Starmer accused of distraction tactics over grooming gangs

Telegraph

6 hours ago

Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of seeking to distract from a damning report on grooming gangs after he ordered an investigation into the crime wave by Britain's 'FBI'.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) will lead a nationwide operation in collaboration with police forces across the country to put more perpetrators behind bars.
The Home Office said the operation will seek to improve how local police investigate such crimes and bring a 'culture of denial' within local authorities to an end. The NCA is Britain's lead organisation for tackling organised crime.
But the Tories said that Labour was doing too little, too late and accused Sir Keir of a 'disgraceful smear' against victims of grooming gangs after he previously dismissed demands for action as far-Right propaganda.
Chris Philip, the shadow home secretary, said the NCA announcement was a 'desperate smokescreen' designed to prevent criticism.
It comes ahead of the findings of a national audit into grooming gangs with a number of recommendations, conducted by Baroness Casey, which is expected to report back this week.
It is expected to be critical of the handling of the scandal at a local and national level, and will reportedly link the problem with men of Pakistani origin.
On Saturday, the Prime Minister bowed to months of pressure and announced a national inquiry. So far, Sir Keir has refused to apologise for delays in taking action.
Local 'deep dive' investigations
The Home Office said the inquiry will have the power to compel local 'deep dive' investigations into historic grooming gang cases.
The inquiry will seek to ensure that allegations of cover-ups, wrongdoing and mishandling by the police, local authorities and others are investigated and brought to light.
It will be led by a single chairman who will be selected by the Government, as per the Inquiries Act, to then operate independently.
The inquiry will decide where local investigations need to be set up and will also be able to compel witnesses to attend hearings.
The Government revealed that more than 800 historic cases of group-based child sexual abuse had been re-opened since January.
Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, said: 'The vulnerable young girls who suffered unimaginable abuse at the hands of groups of adult men have now grown into brave women who are rightly demanding justice for what they went through when they were just children.
'Not enough people listened to them then. That was wrong and unforgivable. We are changing that now.'
Another recommendation understood to be under consideration by the Government is the introduction of national minimum licensing standards for taxi drivers.
It comes after taxi drivers were among the seven men who were found guilty last week of sexually exploiting teenage girls in Rochdale between 2001 and 2006.
Rachel Reeves on Sunday refused to apologise after Sir Keir dismissed demands for a national grooming gangs inquiry as 'far-Right'.
'Spreading lies and misinformation'
In January, the Prime Minister said that those calling for a statutory inquiry were 'jumping on a bandwagon of the far-Right'.
In the same speech, he accused politicians and activists of 'spreading lies and misinformation' about grooming gangs.
The Chancellor said the priority for the Government was the victims of the abuse and 'not people's hurt feelings about how they've been spoken about'.
But writing for The Telegraph, Mr Philp said that the remarks 'not only maligned those seeking justice but also silenced survivors and emboldened those who sought to bury the truth'.
In May, Lucy Powell, the Commons leader, was forced to apologise after accusing a guest on a panel show of using a 'dog whistle' when he brought up grooming gangs.
Mr Philp added that the inquiry must consider 'whether officials and public servants who covered up or turned a blind eye to the rapes should be investigated for the crime of misconduct in public office.'
A statutory inquiry in itself does not have the powers to prosecute individuals or organisations, but any findings can lead to an investigation.
'Too little, too late'
Mr Philp said: 'Keir Starmer's inquiry u-turn is too little, too late. He smeared those, including me, calling for a national inquiry into the rape gangs scandal as 'far-Right' and now he's been forced into a u-turn by the bite we planned next week and the imminent Casey report.
'The NCA announcement is a desperate smokescreen cooked up over the weekend to distract from Labour's failures.
'Labour spent six months blocking a statutory inquiry. That is six months of delayed justice. Yvette Cooper led the opposition to an inquiry, and now she pretends she thinks it's a great idea. Labour needs to get a grip and put the survivors of these appalling crimes first.
'We need a proper inquiry with full powers to uncover the truth.'
Starmer ignored and smeared victims for six long months
By Chris Philp
In January, I joined survivors and campaigners calling for a statutory national inquiry into the systematic cover-up of rape gangs who targeted young girls.
I will never forget the way Sir Keir Starmer then smeared those calling for the inquiry. He said we were 'jumping on a far-Right bandwagon'.
By that, Sir Keir wasn't just smearing and insulting survivors, campaigners and political leaders. He was also denying and delaying justice.
It has become increasingly clear that the systematic rape of young girls was deliberately covered up by those in authority for an appalling reason. The reason was that many perpetrators were of Pakistani origin, and the authorities were more interested in protecting their multi-cultural supposed utopia and so-called community relations than they were in protecting young girls.
A trial just last week convicted seven Pakistani origin men of appalling rapes of young girls in Rochdale between 2001 and 2006. The court heard that social services described one 10-year-old girl as a 'prostitute' instead of as a rape victim. That is sick.
In another case I heard of, in Bradford in 2010, a police superintendent told a retired officer, then working for a child protection charity, to stop investigating the child abuse of young white girls by men of Pakistani origin to avoid antagonising the local Muslim community. Hundreds of girls were subsequently abused in Bradford, which could have been stopped. Words fail me.
Yet Sir Keir would not accept the need for an inquiry. He insulted those who called for one – doing exactly what so many had done before to perpetuate the cover-up. The Labour leader of the Commons compounded this recently by saying it was a 'dog whistle' to even raise the issue at all.
It was only when we planned to force a third vote on an inquiry next Wednesday and when faced with the Casey report that Sir Keir finally relented.
But he has put victims and their families through six more months of misery. Six more months of being told that they were 'far-Right'' for daring to complain. Six more months of being marginalised, insulted and ignored. This is not leadership, it is moral cowardice. Sir Keir's first instinct was to smear and continue the cover-up because he wants votes from the Pakistani community.
Sir Keir's comments not only maligned those seeking justice but also silenced survivors and emboldened those who sought to bury the truth. For that disgraceful smear, he must apologise, both to those he unjustly vilified and, above all, to the victims, whose trauma was prolonged by yet another six months of political cowardice.
Now that an inquiry is finally in motion, it is imperative that it is not diluted or delayed.
This must be a full, national inquiry vested with statutory powers, the ability to compel evidence, summon witnesses and penetrate the institutional inertia that allowed this scandal to persist for years.
Anything less would be a profound betrayal of the victims who were so grievously failed.
In my view, the inquiry should consider whether officials and public servants who covered up or turned a blind eye to the rapes should be investigated for the crime of misconduct in public office.
Time is of the essence. Survivors have already endured years of neglect, not only at the hands of their abusers, but also by the very institutions tasked with their protection. It is not enough to claim that 'lessons have been learned.' Action is long overdue.
This inquiry cannot become yet another drawn-out exercise in obfuscation. Survivors deserve swift resolution, not another multi-year process mired in bureaucracy.
Sir Keir has shown a pattern of deferring to consensus or courts before articulating a position, whether on the definition of what a woman is or support for winter fuel payments. He must learn that leadership requires moral clarity. He made a serious error in opposing this inquiry and compounded it by denigrating those who pursued justice in good faith.
Announcing the inquiry is not enough. He must now apologise, ensure the process is robust and swift and commit to full accountability at every level – including prosecuting those who covered this up for misconduct in public office.
This is not a political issue.
It is a matter of the state's most sacred duty, which is to protect its citizens, especially the most vulnerable young girls.
The survivors of this national scandal deserve truth, justice and dignity.
Nothing less will do.
Chris Philp is the shadow home secretary