Even for Kind Kemi, being a Conservative means never having to say you're sorry

None of this had been anything to do with her. Even though she had once been minister for children. The Tories hadn't put a foot wrong

- John Crace

his was meant to be Kemi putting her best foot forward. Nice Kemi. Kind Kemi. Collaborative Kemi. All the Kemis that don't usually see the light of day. A press conference with Chris Philp and four parents and survivors of child sex exploitation gangs. A moment of calm. Of reflection. A time to put the victims back where they always should have been. Front and centre. It was nice while it lasted.

Maybe it was an act of partial atonement. During her reply to Yvette Cooper's statement to the Commons on the Casey report on Monday, Kemi had turned the occasion into one that was all about her. Not a hint of apology for any failings for which she and previous Conservative governments might have made. The victims and survivors were just collateral damage in her fight with Labour. Her sole focus Keir Starmer's refusal to grant a national inquiry six months earlier. Her tone tin-eared at best.