Grooming gang victims’ issues weren’t dismissed, Reeves says

Rachel Reeves has insisted ministers “by no means dismissed the issues of victims” of grooming gangs, as she defended the choice to launch a nationwide inquiry after months of stress.

The chancellor stated Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was centered on victims “and never grandstanding”.

Sir Keir has confronted criticism for resisting requires such an inquiry, with the Conservatives claiming they pressured him right into a U-turn.

Former detective Maggie Oliver, who resigned from Better Manchester Police over the way in which grooming circumstances had been dealt with in Rochdale, stated the Conservatives and Labour had each been “dragged kicking and screaming thus far”.

The prime minister stated on Saturday he had learn an unbiased report into youngster sexual exploitation by Baroness Louise Casey and would settle for her suggestion for an inquiry, masking England and Wales.

The report is anticipated to be printed on Monday and Dwelling Secretary Yvette Cooper is about to deal with the findings of the evaluate in Parliament.

Initially of the 12 months, the federal government dismissed requires a nationwide inquiry.

Sir Keir and different ministers argued the difficulty had already been examined in a seven-year inquiry led by Professor Alexis Jay.

Showing on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Reeves was requested whether or not the prime minister had been flawed to initially resist the thought.

She replied: “We have by no means dismissed the issues of victims. These are an important individuals in these discussions.”

Reeves stated the federal government had been centered on implementing the suggestions of Professor Jay’s evaluate.

“However the prime minister needed to guarantee himself he was doing all the pieces that was vital, which is why he requested Baroness Casey to do that speedy evaluate,” she added.

When requested if Sir Keir had modified his thoughts on the necessity for a nationwide inquiry, Reeves replied: “Our prime minister has all the time been actually centered on the victims, and never grandstanding however really doing the sensible issues to make sure one thing like this by no means occurs once more.”

Ms Oliver stated the inquiry was “an vital step on the journey to vary” and that Baroness Casey’s report would “carry the lid on what has been happening”.

However she stated Labour and the Conservatives had “equally failed” to confront the difficulty of grooming gangs, so “will not get a single little bit of thanks” from her.

“For me, I can solely take a look at them with contempt, as a result of I see on the bottom the struggling that their neglect has brought on,” she added.

Showing on the identical programme, shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride stated the choice to launch the inquiry ought to have occurred “far, far earlier”.

He stated the Conservatives had been “calling for this for a lot of, many months” and accused Sir Keir of dismissing their issues as “some form of far-right bandwagon”.

“That was the flawed response,” Stride stated. “That is simply one other instance of the prime minister being pressurised by us into U-turning.”

The Nationwide Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Kids (NSPCC) stated it was happy the prime minister accepted the suggestions of Baroness Casey’s report.

However the charity’s chief government Chris Sherwood stated “a nationwide inquiry into abuse by organised networks should not delay pressing motion on youngster sexual abuse that’s lengthy overdue”.

He stated survivors had already waited greater than two years for the suggestions from Professor Jay’s report back to be carried out.

Professor Jay’s inquiry discovered institutional failings, with tens of hundreds of victims throughout England and Wales.

The seven-year investigation concluded youngster sexual abuse was “epidemic” throughout the 2 nations and made 20 suggestions within the closing report printed in 2022.

The grooming gangs concern was thrust into the highlight at the beginning of this 12 months, fuelled partly by tech billionaire Elon Musk, who criticised Sir Keir for not calling a nationwide inquiry.

A row between the 2 centred on high-profile circumstances the place teams of males, primarily of Pakistani descent, had been convicted of sexually abusing and raping predominantly younger white ladies in cities reminiscent of Rotherham and Rochdale.

In January, the federal government stopped in need of launching a statutory nationwide inquiry into grooming gangs, regardless of the thought receiving assist from some Labour MPs.

The statutory inquiry now backed by the prime minister will have the ability to compel witnesses to offer proof.

The federal government has already introduced plans for 5 native inquiries, to be held in Oldham and 4 different areas but to be named.

A senior authorities supply stated the nationwide inquiry would “co-ordinate a collection of focused native investigations”.