Labour now faces even more pressure over its handling of the grooming gangs scandal after a GB News exclusive sparked senior Conservatives to demand a full-scale national enquiry.
Yesterday, GB News revealed that Jess Phillips had shut down calls for a public inquiry into the vile rape gangs in Oldham, instead urging local authorities to deal with it themselves.
It sparked a large-scale row over the gangs – with Elon Musk making a shock call for Phillips to be imprisoned as a result.
And now, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp and Shadow Safeguarding Minister Alicia Kearns have written to their Cabinet counterparts urging them to reconsider.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has led formal calls for a Public Inquiry
PA
In their letter, Philp and Kearns told Yvette Cooper and Phillips that their decision had “shocked and distressed many survivors as well as outraged the public”.
The Tory pair added: “Surely if the council recognises the gravity and scale of the crimes committed and is requesting the support of Government to ensure no more young girls are failed, it is right for Government to support their request.
“This is particularly the case when survivors have said they have no trust in the Council.
“We ask you to reconsider your decision in Oldham and explain why it took over three months for you to respond to their letter given the seriousness of their request.”
MORE ON BRITAIN’S GROOMING GANGS SHAME:
Yvette Cooper (centre-left) and Jess Phillips (centre-right) have been told that their decision had ‘shocked and distressed many survivors as well as outraged the public’
PA
They continued: “Only a statutory Public Inquiry can adequately encompass the national nature of these crimes and issues, and consider police, CPS and local council handling of these crimes (including whether reports were ignored or even covered up).”
“We now ask you to now launch a time-limited, national statutory Public Inquiry into grooming and rape gangs to get to the truth once and for all.”
Philp and Kearns also pointed to Rishi Sunak’s Grooming Gangs Task Force – which helped arrest over 550 suspects in the nationwide scandal.
But the Tories have come under fire for their own failure to launch a formal inquiry.
Alicia Kearns, who shadows Jess Phillips, has also called for a national probe
PA
Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch had said earlier that a national probe was “long overdue” – but Nigel Farage said in response: “Talk is cheap. The Conservatives had 14 years in Government to launch an inquiry.”
The Reform UK leader: “The establishment has failed the victims of grooming gangs on every level.”
Phillips’s letter, seen by GB News, said she believed “it is for Oldham Council alone to decide to commission an inquiry into child sexual exploitation locally, rather than for the Government to intervene”.
The Safeguarding Minister continued: “I welcome the Council’s resolution to do so, as set out in your letter, and to continue its important work with victims and survivors.”
A Home Office statement in response to yesterday’s exclusive reads: “No child should ever suffer sexual abuse or exploitation. Everyone who is responsible for children’s welfare must learn from past mistakes and do everything possible to prevent future failures.”
While a Labour Party statement in response to the Tories’ letter today added: “Child sexual abuse and exploitation are the most horrendous crimes and the Home Office supports police investigations and independent inquiries to get truth and justice for victims.
“We have supported both the national overarching inquiry into child abuse which reported in 2022, and local independent inquiries and reviews including in Telford, Rotherham and Greater Manchester.
“This Government is working urgently to strengthen the law so that these crimes are properly reported and investigated.”