Tories demand national probe that will ‘give a voice to the voiceless’

KEMI Badenoch will today set out a blueprint for a national probe into grooming gangs.

- BY KATIE HARRIS Senior Political Correspondent

KEMI Badenoch will today set out a blueprint for a national probe into grooming gangs.

The Tory leader will unveil terms of reference for a full statutory inquiry, drawn up with survivors and advocates, which she is urging the government to adopt.

The investigation would be independent of government and have the power to compel witnesses to give evidence.

Mrs Badenoch said: “This is about survivors and what they want. We must give a voice to the voiceless.

“They have told us what an inquiry must include to obtain justice. This is what the terms of reference sets out.

“I urge the government to do the right thing and act now to establish a national statutory inquiry that not only investigates state institutions who let the survivors down, but also any ethnic and religious links that caused these crimes.”

The inquiry would look at whether state institutions were part of a cover-up and look at the role of ethnicity and religion.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, who will appear at a press conference alongside Mrs Badenoch, added: “This inquiry will have the powers, independence, and scope needed to uncover organised grooming networks and the institutional failures that let victims down.

“Nothing will be off limits.

“It is time to put survivors first and ensure this can never happen again.

“It is time for the Prime Minister to deliver justice for every survivor, and hold every official who enabled these crimes to account.”