the biggest offending misconduct".Cleveland Police Assistant Chief Constable Richard Baker said the force "acknowledges it missed opportunities" in 1993 and 2003, adding: "For this, I apologise unreservedly."He said he was "satisfied" with the force's 2020 investigation and pledged to investigate any new evidence. A Church document showed the institution did not investigate following advice from Cleveland Police in 2003, the same year the force now admits it missed opportunities."It's incomprehensible that the Church takes direction from the police," said Wendy, who was "speechless and "enraged" by the Church of England said, "in 2003 the accepted practice was to follow the advice of statutory services".Jenny thinks "the whole institution [of the Church] is in danger" and nothing less than "a profound reformation" will "solve the problems they've got themselves into".The Church admits it "must build future foundations" to ensure it's "as safe as it can be".Christina is demanding a change in attitude from Church leaders."Too often I've heard 'that was in the past, you need to forget about it'," she said, adding: "That's somebody who doesn't understand the impact of trauma."You can't just forget about it." Follow BBC North East on X and Facebook and BBC Cumbria on X and Facebook and both on Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
7 minutes ago
- BBC News
The Documentary Podcast The Ketamine trail
Ketamine was designed as an anaesthetic but its use as a recreational drug is growing fast, particularly among young people. In the UK, it's doubled in less than ten years but it can cause serious side effects. The supply chain for the drug starts with pharmaceutical manufacturers in India then involves criminal gangs in Europe who use front companies to legally import vast quantities of the drug before flooding it onto the illegal market in the UK. Paul Kenyon investigates the trade. This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from Assignment, investigations and journeys into the heart of global events.
The Herald Scotland
10 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Trump says US-UK deal ‘done' as steel tariffs still up in air
The deal will grant British carmakers a reprieve by the end of June as levies drop from 25% to 10%, while the aerospace sector will face no import taxes. But tariffs for the steel industry, which is of key economic importance to the UK, will stand at 25% for now rather than falling to zero as originally agreed. This is less than the US global rate of 50% for steel and aluminium. The Prime Minister described the pact as a 'sign of strength' in the transatlantic relationship, while Mr Trump praised Sir Keir as a 'friend' who had done a 'great job' securing the deal that eluded leaders before him. Following the hastily arranged meeting, the two leaders posed for pictures outside the G7 venue with the signed documents, which the US president dropped before Sir Keir picked them up. Mr Trump also mistakenly referred to the pact as a 'trade agreement with the European Union.' In an impromptu media spray, the US president was asked whether steel tariffs would be eliminated, to which he replied: 'We're gonna let you have that information in a little while.' Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer picks up UK-US trade deal papers dropped by US President Donald Trump before speaking to the media (Stefan Rousseau/PA) The Department for Business and Trade said the two leaders had pledged to 'make progress towards 0% tariffs on core steel products as agreed'. Asked whether Britain would be shielded from future tariffs, Mr Trump said the UK was protected 'because I like them'. 'The UK is very well protected, you know why? Because I like them. That's their ultimate protection,' he said. The PM told the US President: 'Donald, thank you very much… A really important agreement. And so this is a very good day for both of our countries, a real sign of strength.' The terms of the deal were agreed in May, but neither Washington nor London had yet taken the necessary steps to reduce tariffs. Reports have since suggested the US could also push for the NHS to pay more for American drugs in exchange for softened tariffs, with White House sources telling the Telegraph the service would be expected to pay higher prices. Downing Street insisted the Government will 'only ever sign trade agreements that align with the UK's national interests' but did not rule out discussing the issue with Washington. The Prime Minister was also insistent that a nuclear submarine deal between the UK, US and Australia, called Aukus, is 'very important' to both the United States and Britain. He said it was proceeding despite Washington launching a review into the pact, which is worth around £176 billion and believed to be aimed at countering China. He said: 'We're proceeding with that, it's a really important deal to both of us. 'I think the president is doing a review, we did a review when we came into government, and that makes good sense to me.' Later on Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on X that Mr Trump would be leaving the summit early due to the situation in the Middle East, following a dinner with heads of state. 'Much was accomplished, but because of what's going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with Heads of State,' she said. President Trump had a great day at the G7, even signing a major trade deal with the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Much was accomplished, but because of what's going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with Heads of State. — Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) June 16, 2025 Meanwhile, Sir Keir and his fellow world leaders are locked in a week of intense diplomacy amid the spiralling conflict in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine. The Prime Minister joined Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, Mr Carney and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for a glass of wine and informal discussions on Sunday night. Downing Street dismissed suggestions that the get-together had been a 'Trump-handling' exercise to prove the summit against the US president's unpredictability as leaders seek to put on a united front in the face of heightened global instability. Splits had earlier opened up in the response to Russia, which Mr Trump suggested should not have been kicked out of the former G8 following its annexation of Crimea in 2014. The US leader also signalled his reluctance to impose further American sanctions on Moscow despite a European push to heap more pressure on Vladimir Putin as he resists calls for an unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (left) during a bilateral meeting with the President of France Emmanuel Macron at the G7 summit (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Standing alongside Sir Keir, who had earlier said G7 allies would seek to ratchet up measures against the Kremlin, Mr Trump said sanctions were 'not that easy' and would cost Washington 'a tremendous amount of money'. Asked whether Washington supported European efforts to impose further measures, he told reporters ahead of a bilateral meeting with the UK Prime Minister: 'Well Europe is saying that, but they haven't done it yet. 'Let's see them do it first.' Asked why he wanted to wait to impose sanctions, Mr Trump said: 'Because I'm waiting to see whether or not a deal is done… and don't forget, you know, sanctions cost us a lot of money.'
