By GB News (World News) | Created at 2025-01-02 20:11:08 | Updated at 2025-01-05 03:14:59
2 days ago
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has accused Labour of a "conspiracy of silence" over its refusal to launch a national inquiry into grooming gangs.
Speaking on GB News, Philp said he was "shocked" that Labour had refused to establish a proper national inquiry with powers to compel witnesses.
"Labour aren't even putting forward ministers to answer questions from journalists, that is silence from the Labour Party," he said.
"That is not good enough when it comes to vulnerable young girls who have been abused and raped over so many years."
The minister acknowledged the "strength of feeling" for a Home Office-led inquiry but maintained the government would not step in.
The response came after a three-month delay in answering the council's democratically voted request.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch called for a national inquiry into what she termed the "rape gangs scandal".
"The time is long overdue for a full national inquiry," Badenoch wrote on X. "Trials have taken place all over the country in recent years but no one in authority has joined the dots."
Chris Philp sjoined Christopher Hope on GB News
GB NEWS
US billionaire Elon Musk criticised the decision, suggesting Phillips "deserves to be in prison" and questioned Sir Keir Starmer's role as director of public prosecutions between 2008-2013.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage responded that "talk is cheap", noting the Conservatives had 14 years in government to launch an inquiry.
Philp defended the Conservative Party's previous record on tackling grooming gangs during their time in power.
"In previous years, a number of inquiries were commissioned, including a national inquiry into child sexual abuse that ran between 2015 and 2022," he said.
He highlighted that Rishi Sunak's grooming taskforce had led to 550 arrests.
The former government also began collecting data on perpetrators' ethnicity "to better inform the debate", which Mr Philp urged the current government to publish.
An Oldham Council spokesman said: "Survivors sit at the heart of our work to end child sexual exploitation."
"Whatever happens in terms of future inquiries, we have promised them that their wishes will be paramount, and we will not renege on that pledge," they added.
The council's Labour group had previously agreed to support an independent inquiry, writing twice to Ms Phillips urging the Home Office to support its work.
Following the Home Office's rejection, the council has begun exploring alternative inquiry options, including a Telford-style investigation.
