Keir Starmer in another U-turn with PM set to launch full national inquiry into grooming gangs after months of pressure - as Labour leader admits 'it's the right thing to do'
Sir Keir Starmer has revealed he will launch a full national inquiry into grooming gangs after resisting pressure for months.
In a major U-turn, the Prime Minister said setting up a statutory investigation into the scandal was the 'right thing to do' despite previously insisting it would take too long and that local reviews were sufficient.
He dramatically changed his mind after reading 'every single word' of the report he commissioned into the exploitation of thousands of girls across the country, due to be published next week, which is said to explicitly link it to men of Pakistani origin.
The audit by Whitehall troubleshooter Baroness Casey is understood to have recommended that a new national inquiry be established in order to look at the race of perpetrators.
It is also expected to warn that white British girls who were exploited in towns across the country were 'institutionally ignored for fear of racism'.
Speaking to reporters about Lady Casey's review, Sir Keir said: '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. That is the right thing to do on the basis of what she has put in her audit.
'I asked her to do that job to double-check on this; she has done that job for me and having read her report, I respect her in any event. I shall now implement her recommendations.'
Asked when it would start work, the PM replied: 'It will be statutory under the Inquiries Act. That will take a bit of time to sort out exactly how that works and we will set that out in an orderly way.'
He insisted that he had never ruled out a national inquiry although he previously wanted to focus on implementing recommendations made in earlier reports.
'From the start I have always said that we should implement the recommendations we have got because we have got many other recommendations. I think there are 200 when you take all of the reviews that have gone on at every level and we have got to get on with implementing them.
'I have never said we should not look again at any issue. 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.'
But Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who has repeatedly demanded the PM launch a full inquiry, said: 'Keir Starmer doesn't know what he thinks unless an official report has told him so. Just like he dismissed concerns about the winter fuel payment and then had to u-turn, just like he needed the Supreme Court to tell him what a woman is, he had to be led by the nose to make this correct decision here.
'I've been repeatedly calling for a full national inquiry since January. It's about time he recognised he made a mistake and apologise for six wasted months.'
She went on: 'But this must not be the end of the matter. There are many, many more questions that need answering to ensure this inquiry is done properly and quickly. Many survivors of the grooming gangs will be relieved that this is finally happening, but they need a resolution soon not in 10 years' time. Justice delayed is justice denied.'
Since 2010 there have been a string of trials of grooming gang members for sexually exploiting young girls while landmark official inquiries into Rotherham, Telford and Rochdale have revealed the huge numbers of those abused.
However demands for a new national inquiry began growing at the start of this year, fuelled by tech tycoon Elon Musk's attacks on the Government.
Initially ministers said they wanted to focus on implementing recommendations from the wider Jay report into child sexual exploitation but under mounting pressure Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced a series of new local probes in January as well as the audit by Lady Casey.
The calls kept coming for a full national inquiry with former Reform MP Rupert Lowe vowing to set up his own investigation.
Opposition leader Mrs Badenoch has raised the issue at Prime Minister's Questions, even suggesting the PM was 'dragging his heels' because he did not want 'Labour cover-ups exposed'.
In January he told the Commons: 'There have been a number of inquiries, both national and local, including one covering Oldham. Reasonable people can agree or disagree on whether a further inquiry is necessary.
'This morning, I met some of the victims and survivors of this scandal. They were clear with me that they want action now, not the delay of a further inquiry. The Jay inquiry, the last national inquiry, was seven years. A further inquiry would take us to 2031. Action is what is required.'
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