An Oldham councillor has revealed he was told to consider “community cohesion” when raising concerns about grooming gangs in the area.
Brian Hobin, councillor for Failsworth, said he encountered resistance when calling for an inquiry into the issue after taking office in 2019.
“We had thrown at us that it was about community relations and community cohesion,” Hobin told GB News.
The councillor argued that avoiding the issue has only made divisions worse within communities.
Oldham Councillor Brian Hobin has hit out at the ‘failings of young girls’ after being denied a grooming gangs inquiry
“For some people in the past, I do believe their career or their their vote was more important than working class white girls who were being treated in this way,” he said.
Hobin outlined widespread institutional failures in addressing the grooming gang issue in Oldham, telling GB News: “I think there were failings on every avenue within the council.”
“I think there were failings in social services, I think there were failings in the NHS, there were failings in the Greater Manchester Police,” he said.
Hobin expressed satisfaction that the issue has returned to prominence in public discourse.
Keir Starmer has so far refused to back a national inquiry into the grooming gangsPA“I’m very pleased that it’s back at the top of the agenda now, because the general public need to know,” Hobin said.
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Hobin drew a stark comparison about how such cases might be handled differently based on demographics.
“If we were looking at Pakistani girls being groomed, being raped by gangs of white males, I think the tide would have turned a long time ago,” he said.
The councillor criticised political hesitancy in addressing the issue. “On too many issues, including this issue, politicians are scared to tread, it’s like eggshells for them,” Hobin told GB News.
He suggested politicians fear potential repercussions from addressing the topic. “They’re scared to tread on something that will come back and hit them. Well, this is coming back and hitting them in a different way because they’re not acting in the right way,” he said.
Brian Hobin told GB News that he was told to consider ‘community cohesion’ when raising concerns
GB News
Hobin stressed that support for investigating grooming gangs extends across communities. He revealed receiving backing from diverse groups in Oldham.
“I’ve had people from the Pakistani community, people from the Muslim community who have said, please carry on pursuing this,” he told GB News.
Hobin added: “As long as it’s not dug into, as long as we don’t take out this cancer in society, it’s casting a cloud over every community.”
The councillor concluded by stressing the importance of cultural integration. “I think if you are living here, you should take on board the culture, but we have got this cultural difference,” he said.