John Feinstein, Washington Post columnist who wrote ‘A Season on the Brink' and other books, dies
WASHINGTON (AP) — John Feinstein, one of the country's foremost sports writers and the author of numerous bestselling books, died unexpectedly Thursday. He was 69.
Feinstein died of natural causes at his brother's home in McLean, Virginia. Robert Feinstein said he discovered John's body.
Feinstein was a full-time reporter for The Washington Post from 1977 to 1991 and a commentator for outlets such as NPR, ESPN and the Golf Channel. He remained with the Post as a contributing columnist, and he also hosted satellite radio programs on SiriusXM.
'He was very passionate about things,' Robert Feinstein said. 'People either loved him or hated him — and equally strongly.'
John Feinstein was working until the time of his death. He was in Washington this week to cover the Atlantic 10 Tournament, and he filed a column Wednesday for the Post on Michigan State coach Tom Izzo.
Feinstein was comfortable writing about an array of sports, but he was best-known for his connection to college basketball because of his groundbreaking book 'A Season on the Brink.'
Feinstein took a leave of absence from the Post in 1985 to embed with coach Bob Knight's Indiana team, and the book highlighted the author's flair for the dramatic and ability to capture his subjects' personalities.
Knight's reputation for having a hot temper was well-established by then, and Feinstein brought it to life. But Feinstein also effectively portrayed the personal relationships Knight had with his players, which could alternative between warm and abusive.
He went on to write more than 40 books, including 'A Good Walk Spoiled' (1995), about professional golf, and 'A Civil War' (1996), about the Army-Navy football game. After that book's publication, he worked for many years as a radio commentator for Navy football.
'The Ancient Eight,' about Ivy League football, was published last year. Feinstein also wrote sports novels aimed at younger readers.
Feinstein is survived by his wife, Christine, son Danny and daughters Brigid and Jayne, as well as Robert and his sister, Margaret.
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New York Post
37 minutes ago
- New York Post
Pete Alonso and his dad get candid with The Post about Mets, overcoming childhood bullying ahead of Father's Day
Access the Mets beat like never before Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets. Try it free Mets first baseman Pete Alonso and his father Peter take some hacks with Post columnist Steve Serby in a Father's Day Q&A. Q: Describe your father, Peter. Pete: My dad, No. 1, beyond supportive. He's patient. He's understanding. I think the biggest thing about my dad, he's always just wanted me to succeed no matter what I chose to do in life. He kind of taught me the basics where it's like no matter what you do, no matter what your passion is — whether it be like a hobby, a profession, no matter what you choose to endeavor — you have to do it 100 percent. At all times. Whenever you give something attention, you give it 100 percent of your attention. There's no half-assing anything. If you commit to something, you commit and you see it through. And for me, I think that's a powerful thing. Q: Describe your son. Peter: I'd say a gentle giant with a huge heart. Everything that he does, he always puts people around him first. Q: How are you like your father? Pete: There's a lot of life lessons that he's kind of taught me. I think as a professional, I give all I can give, but then as soon as I leave this door I'm just Pete. I'm a son, a brother, a friend, a husband, soon-to-be father. So for me, it's like as soon as work is done, it's like I am no longer the baseball player, I'm Pete the family man. My dad did an unbelievable job kind of separating … as soon as he walked in the door he's all about me and my brother and my mom. Whether he came from work, it's like, 'All right, I'm coach Pete now,' whether he's coaching me or my brother, or taking us to practice. 'Now I'm not Dad anymore, I'm the tutor guy, I'm the homework guy.' … This is one of the best stories ever. So my dad's taking me to baseball practice — it's probably like a 25-minute drive. And my dad is like, 'Hey, you gotta do homework, I'll help you with your math homework in the car, you just have to do it.' And I'm doing my homework, I broke my pencil, we didn't have a pencil in the car. He's like, 'Listen, your mom is going to absolutely kill me (laugh) if you don't have this homework done. I don't care how easy or hard this is, but all the questions need to be done.' Q: How were you going to do it without a pencil? Pete: So what he did was, he was biting down the wood. … He was basically sharpening the pencil with his teeth (smile). He made it work. I know that's kind of like a stupid, silly little moment, but he just kind of was like gently tearing little wood chips off one by one just to get to that piece of lead so I could finish the homework. And my mom would have killed both me and my dad (laugh) if I didn't have that homework done. Q: Dad, what is your recollection of the pencil story? Peter: You had to do your homework first before you go to the field and do those kind of things. I probably bit the pencil in half so it would write so he could finish his homework. Q: How old were you? Pete: I think I was 12 or 13, something like that. Q: What did your dad do? Pete: He worked in professional staffing. Q: Was there one emotional heart-to-heart you recall? Pete: I'm really fortunate because my dad kind of wears his heart on his sleeve. I kind of know exactly where he stands at all times. He's not afraid to, like, speak plainly or speak exactly what comes to mind. So if something's kind of weighing on him, he's not afraid to just say it how it is and just tell me. I think the biggest thing is, he's just always there, he's always like, 'How can I help? How can I make your life easier? What can I do?' Having that unrelenting support is just truly special. He takes pride in not just, like, physically being available for things — 24/7 he's always emotionally available. 