Starmer focused on grooming victims not ‘grandstanding', says Reeves
The Chancellor said that Sir Keir has been looking at 'actually doing the practical things to ensure that something like this never happens again'.
After initially resisting pressure to implement a full probe, the Prime Minister said he had read 'every single word' of an independent report into child sexual exploitation by Baroness Louise Casey and would accept her recommendation for the investigation.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is set to address Parliament on Monday about the findings of the review.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the move as a 'welcome U-turn', while Kemi Badenoch called on him to apologise for 'six wasted months'.
Asked whether the Prime Minister had changed his mind about the idea of a national inquiry, the Chancellor told the Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: 'I think Keir Starmer, our Prime Minister, has always been really focused, as he was when he was director of public prosecutions, on the victims and not grandstanding.
'But actually doing the practical things to ensure that something like this never happens again, but also to ensure that the victims of this horrific abuse over many, many years is got to grips with and that people have answers to their questions.'
Earlier this year, the Government dismissed calls for a public inquiry, saying its focus was on putting in place the outstanding recommendations already made in a seven-year national inquiry by Professor Alexis Jay.
Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride criticised the Government's 'very late' decision to launch the inquiry, and claimed it had only come after pressure from the Tories.
Sir Mel told BBC One's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: 'It's a very late decision – it should have happened far, far earlier.
'We've been calling for this for many, many months.'
He accused Sir Keir of previously dismissing concerns from senior Tory figures.
'Kemi Badenoch, Chris Philp and others have been derided by the Prime Minister for hopping on some kind of far-right bandwagon, dog-whistle politics and the rest of it,' Sir Mel said.
'That was the wrong response. This is just another example of the Prime Minister being pressurised by us into U-turning.'
The inquiry will be able to compel witnesses to give evidence, and it is understood that it will be national in scope, co-ordinating a series of targeted local investigations.
Speaking to reporters travelling with him on his visit to Canada on Saturday, the Prime Minister said: '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.
'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.'
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The Sun
9 minutes ago
- The Sun
Grooming gangs scandal inquiry U-turn leaves tin-eared Starmer facing massive questions over his judgment
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. 3 3 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. 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The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Government's welfare plans must be pushed through, Starmer says
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Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Keir Starmer doubles down on DWP PIP cuts as major Labour revolt looms
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