Labour Revises Plans on Grooming Gang Investigations Amid Backlash

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Labour has quietly revised its plans for investigating grooming gangs, opting to drop its original proposal for five formal local inquiries and instead adopting a more flexible funding model for local councils. The change was announced just before Parliament went into recess, drawing criticism from the Conservative Party, which accused the Government of scaling back its commitment.

 

Earlier this year, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had pledged £5 million for up to five judge-led inquiries, modelled on the Telford investigation that uncovered systemic failures in tackling child sexual exploitation. That announcement came amid calls for a broader national inquiry, including from billionaire Elon Musk, who has vocally criticised the UK’s handling of grooming gang scandals.

 

 

However, the Government now says the funding will be made available for a wider range of local initiatives. Jess Phillips, a Home Office minister, explained that “following feedback,” the £5 million will be offered to local councils to address grooming gangs in ways that suit their specific needs. “This could mean full independent local inquiries,” she said, “but could also include more bespoke work, including local victims’ panels or locally led audits of the handling of historical cases.”

 

In response to criticism from the Conservatives, a Home Office spokesperson defended the decision, stating: “The £5 million funding announced in January is being made available to local authorities to help strengthen local responses to child sexual exploitation, and all local authorities will be able to apply for funding for local inquiries or other work in this area.” The spokesperson added, “The Home Secretary has written to every local authority on our plans to support local inquiries, and after listening to local authorities about what they need, we made the decision to implement the fund in a flexible way.”

 

The original plan included collaboration with Tom Crowther KC, who chaired the Telford inquiry. He was expected to assist in developing a framework for victim-centred, locally led investigations and to work with Oldham and up to four other areas. But last week, Crowther revealed to the Home Affairs Committee that he had been left in the dark by the Home Office and even questioned whether his role was still required due to a lack of communication.

 

Jess Phillips also told MPs that the Government is now developing a new best-practice framework to support councils seeking to carry out inquiries or other related work. “Alongside that, we will set out the process through which local authorities can access the £5 million national fund to support locally-led work on grooming gangs,” she said.

 

In addition to the shift in approach to grooming gang inquiries, the Government announced the creation of a new child protection authority. This move responds to one of the central recommendations from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), led by Professor Alexis Jay. The IICSA, which ran for seven years, issued 20 recommendations in its final report in 2022 and described child sexual abuse as an “epidemic” across England and Wales.

 

Speaking to Parliament, Phillips said the report’s publication should have marked a turning point. “But victims and survivors were failed again when recommendations were not properly taken forward under the previous government,” she said. “I can announce to the House that to prioritise the protection of children and to improve national oversight and consistency of child protection practice, this Government will establish a new child protection authority.”

 

She added that the new authority would build on the work of the national child safeguarding review panel. “Work to expand the role of the panel will begin immediately, and we will consult on developing the new authority this year.”

 

A Home Office source indicated that a detailed framework for selecting areas to host inquiries would be released soon and would be informed by the ongoing Baroness Casey audit, which is examining the scope, ethnic makeup, and geographical spread of grooming gang activity in the UK. The source added: “Arrests for child sexual exploitation and grooming have increased in the last nine months and following our action with police forces, cases where no further action was previously taken are now being looked at again. This Government will leave no stone unturned for victims of child sexual abuse.”

 

Based on a report by The Telegraph  2025-04-10

 

Related Topics:

The Silenced Truth: How Political Correctness Delayed Justice for Grooming Victims

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Romanian Grooming Gang Convicted of Sexually Exploiting Women in Dundee

 Ethnicity of Grooming Gangs, Says Whistleblower’s Aide

Grooming Networks Persist in Oxford, Warns Former Investigator

Convicted Rochdale Grooming Gang Leader Still in the Town & not Deported

Starmer Condemns 'Lies and Misinformation' Over Child Sexual Abuse

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Kemi Badenoch Urges National Inquiry into UK Grooming Scandal

 

 

[Gsxrnz]

"...leave no stone unturned..."  Yeah, right. Denial is a river in Egypt.

 

This 20 year long travesty of justice is utterly criminal. Politicians and police should be facing prison time for their cover ups in the name of supposed racial harmony. Another Enquiry - what a joke. 

[Gandtee]

I wonder what the results will be where councils have council members from faiths that accept this sort of sexual treatment of females.  Labour's pussy footing is designed to defend the party. Scandalous!

[James105]

When their MPs are being arrested for child rape it doesn't take a lot to join the dots and wonder why they might not want Labour councils to be investigated.   Utterly shameful that little girls can be raped and the rapist enablers are protected by the government.    Labour, its MPs and its councils are a direct threat to women and girls (and probably little boys) who are unfortunate to have to live in the cesspit of cultural enrichment that is now the UK.  

[JonnyF]

Trying to brush it all under the carpet - disgraceful.

 

Cooper doesn't seem too happy about having to get out into the real world for once.

 

[DaveBart]

Labour want to cover this up as much as they can because to have a national enquiry would show just how much certain police forces and local labour councillors have been complicet in protecting the Pakistani rape gangs ,all labour MPs should hang their heads in shame 

[Thingamabob]

I doubt that Labour will ever be forgiven for this. They have stopped a full and proper investigation of the organized gang rape of young white girls by Pakistani men, by so doing hoping instead to attract grubby Muslim votes. Utterly disgusting and utterly shameful.