7 A young Pete Alonso and his father Peter. Alonso Family Q: How often does he come up to New York? Pete: He'll actually be up here this weekend. During the season, my parents always come once a month or so, whether it's here or on the road. Q: When you were a kid, you internalized things and you were bullied and taunted. Did your dad guide you through that? Peter: I think the biggest thing that he said is, it's about just being the bigger person, not stooping to their level. Obviously, there are certain ways to handle certain situations, and regardless, despite how other people are, you have to hold yourself to a standard. If you don't have character, you really have no leg to stand on. I think for me, building character and staying disciplined in certain things, that spoke volumes for sure. Q: What did you tell Pete when he was bullied and taunted as a boy? Peter: He was taunted about just being bigger than the other kids. … Our message to him was how special he is, and that people are just jealous of the gift that he has, and to keep your chin up and just keep doing the best you can. A lot of things are going to change, and great things will happen to you. Q: What did it mean to him the day you made your major league debut? Pete: I don't take this granted. He's like, 'Listen, proud of not just what you do on the field but how you go about your business, how you've kind of went along this journey and kind of like took on obstacles and never really backed down from anything.' He was just very prideful. Very, very prideful. 7 Pete Alonso of the New York Mets celebrates a hit. Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Q: What was it like emotionally for you Peter, when Pete made his MLB debut in D.C.? Peter: Honestly, my stomach was in knots. I knew he had it in him. He was fine. I was a wreck. I'm normally the cool, calm guy when it comes to baseball and stuff, but I was not. Q: Do you remember his reaction when you broke Aaron Judge's rookie home run record? Pete: He was excited, but I think one of the really cool things was actually in 2021 where I think I was the second-fastest player to 100 homers by a certain amount of games, and then me and him are in the lobby after the game in Miami just kind of talking about it. Even now today, it's still crazy to wrap my mind around … everything. I mean, yeah it's happening, I'm competing and it's my reality, but it's still kind of crazy, and I think for both of us it's just really special. Q: Your car accident, how frightening was it for you and for him when he learned about it? Pete: Just hearing about it, seeing the pictures, he was shaken up, but if there's anybody that took it hardest I think it was my wife because she kind of saw it. We were driving together at spring training, she watched a car pretty much right in front of me T-bone me, and then me flip and do all this stuff. Peter: It looked like an Indy car wreck or something, it was just car parts all over the place. He was standing up very casually talking to an officer explaining what happened and whatnot. … Just a huge relief. Q: Your parents were in Cleveland for your Home Run Derby win in 2019. Pete: Honestly, that whole experience, rookie year, first full season in the big leagues … I think it was just magic … for everybody. 7 Pete Alonso as a baby with this father Peter. Alonso Family Peter: That was fun. That was like a homecoming. We have several friends and relatives in Ohio. I was just happy he was doing it so he could enjoy his 8-year-old self. After his first five or six swings when he started to lock in, I was like, 'Uh-oh!' And then he just went on a roll. Q: In the offseason when you might have been stressing out about not returning to the Mets, did he have any advice for you? Pete: The biggest stressor of the offseason was kind of just being displaced from my wife and our home, and I was just trying to get everything back together from the flood, from the hurricane. After Hurricane Helene, my wife and I were displaced. And we had to pretty much redo our home. It'll be pretty much two years without being in our house. Q: What were your emotions, Peter, when he signed back with the Mets? Peter: We [wife Michelle] were super-excited. The Mets are home, the Mets gave him his opportunity when he was drafted out of the University of Florida. I was born in Queens, his grandfather lived in Queens, so New York and the Mets are home. Also to see a winning culture emerging within the Mets team and organization was very fulfilling. We felt that Peter has been a big part of moving the Mets culture, so it was like job's not finished and you get to go back and continue your calling. Q: How happy was he that you signed back with the Mets? Pete: He just wanted what's best for me. He was just super supportive of the whole