Keir Starmer to launch grooming gangs inquiry that will make witnesses testify

[IwantToRetire]

Keir Starmer has confirmed that there will be a statutory inquiry into grooming gangs which means it will have the power to compel witnesses to testify and provide documents

The Prime Minister, who has previously resisted calls for another probe, said it was now "the right thing to do". And he confirmed it would be a statutory inquiry, which means it will have legal powers to compel witnesses to testify and produce documents. It comes as the findings of Baroness Dame Louise Casey's rapid audit into group-based child exploitation and abuse are due to be announced next week.

Mr Starmer said: "I have never said we should not look again at any issue. I have wanted to be assured that on the question of any inquiry. That's why I asked Louise Casey who I hugely respect to do an audit.

"Her position when she started the audit was that there was not a real need for a national inquiry over and above what was going on. She has looked at the material she has looked at and she has come to the view that there should be a national inquiry on the basis of what she has seen."

The PM added: "I have read every single word of her report and I am going to accept her recommendation. That is the right thing to do on the basis of what she has put in her audit.

"I asked her to do that job to double check on this; she has done that job for me and having read her report, I respect her in any event. I shall now implement her recommendations." According to a leak of Baroness Casey's review, it is said to state some victims were "institutionally ignored for fear of racism."

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/keir-starmer-says-grooming-gangs-35393814

Crikey. Let's hope it's just people who covered up and not victims they compel!

Finally.

If it is found to be the case, I hope charges are brought against anyone who helped cover this up and ignore the victims, whether that be police, social services, councillors etc.

The victims have been so brave speaking publicly about their experiences. I think some of them will absolutely want their voices to be heard by the enquiry, though I agree they shouldn't be compelled.

I really hope the utter shits who categorised a 10 year old girl, who was a repeated victim of rape, as a ‘prostitute’ are made to explain themselves by shit hot barristers.

Or will they shortly be found to all be living new lives in retirement in Australia now, as per a key witness in the Post Office inquiry??

It’s the right decision and I’m very glad he’s done it. But it’s another example of Starmer extracting maximum political pain for himself for minimal political gain. Both the delaying and now the commissioning of the report.

Finally...one of the first decent / good things he has done.

I'll be interested to see how this pans out and despite his statement he has been very.keen to shut this down and pretend it hasn't happened / isnt still happening.

I can understand politically why he wanted Dame Louise Casey to look into this but why didn’t he state he was waiting for her findings rather than repeating constantly a national inquiry wasn’t needed?

I don't think starmer has a choice. This isn't him doing the right thing because he personally wants it or thinks it's the right thing do to. The casey review recommends a national enquiry, he will have had early sight of that report, and he can't reject that recommendation without significant political consequences for himself and his party.

Just as long as change happens and this never happens again.

I hope that more is learnt about grooming generally and the concept is embedded across all tiers of public and private spaces. That this impacts chalk face and grassroots organisations.

many who home school criticise the bill that is going to give each child a unique number so they’re more easily tracked across all services and in education but this was something that, a social worker friend tells me, was due to be launched by Labour before the tories/ libdems got in and was shelved.

Well, he’s delusional if he thinks he should get credit now for finally, and so begrudgingly, doing something that was so obviously needed from the off.

I suspect between this and previous Governments’ inaction, enough key witnesses will have retired, or died or won’t “be able to recall” (anything but their name) that it’ll lose a lot of its potential to expose the truth.

It’s the same old tactic from politicians - keep kicking an issue into the long grass for long enough to blunt the fallout from it. Look at the blood scandal, or the PO enquiry as other recent-ish examples.

The poor girls and young women that were subjected to this.

I have heard an argument from some people who have had direct involvement that local investigation effect better change and that they’re concerned something like this will be extremely expensive and not impact at a local level. However I don’t know if thoughts have changed there.

to my mind they simply cannot not have scrutiny here now. From a safeguarding pov first but politically too. There’s too much being revealed. They wouldn’t dream of not doing this after Savile so there’s no way this cannot happen now.

Casey did the review of whether Lessons had been Learned by Rotherham Council in 2015. Spoiler: they hadn’t.

The trouble is that local investigations can be run by / involve senior staff and local politicians who were complicit in all this.

One of the questions Labour needs to ask is why they've found it so difficult to speak out about the systematic abuse of vulnerable girls and take decisive action? Why has it taken the Supreme Court judgment for them to finally recognise truth and reality about the sexes and to be able to use the word woman without coming over all trembly?

