Labour accused of grooming gangs 'sham' as Tory MP claims funding for inquiries is being 'watered down': 'This is a national scandal!'

Addressing the grooming gangs issue, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has also tabled an amendment to force Labour to hold a statutory national inquiry.

Badenoch told GB News that grooming gang victims feel a "sense of betrayal" by the Government, and vowed to secure "full justice" for those affected by the grooming gangs.

Discussing his claims with host Martin Daubney, Moore told GB News that the move is "really concerning", and that Labour ministers are "taking control" of the planned inquiries.

Moore explained: "It really worries me that Labour ministers are taking control, as it makes it not independent at all. And also they have announced that the £5million that has been allocated to these five local inquiries is effectively going to be watered down, with that money being spent on other things.

"Now, that is not satisfactory at all, and just leads to my concern that this is just a sham by this Government and will lead to more smoke and mirrors on this issue."

When pressed by Martin on the Conservative amendment, Moore urged Labour MPs to vote in favour alongside the Tories to properly address the "national scandal" of the grooming gangs.

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Moore explained: "This is a really important amendment that the Conservative Party have put will be putting forward in the Police and Crime Bill, quite rightly, which will put every Labour MP in a position of having to vote for our amendment.

"It is right, as we have been advocating for, to have a national, statutory based rape gang inquiry, so we can try and provide that reassurance to those victims, those survivors, and lead to proper justice being delivered."

Highlighting his fight for an inquiry in his constituency of Keighley, Moore emphasised that there are "50 towns" which have been impacted by grooming gangs, with his own council voting down a localised inquiry.

Moore stated: "I've been advocating to have this in Keighley, where I represent, and across the wider Bradford district, where I've consistently made concerns around the Bradford district dwarfing the scale of this absolutely horrendous crime.

"The Conservative group put forward a vote on Bradford Council for having an inquiry and backing that national inquiry, and all Labour councillors on Bradford Council voted against it. Now we're taking it national. We want a national rape gangs inquiry."

In a direct plea to the Government to take further action on grooming gangs, Moore concluded: "Every Labour MP will be asked to vote for it. I urge them to join us and vote for us on this, because this is a national scandal. It should never have got to this stage.

"I only hope that every single Labour MP, indeed every MP, joins with us and getting behind that amendment so that again, we can reinstall trust back in the system, serve the justice that needs to be done and rebuild that relationship between the state and those organisations that have safeguarding responsibilities with the victims ,and those survivors that have had this heinous crime impacting them for far, far too long."

In a statement, a Labour Party spokesman has said in response: "Kemi Badenoch spent almost two years in the run up to the election as the Minister for Women and Equalities, and Chris Philp spent the same period as the Minister for Policing and Crime. Not once in that time did either of them mention the issue of grooming gangs in any of their speeches in the House of Commons.

"Not once did they hold a meeting with any external individual or organisation to discuss the issue of grooming gangs. Not one victim, not one expert on social abuse, not one local authority, and not one local police force."