process, and he was very confident that the right thing would happen at the right time. Q: What do you recall about him on your wedding day? Pete: He was really emotional, but obviously he was so stoked. That's a super proud moment I feel like as a father to watch your kid stand up there. That's a major life accomplishment. He was really beaming. It was really nice. Q: What were your emotions on his wedding day, Dad? Peter: We were just filled with joy. We're so blessed. She is such a jewel and a doll. If I had a daughter I'd want a daughter like her. She's awesome. Q: How supportive has your wife, Haley, been, and what kind of a difference has it made for you as a baseball player? Pete: I'm really fortunate because my dad loves spending time with her, and to have that relationship I think is key for, like, a whole family unit. My wife really enjoys spending time with my dad likewise, and I think having that great relationship is awesome. I feel very, very blessed. Q: When is she due? Pete: She's 24 weeks now. Q: Boy or girl? Pete: It's going to be a boy. Q: A name yet? Pete: No name yet. Q: Next Father's Day you'll be a father. Pete: I'm really excited. It's a blessing to kind of create life, and it's an honor to be a parent, it's a privilege. My wife and I were at that stage in life where it's like being able to want to start a family and to have that opportunity, we're really blessed. It's been a great pregnancy so far. We're just really excited thinking about, like, kids, and what our Thanksgivings and Christmases and stuff are going to be like. Q: How did you celebrate Father's Day growing up? Pete: Whether it's spending time just hanging out at the pool, my dad loves to cook, loves to barbecue, stuff like that. My dad also loves being on the water, being on the boat, stuff like that. My dad is big on time. No matter what quality time we had, that's what he wanted to do, just spend time. Q: Any Father's Day gift for your father? Pete: I'll have something for him. It was just his birthday not too long ago, so he gets the double dip. Q: What are you most proud of having him as your father? Pete: I just feel really lucky, and I'm proud that he is my dad because he walks the walk in the lessons that he preaches to my brother and I. He lived by those, and he never really deviated. He's super consistent in his ideologies and advice. He wouldn't just say something because it was the right thing and then go do something else. He treated my mom and my brother and I with respect and with love. He just held himself to a very high standard, and he's like, 'OK, if I'm the man of the house, I'm going to provide and be there emotionally.' Anytime my brother and I want to go do something, he's like, 'Absolutely, we're going to do it.' He would always be there spending time or coaching me and my brother: 'You want to go swimming. let's go swimming.' He'd be willing to go to the ends of the earth for my mom, my brother and I, and I can't appreciate and thank him enough for that. 7 A young Pete Alonso and his father Peter. Alonso family Q: Is he as proud of you as a man as he is proud of you as a baseball player? Pete: Yeah, he's like, 'You could be pumping gas, but as long as you're a loving and caring individual who treats people the right way and lives the right way, then I'd be super proud.' Q: Sum up why you are so proud of your son. Peter: I'm proud of the person he is … his generosity … he makes things better around him than he left them … his positive energy … and his resilience. Those are the character traits that shine through of the son that we brought up, and it is hugely fulfilling and we feel super-blessed, and we keep pinching ourselves to this day. Q: Describe his go-ahead home run in the ninth inning off Devin Williams in the deciding game of last year's wild-card round. Peter: That was an outer-body experience. We sensed that something was going to happen. With the look in his eye, he just seemed calm and up for the moment. We were in our living room jumping up and down. Q: You're zeroing in on the Mets' all-time home run record, with 243. Darryl Strawberry has 262. Pete: It's great, but for me, it's a personal record — I just want to win. I just want to win. And however I can contribute, I want to contribute. That's what it's all about it. Q: Have you ever felt more dangerous at the plate? Pete: Yeah, family backyard Wiffle Ball games (smile), that's probably the most dangerous I feel. 7 Pete Alonso of the New York Mets reacts after a play at the plate. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Q: When your mother was throwing to you? Pete: (Smile) Yeah, exactly. This is by far the most consistent I've felt in my career pretty much the entire year. Q: Describe that feeling when you know you're dangerous. Pete: I just feel consistent, I feel consistent in my mechanics. I feel like I'm myself pitch to pitch. And that's all I want to be. I just want to be myself. I want to have the best version of myself every swing, every take, every time the pitcher releases the ball. Q: I've noticed you seated at a table writing notes after games. Pete: That's my book of secrets. Q: How long have you done that? Pete: Every year has its own book of secrets. I've been writing notes pretty much since college. For me, I think writing things down [is] powerful. 