'It's normal practice': Ex-cop makes explosive claim as Labour accused of grooming gang 'collusion'

Sir Keir Starmer insists that the government would fund more than five inquiries if local authorities and victim groups wanted them but his opponents view this as unduly lenient, pointing out that councils opting in is a very different proposition to being summoned to an inquiry.

Trevor Phillips, the former chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission and Sky News presenter branded the move "obviously political", telling the Radio Times: “People in government who are responsible for this, who are in other ways completely decent people, should really be ashamed of themselves because it’s so obvious that they’re not doing this because of the demographic of the people involved, as Katie Lam, the Tory MP, said yesterday, largely Pakistani Muslim in background, and also in Labour-held seats and councils who would be offended by it.”

Phillips was referring to the MP for Weald of Kent's claim that leaving it up to local councils to request funding instead of being summoned to an inquiry was a politically convenient sleight of hand to protect those in public office who were complicit in the systematic rape and trafficking of young girls by men of predominantly Pakistani heritage.

Speaking to Talk's Julia Hartley-Brewer on Wednesday, she said: "It's obviously true. It's total common sense that people who have done wrong would ask not to be investigated. It is worth dwelling that not one person, not a single person has been convicted for covering up this institutionalised sexual torture. Nobody has been convicted of misconduct in public office or any kind of collusion or corruption around this although we know from evidence and the stories that that's happened."

She cited the case of Shabir Ahmed, the ringleader of the notorious Rochdale grooming gang, who was employed by Oldham Council as a welfare rights officer from 1988 until 2006.

Yvette Cooper has branded Phillips’ comments “total nonsense", claiming that her party is now weighing up "more than five" local rape gang inquiries.

However, despite the noises coming out of Downing Street, an ex-South Yorkshire Police officer claims there is more to Phillip's accusation than mere politicking.

In a previous interview with GB News, Darren Jones, who preferred that we do not use his real name, blew the whistle on the Labour counsellors who influenced the criminal investigations into grooming gangs in Rotherham.

He served during the time of the scandal, which saw at least 1,400 working-class girls raped and trafficked by groups of predominantly Pakistani men from 1997 to 2013 in the South Yorkshire town.

Jones previously told GB News that local Labour councillors, who were heavily involved with the mosques, would lean on police officers to look the other way.

"The Labour councillors would go into the mosques and be on the board of mosques. They would talk to the elders to ensure the message was passed down to all the family units that they should vote for them. It was a way of controlling what's happening," he alleged.

"We were co-located in council buildings and working in partnership with the council's management structure if you like," the former cop added.

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On the one hand, this integration "was a brilliant system. It worked very well", he says, adding: "If you needed someone to get you into organisations, it just opened a few back doors."

But there was a dark side to this relationship, Jones continued.

"The mayors and other elected people at that time were very influential over what was happening in the police. They would put a lot of pressure on the commanders and the chiefs, and certainly, the Muslim ear would get a greater listen to. If they ever want anything, it would be immediate. They [the police] didn't want any flack from councillors."

The retired officer added: "We always say the police are independent of political intrusion, but they're not."

Although Jones accepts lessons have been learned, he agrees with Lam's assertion that the influence of local councillors on the grooming gangs scandal has never been addressed and that the problem is not confined to Rotherham.

Given that council and police forces are co-located across the country, Jones tells GB News that he's "quite sure" this close relationship is routinely abused, adding: "It would be normal practice."

GB News has identified several schemes that aim to integrate different public services in the name of efficiency. One of the most high-profile is the Public Estate (OPE) initiative, which was set up in 2013.

The OPE is a national programme that aims to "break down historical barriers to get the best use of public land and property".

To this end, the initiative focuses on collaboration between public sector bodies, including police and councils.

The OPE's official launch document laid out a specific plan for this in Portsmouth.

"Some significant transfers of property are taking place in Portsmouth between different parts of the public sector, but one of the most iconic may prove to be between the police and the city council, who are exploring a number of possibilities. Sharing space between uniformed and other services could show very visibly how they can work together and buildings can be used more efficiently.”

The initiative has since supported over 800 projects nationwide, spanning 98 per cent of English councils, 12 government departments, and numerous public sector stakeholders.

There are 14 "strategic OPE partnerships" in London alone.

The retired officer accepts that schemes such as the OPE were designed with the best intentions but are liable to be abused.

Citing the corrosive influence politicians had on the criminal investigations into the grooming gangs in Rotherham as an example, he told GB News: "In my own experience, politicians manipulate the police for their own gain. They always mention police independence when it gets sticky but they know what they are doing."

When GB News put these claims to the police, Detective Superintendent Pete Quinn, South Yorkshire Police’s strategic lead for Child Safeguarding, said: “There never has and there never will be a good reason for failing to properly investigate child sexual exploitation. Whilst the abuse of young people in Rotherham in the late 90s and early 00s will always be of profound regret to South Yorkshire Police, it was the beginning of an improved future – a future of independent and national oversight.

"Reports of CSE in our region have long since been investigated by dedicated local multi-agency teams but our approach is now subject to structured governance by force leads and external bodies to ensure we are preparing, preventing, protecting, and pursuing in line with best practice and, crucially, without fear or favour.”

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council told GB News: "Over the last ten years, the Council has been committed to listening to the voice and lived experience of victims and survivors in order to drive forward improvements.

"Children’s Sexual Exploitation in Rotherham has been subject to 10 investigations, including the Jay Report by Professor Alexis Jay, Operation Stovewood, and several independent inquiries the Council has commissioned. The Council is continuing to work with the National Crime Agency and other partners to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice.

"Anyone with information relating to criminal activity which may assist those investigations into child sex offences is urged to come forward and provide this to the NCA or South Yorkshire Police."

GB News has reached out to the Home Office for comment.