UK ministers open possibility of national inquiry into grooming gangs

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UK ministers have signaled they are open to a new national inquiry into grooming gangs, days after resisting the idea despite pressure from figures including tech billionaire Elon Musk.

Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips told Sky News that “nothing is off the table” when dealing with scandals involving child sexual abuse by gangs in some English towns and cities.

Phillips said he would first hear from victims on a new panel the government is setting up. “If victims come up to me on this victims’ panel and say, ‘Actually, we think there needs to be a national inquiry into this’, I’ll listen to them.”

His comments came ahead of an inquiry vote after the Conservative Party forced the issue onto parliament’s agenda.

The opposition tabled amendments to the controversial schools law on Wednesday afternoon. It was selected by the Commons Speaker for inclusion in the vote.

Prime Minister Sir Care Starmer described it as a “destructive amendment”, as it would prevent the bill from being passed if passed, and called on the Tories to withdraw it. Labor MPs will be whipped to vote against the amendment.

Although the government’s substantial Commons majority means it is unlikely to pass, the vote will pave the way for opposition parties to issue new ads on social media calling attention to individual MPs who voted against a new nationwide inquiry into the scandal.

A clip of the Tory leader Kimi Badenoch Calls for an investigation were reposted by Musk on X during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, with the words “well said”.

During the session, Starmer admitted in the House of Commons that there was a legitimate view of the need for a new inquiry.

“This is a really serious problem and we must focus, obviously, on the victims and the survivors,” he told MPs. “There is mixed opinion, with no definitive view from victims and survivors about a further national inquiry.”

Starmer warned that setting up a new inquiry could cause further delays in dealing with abuses. “The last investigation took seven years,” he said. “That will take us to 2031.”

But Downing Street has not ruled out the possibility of the government later authorizing a national inquiry. “As the Prime Minister has said in the House, reasonable people can agree or disagree on the merits of a national inquiry. . . The clear message we received from victims and survivors. . . They want to see action and that is what the government is focused on delivering.”

Starmer was “open-minded” about the investigation, it added.

Phillips hit back after Musk criticized him for rejecting Oldham Council’s call for an official inquiry into grooming gangs in the town. He said it would be more appropriate for local authorities to do this.

Ministers repeatedly pointed to a seven-year national inquiry by Professor Alexis J that put forward 20 recommendation, None of which was implemented by the previous Tory government. Labor announced this week that it is taking forward a number of recommendations, including making grooming an aggravating factor in sentencing for child sexual abuse.

Badenoch said on Wednesday that a national inquiry into the grooming gang was needed because “no one has joined the dots, no one has the final picture” and the scandal is “almost certainly still going on”.

He challenged Starmer on whether the “full extent of rape gang activity” was known and argued that his resistance to a new inquiry would cause “anxiety about a cover-up” among voters.

Starmer hit back, accusing him of jumping on a bandwagon that said “misinformation and mudslinging” didn’t help victims.

The Prime Minister noted that Badenoch had not mentioned grooming gangs in the Commons in eight years as an MP, despite being Minister for Children and Minister for Women and Equalities.

In a subsequent briefing with reporters, Badenoch’s spokesman admitted he had never spoken to a survivor. He could not say whether he had ever raised the issue of grooming within the government.