7 Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) flips his bat as he rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images Q: People are talking about you having an MVP season. Pete: It's nice, I appreciate it. It's still really early, and ultimately I just want to contribute, help the team win. I think last year getting a true taste of what postseason baseball is like … in 2022, it was just three games [losing to Padres in wild card round], but this year it's like I'm so motivated to get back to the postseason because that is the ultimate form of baseball. It's an addictive type of baseball, and I want to do everything in my power to help get the team back there again and then also go further than what we did and hold up the trophy at the end of the year. I want nothing more than to be in that environment again and have that chance to play for a championship. Winning isn't guaranteed, that's for sure, but to have that honor and privilege to roll the dice again in October … playoff baseball's the ultimate. I just want to do whatever I can to help the team get there and succeed when we're there. Q:. What do you like best about this team? Pete: I think that the way that we're structured is obviously we grew in talent from last year, but I think that the coolest part is we have so similar faces, so it's not a completely different team. We have so many of the same faces where it's like, hey, this is almost the same group as last year, and we have that shared bond, shared experience together. Not only is it good for camaraderie and stuff like that, but it's great for teamwork, it's great for knowing personnel and also because all of us had the same experience last year going to the postseason and going on that run, we're not just motivated to get there again, we want to go further, and everyone has that extra edge. I don't think I got the bug — everybody does. Everyone's got that yearning and that want every single day to get back there. I know it's 3 ¹/₂ months away, but I blinked and it's already halfway through June. 7 A young Pete Alonso and his father Peter. Alonso family Q: Why is it so much fun playing in New York? Pete: People have been itching to come out to games, and it's been awesome. Everybody's rowdy, everybody's engaged. It's really like having a 10th Man out there. It's honestly great. And you can kind of feel it whenever the crowd is more and more engaged, more times things start to happen in our favor, it's awesome. Q: What is it like sharing the city with the Yankees with both teams doing so well? Pete: I think it's great for the city. The more teams that do well in New York, the more that the city's alive and buzzing and hopping. It's fantastic. Q: Would you want to retire as a Met? Pete: That could be awesome. It's really rare for a guy to spend his whole career with one team — I mean, I've thought about it, for sure. But the business side of things has to work out for that. I love playing here. It's awesome. I hope that the business side works out to be that way. Q: Would you like to see Pete retire as a Met? Peter: I want to see [him] succeed wherever he's at, so it would be great if he retires as a Met. And, if he doesn't, I wouldn't want to be in the other dugout. Q: I don't think Mets fans would be happy if Pete was to leave. Pete: I hope that the business side works out to where I don't have to do that (smile).
Hamilton Spectator
39 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Nicaragua's former President Violeta Chamorro dies at 95, family says
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Violeta Chamorro, an unassuming homemaker who was thrust into politics by her husband's assassination and stunned the world by ousting the ruling Sandinista party in presidential elections and ending Nicaragua 's civil war, has died, her family said in a statement on Saturday. She was 95. The country's first female president, known as Doña Violeta to both supporters and detractors, she presided over the Central American nation's uneasy transition to peace after nearly a decade of conflict between the Sandinista government of Daniel Ortega and U.S.-backed Contra rebels. At nearly seven years, Chamorro's was the longest single term ever served by a democratically elected Nicaraguan leader, and when it was over she handed over the presidential sash to an elected civilian successor — a relative rarity for a country with a long history of strongman rule, revolution and deep political polarization. Chamorro died in San Jose, Costa Rica, according to the family's statement shared by her son, Carlos Fernando Chamorro, on X. 'Doña Violeta died peacefully, surrounded by the affection and love of her children and those who had provided her with extraordinary care, and now she finds herself in the peace of the Lord,' the statement said. A religious ceremony was being planned in San Jose. Her remains will be held in Costa Rica 'until Nicaragua returns to being a Republic,' the statement said. In more recent years, the family had been driven into exile in Costa Rica like hundreds of thousands of other Nicaraguans fleeing the repression of Ortega. Violeta Chamorro's daughter , Cristiana Chamorro, was held under house arrest for months in Nicaragua and then convicted of money laundering and other charges as Ortega moved to clear the field of challengers as he sought reelection. The Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation closed its operations in Nicaragua in January 2021, as thousands of nongovernmental organizations have been forced to do since because Ortega has worked to silence any critical voices. It