Sir Keir Starmer has caved to pressure and announced a national inquiry into the rape gangs scandal after months of criticism from his political opponents. The Mail has more.
In a major U-turn, the Prime Minister said setting up a statutory investigation into the scandal was the “right thing to do” despite previously insisting it would take too long and that local reviews were sufficient.
He dramatically changed his mind after reading “every single word” of the report he commissioned into the exploitation of thousands of girls across the country, due to be published next week, which is said to explicitly link it to men of Pakistani origin.
The audit by Whitehall troubleshooter Baroness Casey is understood to have recommended that a new national inquiry be established in order to look at the race of perpetrators.
It is also expected to warn that white British girls who were exploited in towns across the country were “institutionally ignored for fear of racism”. …
Asked when it would start work, the PM replied: “It will be statutory under the Inquiries Act. That will take a bit of time to sort out exactly how that works and we will set that out in an orderly way.”
He insisted that he had never ruled out a national inquiry although he previously wanted to focus on implementing recommendations made in earlier reports. …
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who has repeatedly demanded the PM launch a full inquiry, said: “Keir Starmer doesn’t know what he thinks unless an official report has told him so. Just like he dismissed concerns about the winter fuel payment and then had to U-turn, just like he needed the Supreme Court to tell him what a woman is, he had to be led by the nose to make this correct decision here.
“I’ve been repeatedly calling for a full national inquiry since January. It’s about time he recognised he made a mistake and apologise for six wasted months.”
Worth reading in full.
Stop Press: Rachel Reeves has refused to say sorry for “far-right” jibes against those demanding a national rape gangs inquiry, according to the Mail.
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