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UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will authorise a full statutory inquiry into the size and extent of kid sexual exploitation, after months of strain on him to take action.
Starmer on Saturday mentioned he had accepted the necessity for a nationwide inquiry into grooming gangs on the advice of Baroness Louise Casey, whose close to 200-page report into the scandal might be revealed on Monday.
Casey has been finishing up an audit of the size and nature of gang-based exploitation throughout the nation, the topic of fierce political controversy, after scandals first emerged within the north of England in 2013.
The report is predicted to ship searing criticism of public authorities, which have been accused of failing to behave decisively towards “grooming gangs” of males of predominantly Pakistani origin over fears of racism.
The Conservatives and Reform UK have demanded a nationwide inquiry for months and Yvette Cooper, house secretary, might be accused by opponents of dragging her toes when she makes an announcement to MPs on Monday.
Starmer, talking en path to a G7 summit in Alberta, Canada, mentioned of Casey’s evaluate: “Her place when she began the audit was that there was not an actual want for a nationwide inquiry.
“She has regarded on the materials and he or she has come to the view that there ought to be a nationwide inquiry on the idea of what she has seen.”
The scandals — through which gangs of males groomed and raped women who have been largely white — have already led to a number of inquiries.
The difficulty re-emerged earlier this yr after billionaire Elon Musk posted on his social media platform X concerning the challenge and referred to as for a nationwide inquiry, a requirement that was echoed by the Tories and Reform.
In January, Downing Avenue mentioned that victims “don’t wish to see a nationwide inquiry, they need motion taken to ship justice”.
However on Saturday Starmer mentioned: “I’ve by no means mentioned we should always not look once more at any challenge. I’ve wished to be assured that on the query of any inquiry . . . that’s why I requested Louise Casey, whom I massively respect, to do an audit.”
The prime minister added that he had learn “each phrase” of Casey’s report and that he was “going to simply accept her advice”.
“That’s the proper factor to do on the idea of what she has put in her audit,” Starmer mentioned. “I requested her to do this job to double-check on this. She has performed that job for me and having learn her report — I respect her in any occasion — I shall now implement her suggestions.”
Starmer mentioned the report can be “statutory underneath the Inquiries Act” however would take a while to arrange “in an orderly manner”.
Kemi Badenoch, Conservative get together chief, mentioned: “Keir Starmer doesn’t know what he thinks until an official report has instructed him so. Identical to he dismissed considerations concerning the winter gas fee after which needed to U-turn, identical to he wanted the Supreme Court docket to inform him what a girl is, he needed to be led by the nostril to make this appropriate determination right here.”
Badenoch mentioned the inquiry ought to be performed “correctly and shortly”.
Earlier this yr Cooper introduced government-backed native inquiries into grooming gangs, providing £5mn in funding for as much as 5 domestically led probes into historic instances, together with one in Oldham.
They’re anticipated to observe the mannequin of a judge-led inquiry that passed off into grooming gangs in Telford.