had provided training for journalists, helped finance journalistic outlets and defended freedom of expression. Husband's assassination Born Violeta Barrios Torres on Oct. 18, 1929, in the southwestern city of Rivas, Chamorro had little by way of preparation for the public eye. The eldest daughter of a landowning family, she was sent to U.S. finishing schools. After her father's death in 1948, she returned to the family home and married Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, who soon became editor and publisher of the family newspaper, La Prensa, following his own father's death. He penned editorials denouncing the abuses of the regime of Gen. Anastasio Somoza, whose family had ruled Nicaragua for four decades, and was gunned down on a Managua street in January 1978. The killing, widely believed to have been ordered by Somoza, galvanized the opposition and fueled the popular revolt led by Ortega's Sandinista National Liberation Front that toppled the dictator in July 1979. Chamorro herself acknowledged that she had little ambition beyond raising her four children before her husband's assassination. She said she was in Miami shopping for a wedding dress for one of her daughters when she heard the news. Still, Chamorro took over publishing La Prensa and also became a member of the junta that replaced Somoza. She quit just nine months later as the Sandinistas exerted their dominance and built a socialist government aligned with Cuba and the Soviet Union and at odds with the United States amid the Cold War. La Prensa became a leading voice of opposition to the Sandinistas and the focus of regular harassment by government supporters who accused the paper of being part of Washington's efforts — along with U.S.-financed rebels, dubbed 'Contras' by the Sandinistas for their counterrevolutionary fight — to undermine the leftist regime. Chamorro later recounted bitter memories of what she considered the Sandinistas' betrayal of her husband's democratic goals and her own faith in the anti-Somoza revolution. 'I'm not praising Somoza's government. It was horrible. But the threats that I've had from the Sandinistas — I never thought they would repay me in that way,' she said. 'Peace and progress' Chamorro saw her own family divided by the country's politics. Son Pedro Joaquin became a leader of the Contras, and daughter Cristiana worked as an editor at La Prensa. But another son, Carlos Fernando, and Chamorro's eldest daughter, Claudia, were militant Sandinistas. By 1990 Nicaragua was in tatters. The economy was in shambles thanks to a U.S. trade embargo, Sandinista mismanagement and war. Some 30,000 people had died in the fighting between the Contras and Sandinistas. When a coalition of 14 opposition parties nominated an initially reluctant Chamorro as their candidate in the presidential election called for February that year, few gave her much chance against the Sandinista incumbent, Ortega. Even after months of campaigning, she stumbled over speeches and made baffling blunders. Suffering from osteoporosis, a disease that weakens the bones, she broke her knee in a household fall and spent much of the campaign in a wheelchair. But elegant, silver-haired and dressed almost exclusively in white, she connected with many Nicaraguans tired of war and hardship. Her maternal image, coupled with promises of reconciliation and an end to the military draft, contrasted with Ortega's swagger and revolutionary rhetoric. 'I bring the flag of love,' she told a rally shortly before the vote. 'Hatred has only brought us war and hunger. With love will come peace and progress.' She shocked the Sandinistas and the world by handily winning the election, hailing her victory as the fulfillment of her late husband's vision. 'We knew that in a free election we would achieve a democratic republic of the kind Pedro Joaquin always dreamed,' Chamorro said. Washington lifted trade sanctions and promised aid to rebuild the nation's ravaged economy, and by June the 19,000-strong Contra army had been disbanded, formally ending an eight-year war. Forced into negotiations Chamorro had little else to celebrate during her first months in office. In the two months between the election and her inauguration, the Sandinistas looted the government, signing over government vehicles and houses to militants in a giveaway that became popularly known as 'the pinata.' Her plans to stabilize the hyperinflation-wracked economy with free-market reforms were met with stiff opposition from the Sandinistas, who had the loyalty of most of the country's organized labor. Chamorro's first 100 days in power were marred by two general strikes, the second of which led to street battles between protesters and government supporters. To restore order Chamorro called on the Sandinista-dominated army, testing the loyalty of the force led by Gen. Humberto Ortega, Daniel Ortega's older brother. The army took to the streets but did not act against the strikers. Chamorro was forced into negotiations, broadening the growing rift between moderates and hardliners in her government. Eventually her vice president, Virgilio Godoy, became one over her most vocal critics. Nicaraguans hoping that Chamorro's election would quickly bring stability and economic progress were disappointed. Within a year some former Contras had taken up arms again, saying they were being persecuted by security forces still largely controlled by the Sandinistas. Few investors were willing to gamble on a destitute country with a volatile workforce, while foreign volunteers who had been willing to pick coffee and cotton in support of the Sandinistas had long departed. 