Badenoch calls for national inquiry into 'rape gangs'

Conservative person Kemi Badenoch has called for a afloat nationalist national enquiry into the UK's "rape gangs scandal".

It comes aft Home Office curate Jess Phillips rejected Oldham Council's petition for a government-led enquiry into humanities kid intersexual exploitation - saying the assembly should pb it instead.

Her decision, taken successful October, was reported by GB News connected Wednesday and past picked up by Elon Musk connected his societal media level X, and respective elder Tories.

Shadow Home Office curate Chris Philp told the BBC the clip had travel for a nationalist inquiry, with powers to "compel witnesses to travel forward", to get "to the truth".

The Home Office has been approached for comment.

Posting connected societal media, Badenoch said: "Trials person taken spot each implicit the state successful caller years but nary 1 successful authorization has joined the dots. 2025 indispensable beryllium the twelvemonth that the victims commencement to get justice."

There person been galore investigations into the systematic rape of young women by organised gangs, including successful Rotherham, Cornwall, Derbyshire, Rochdale and Bristol.

The intersexual maltreatment of young girls by grooming gangs has fuelled a fig of far-right campaigns which person focused connected cases of large-scale maltreatment carried retired chiefly by men of Pakistani descent.

An enquiry into maltreatment successful Rotherham recovered 1,400 children had been sexually abused implicit a 16-year period, predominantly by British Pakistani men.

An probe successful Telford recovered that up to 1,000 girls had been abused implicit 40 years - and that immoderate cases had not been investigated due to the fact that of "nervousness astir race".

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA), which published its last study successful 2022, knitted respective of these inquiries unneurotic alongside its ain investigations.

It found gangs would people susceptible children and described the intersexual maltreatment of children arsenic an "epidemic that leaves tens of thousands of victims successful its poisonous wake".

Professor Alexis Jay, who led the inquiry, said successful November she felt "frustrated" that nary of its 20 recommendations had been implemented much than 2 years later.

She said: "It's a hard taxable matter, but it is indispensable that there's immoderate nationalist knowing of it.

"But we tin lone bash what we tin to property the authorities to look astatine the transportation of each of this.

"It doesn't request much consultation, it does not request much probe oregon discussion, it conscionable needs to beryllium done."

Philp told Radio 4's World astatine One programme the Conservatives backed Oldham Council's telephone for a government-led inquiry, but added "rape gangs" were "a bigger question than conscionable Oldham".

Philp said: "While determination person been inquiries successful the past, similar the autarkic probe into kid intersexual abuse, they had a overmuch wider remit."

"We request a due nationalist enquiry to look astatine each of these issues crossed each of the towns affected. And I'm acrophobic to accidental determination are thing like, you know, 15 to 25 antithetic towns involved, covering thousands and thousands of victims."

Questions implicit the behaviour of section authorities, the constabulary and societal attraction needed answering connected a nationalist scale, helium argued, and helium did not regularisation retired the enquiry looking astatine the relation of Sir Keir Starmer, who was manager of nationalist prosecutions from 2008 to 2013.

Philp besides said the enquiry should analyse wherefore perpetrators successful "grooming gangs and rape gangs" appeared to beryllium "overwhelmingly of South Asian background".

Responding to Badenoch, Reform UK person Nigel Farage said: "Talk is cheap. The Conservatives had 14 years successful authorities to motorboat an inquiry.

"The constitution has failed the victims of grooming gangs connected each level."

Asked wherefore the erstwhile Tory authorities had not conducted a nationalist national enquiry into specified gangs, Philp pointed to IICSA but added "I don't deliberation it was, frankly, arsenic broad connected this taxable arsenic it should person been".

In 2022, an autarkic enquiry by Greater Manchester Combined Authority recovered that susceptible children were near exposed to intersexual exploitation successful Oldham due to the fact that of "serious failings" by the constabulary and council.

But the study drew disapproval for its constricted scope, focusing connected cases betwixt 2011 and 2014.

In July, Oldham Council, which is led by a Labour number administration, asked the Home Office to pb a fuller enquiry into humanities maltreatment successful the area.

Phillips rejected the request, pointing to council-run inquiries successful Rotherham and Telford, which she argued had greater legitimacy due to the fact that they were locally commissioned and delivered.

In a missive to the council, the safeguarding curate said she recognised the "strength of feeling" but believed it was "for Oldham Council unsocial to determine to committee an enquiry into kid intersexual exploitation locally, alternatively than for the Government to intervene".

Conservative Oldham councillor Lewis Quigg said the determination was "just not bully enough".

An Oldham Council spokesperson said: "Survivors beryllium astatine the bosom of our enactment to extremity kid intersexual exploitation.

"Whatever happens successful presumption of aboriginal inquiries, we person promised them that their wishes volition beryllium paramount, and we volition not renege connected that pledge."

On X, Musk accused Sir Keir of failing to decently prosecute "rape gangs" portion helium was manager of nationalist prosecutions.

But the tech billionaire was himself accused of "rewriting history" by Nazir Afzal, who Sir Keir appointed arsenic peculiar authoritative for kid maltreatment and intersexual exploitation, and oversaw galore convictions against different grooming gangs.

Mr Azfal said: "Under Starmer's enactment we yet tackled these abuses, which had antecedently been handled poorly."

Musk - who has been picked by US President-elect Donald Trump to pb a caller Department of Government Efficiency - besides criticised Phillips, stating she "deserves to beryllium successful prison" for her effect to Oldham Council.