I'm pleased to see the change and at a time when the world feels to be an increasingly scary and dangerous place for all, we need wise and sober politicians who can resist pressure from unhinged activists. This should be a wake up call for them with some reflection about who were the voices able to influence them into taking positions so evidently on the wrong side of history,

This, like all other enquiries is a waste of time and money. No one EVER gets convicted or goes to prison as a result.

The poor victims will have to endure reliving their trauma in the public arena.

It is just an appeasement and the appearance of doing the right thing. With the inevitable "lessons were learned" bollocks.

Disgusted.

It was clear before that the Labour government was keen to suppress any meaningful investigation into this scandal so I was surprised by this news. My immeidate thought was that the government are worried about Reform using this as a stick to beat Labour with over the coming years in all kinds of contexts and a full Inquiry will reduced the damage that might be caused by that.

Yes that’s my thought too.

Yet we seem to learn nothing from these safeguarding scandals…..look at how awful the NSPCC has been about gender ideology. It also harms children and people who should know better are scared to speak up.

IwantToRetire: "According to a leak of Baroness Casey's review, it is said to state some victims were "institutionally ignored for fear of racism."

This is one of several examples that have been in the public domain for years, bolding as in the original report (there are also specific details of other examples in the Telford Enquiry Report):

Independent Inquiry Telford Child Sexual Exploitation
12 July 2022
Volume 1, page 113

618.4 In around 2007, sexual exploitation meeting notes suggest that exploitation by Asian men had been "going on for years", suggesting knowledge and inaction (511) and

618.5 As I have noted elsewhere, with regard to the Council's response to complaints of racism in the field of taxi licensing, there was an immediate, almost reflexive, complete retreat which undermine enforcement - a basic public protection programme - for some years.

6.1.9 In the same way, I am satisfied that in some cases the decisions of WMP officers about whether or not to investigate a particular piece of intelligence or complaint were influenced by assumptions about race: whether because of ideas of difficulties investigating what was seen as a closed and hostile community, because of fear of complaint, or because of concern about the impact an investigation might have had on racial tensions, I cannot determine. One witness told the Inquiry that on being approached to join the Chalice team, they were reluctant: “I said no, and that was because of the Asian element, you know, we’re going to be on to a loser.” (512)

6.2.0 It would, of course, be nonsense to suggest that considerations of race and ethnicity should play no part in policing a community with a large population of a particular racial or ethnic group; but for those considerations to lead to a situation where certain streets are not patrolled, or where certain crimes are not investigated, is a dereliction of the police’s most basic duty.

6.2.1 It is impossible, sadly, not to wonder how history might have been different had the culture in the 1990s and early 2000s within the Council and WMP not been overly concerned with questions of race and placed a greater focus on child protection.

-----

The website for IITCSE was allowed to expire in May by Eversheds Sutherland - which does not inspire confidence that Telford & Wrekin Council have given it a high priority. Telford & Wrekin do not host a copy on their website but instead link to the expired IITCSE website at https://www.iitcse.com/

I have tried downloading a copy of Volume One the report from the "Wayback Machine" at web.archive.org to test if it was worth posting the link here but the PDF failed to load.

Telford & Wrekin have posted a timeline of actions but you cannot get a copy of the Inquiry Report or anything else that was hosted on the IITCSE site:

https://www.telford.gov.uk/children-and-young-people/safeguarding-children/child-sexual-exploitation-cse/keep-up-to-date-with-the-latest-news/

Posts about this on X:

https://x.com/POWLizPanton/status/1933200134118023500

Nitter: https://nitter.net/POWLizPanton/status/1933125968043921425#m

and

https://x.com/POWLizPanton/status/1933125968043921425

Nitter: https://nitter.net/POWLizPanton/status/1933200134118023500#m

I have contacted Charlie Peters at GBNews but so far no reply:

If I do not hear anything soon then I will contact Telford & Wrekin Council myself.

that was my first thought

that’s really fucking concerning

Two minutes ago Labour used far right and dog whistle for anyone asking for this.

Their hypocrisy is too much. Agree with pp it’s due to Reform pressure.

I guarantee the report will not be concluded until after the next election. Didn't all Labour MPs vote against one?

And little trumpet. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2ew9jnj2p1o

Its quite clear Labour wanted to silence this. They have no choice now because of the casey review and because of Reform.

Here's the very video you called for:

https://x.com/visegrad24/status/1876240897333207483

Does this mean Starmer is now of the "far Right"?

He resisted implementing a national inquiry for as lonng as he possibly could get away with, referring to those calling for one as jumping on the far right band wagon. So does he now see himself as part of this band wagon?

It’s quite offensive they are still being referred to as ‘grooming’ gangs. The rapes were horrific -they should be referring to ‘rape’ gangs.