'What more do you want than to have the war ended?' Chamorro said after a year in office. Vision of forgiveness Chamorro was unable to undo Nicaragua's dire poverty. By the end of her administration in early 1997, unemployment was measured at over 50 percent, while crime, drug abuse and prostitution — practically unheard of during the Sandinista years — soared. That year she handed the presidential sash to another elected civilian: conservative Arnoldo Aleman, who also defeated Ortega at the ballot. In her final months in office, Chamorro published an autobiography, 'Dreams of the Heart,' in which she emphasized her vision of forgiveness and reconciliation. 'After six years as president, she has broadened her definition of 'my children' to include all Nicaraguans,' wrote a reviewer for the Los Angeles Times. 'So even political opponents like Ortega are briefly criticized in one sentence, only to be generously forgiven in the next.' After leaving office, Chamorro retired to her Managua home and her grandchildren. She generally steered clear of politics and created the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation. In 2011 it was revealed that she suffered from a brain tumor. In October 2018, she was hospitalized and said by family members to be in 'delicate condition' after suffering a cerebral embolism, a kind of stroke. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. 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The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
UK to hold national inquiry into organized child sexual abuse after pressure from Musk
LONDON (AP) — The British government announced Saturday it will hold a national inquiry into organized child sexual abuse, something it has long been pressured to do by opposition politicians — and Elon Musk. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would accept a recommendation from an independent reviewer for a judge-led inquiry with the power to summon witnesses. Starmer said he would 'look again' and hold a probe into what the press have dubbed 'grooming gangs' of men who prey on often young and vulnerable women. In some of the most high-profile cases to come to trial, the perpetrators were men of Pakistani heritage, and the issue has been taken up by right-of-center politicians including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, and stoked by Musk, who took to his X platform to condemn Starmer over the issue. Musk criticized Starmer for not backing a national inquiry into the matter following a request from the local authority in the northern English town of Oldham, where police found girls under 18 were sexually exploited by groups of men in the 2000s and 2010s. Musk also alleged that Starmer failed to bring perpetrators to justice when he was England's chief prosecutor between 2008 and 2013, a charge that the prime minister vigorously denied. Because the cases in Oldham and similar ones in several other towns involved predominantly white girls abused by men largely from Pakistani backgrounds, the issue has been used to link child sexual abuse to immigration, and to accuse politicians of covering up the crimes out of a fear of appearing racist. A 2022 report into what happened in the northwest England town of Oldham between 2011 and 2014 found that children were failed by local agencies, but that there was no cover-up despite 'legitimate concerns' that the far-right would capitalize on 'the high-profile convictions of predominantly Pakistani offenders across the country.' In January the government said it would support several local inquiries into child exploitation in cities where gangs of men were prosecuted. It had previously said there was no need for further investigations following a string of previous inquiries, both local and national. A seven-year inquiry was held under the previous Conservative government, but many of the 20 recommendations it made in 2022 — including compensation for abuse victims — have yet to be implemented. Starmer's government also asked Louise Casey, an expert on victim's rights and social welfare, to review previous findings. Her review has been submitted to the government but has not yet been published. 'I have never said we should not look again at any issue,' Starmer said as he flew to Canada for a Group of Seven summit. 'I have wanted to be assured that on the question of any inquiry. That's why I asked Louise Casey who I hugely respect to do an audit. 'Her position when she started the audit was that there was not a real need for a national inquiry over and above what was going on. She has looked at the material she has looked at and she has come to the view that there should be a national inquiry on the basis of what she has seen. 'I have read every single word of her report and I am going to accept her recommendation.' The main opposition Conservative Party offered a swift response. 'Those in authority deliberately covered up the systematic rape of thousands of girls as young as 10 because the perpetrators were mainly of Pakistani origin. They thought race relations were more important than protecting young girls,' Conservative law and order spokesman Chris Philp said. 'The truth must now come out and people in positions of authority responsible for the cover up held to account.'
