The grooming gang scandal is an inexcusable stain on our public authorities and our police and justice system. Men, predominantly within the Pakistani community, sought out white girls and systematically committed sexual assault, rape and abuse against them.
What happened was shocking and unacceptable, and too many in authority turned a blind eye to what was happening because the evil perpetrators were from ethnic minorities. They didn’t want to be accused of racism.
Our Prime Minister Keir Starmer was amongst the first to recognise this and act on what was happening. As Director of Public Prosecutions, he said: “In a number of cases presented to us, particularly in cases involving groups, there’s clearly an issue of ethnicity that has to be understood and addressed. As prosecutors, we shouldn’t shy away from that.”
And Starmer, as Director of Public Prosecutions, ordered a comprehensive restructuring of the Crown Prosecution Service’s response to sex grooming in 2012.
Fear of racism is simply not good enough - the grooming gangs scandal is an inexcusable stain - Bill RammellGetty Images
And Labour in Government has rightly acted to tackle the grooming gangs, in a way the Tories simply did not do when they were in office.
But last week was a communications fiasco which risks damaging the public’s confidence in the Government’s commitment to tackling the grooming gangs and supporting victims, when the 5 local inquiries the Government had agreed were called into question, because of inept Government communications.
Jess Philipps, the Safeguarding Minister, just one hour before Parliament went into recess for Easter said the Government would take a flexible approach by allowing five councils to launch victims panels or locally led audits, instead of full independent inquiries.
Yvette Cooper has now welcomely reversed that decision and confirmed the five local inquiries will go ahead.
But the Home Secretary should now go further and make a statement as soon as the House of Commons returns to clarify the situation and give MPs of all parties the opportunity to question her and get reassurance. And she should face rigorous questioning.
I’ll be honest, I’ve been sceptical of the need for further inquiries. There has already been a comprehensive, independent, national inquiry into child sexual abuse led by Professor Alexis Jay, which reported in 2022. It made 20 recommendations for change. The last Conservative Government acted on none of them, prompting Professor Jay to accuse Tory Ministers of having “failed to understand the recommendations either in substance or significance”. Very welcomely Labour is committed to full implementation.
But the Government also committed to five further inquiries. The issue is now one of public trust that this issue and the needs of victims are being addressed as rigorously as possible. Which is why Yvette Cooper should urgently clarify and reassure in the House of Commons.
The commitment to the five inquiries, how long, their remit and funding.
And reaffirming the confirmations made this week. The Government is giving victims the power to have their cases reviewed, and it is making it a criminal offence to cover up any report of child sexual abuse.
It is committed to the rapid national audit led by Louise Casey to uncover the true scale of the grooming gangs, including the ethnicity of the perpetrators.
I believe the Government is committed to righting the wrongs of the grooming gang scandal.
But it does need to sharpen its communications. I was a member of the New Labour Government, which was often accused of “spin”. That meant rigorous, repeated communication of what the Government was doing when, where, and how.
This Labour Government could take a leaf out of the New Labour communications book. Oh, and don’t rush out statements an hour before Parliament goes into recess. It always ends in tears.
