PM agrees to inquiry into grooming gang scandal

Sir Keir Starmer is to launch a statutory national inquiry into the grooming gang scandal, following months of mounting pressure over the issue.

- DAVID MADDOX

The prime minister told journalists on the flight to the G7 in Canada that he had accepted the new recommendation from Louise Casey, who led the original review into the grooming gang scandal, which has hit communities all around the UK.

Sir Keir and Labour ministers, including Jess Phillips, the minister for domestic abuse, have faced criticism for previously refusing to commit to such an inquiry. It was alleged that there had been a cover-up because many of those responsible for attacks, including rape, on white working class girls were of Pakistani ethnicity.

However, the prime minister insisted that there had not been a U-turn on the matter, instead saying he had been waiting for Dame Louise to complete her review.

Sir Keir said: “From the start, I have always said that we should implement the recommendations [of Dame Louise’s report]. I think there were 200 recommendations when you take all of the reviews that have gone on at every level and we have got to get on with implementing them.