Keir Starmer Under Fire as New Grooming Gang Scandal Erupts
Tempers flared this week after Labour was accused of quietly backtracking on plans to investigate grooming gangs – and doing it just as Parliament headed into recess, leaving the Commons virtually empty, according to the Telegraph.
Tory MPs were left fuming as news broke that the Home Office would now leave it up to local councils to decide whether or not to launch inquiries into child exploitation. Critics say this hands-off approach risks letting serious abuse slip through the cracks, especially in areas where cover-ups and institutional failures have already come to light in the past.
Fears of history repeating itself sparked outrage. One Conservative MP didn’t hold back, warning ministers that “children across Britain have been sexually tortured by gangs of men,” and demanded answers on why the government appears to be softening its stance.
James Cleverly, the former Home Secretary, tore into Labour’s handling of the issue, blasting the timing and the weakened policy. “Months ago the Labour government rejected the Conservatives’ call for a national inquiry into rape gangs and announced a watered down version,” he said. “Today, they watered down their plan more. And did so on the last day before recess, when they knew the commons chamber would be nearly empty.”
The timing hasn’t gone unnoticed, with critics calling it a “classic sneaky move” to bury bad news when most MPs had already packed up for the Easter break. It’s raised serious concerns that Labour is hoping to sideline one of the country’s most sensitive and harrowing issues.
Campaigners and survivors have long been calling for a full national inquiry, worried that patchy local efforts just don’t go far enough. In many of the worst cases from recent years – from Rotherham to Rochdale – it was precisely the failure of local authorities to take action that allowed abuse to go on for years unchecked.
One senior Tory source said the change “beggars belief” and accused Labour of trying to wash their hands of responsibility by passing the buck to councils, many of which may lack the resources – or the will – to take on such weighty investigations.
The Home Office insists it’s not backing down, claiming the new plan will still tackle grooming gangs. But critics say leaving it up to local decision-making is a recipe for inconsistency and risks exactly the sort of institutional blindness that’s been exposed before.
It’s a deeply emotional issue and one that doesn’t sit neatly within political boundaries. But the row over Labour’s last-minute move has reignited fears that justice for victims is being kicked down the road – again – and that vital lessons from past scandals are being ignored.
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