A Conservative MP who has spent years trying to expose the rape gangs scandal says that more than 50 towns could have been affected.
Robbie Moore, the MP for Keighley and Ilkley, has made dozens of interventions in the Commons to try to expose the plight of young white children being groomed or raped by predominantly Pakistani men.
Research, based on court documents seen by GB News, suggests that 50 towns could be affected, more than the six examined in the official review of child sexual exploitation by Baroness Jay review in 2022.
But in an interview with Chopper's Political Podcast, Moore said that he "would not be surprised" if more than 50 towns were affected.
More than 50 towns could have rape gang victims, says campaigning Tory MP Robbie MooreGB NewsHe said: "I would not be surprised. And that is why we need that national inquiry. I've said in the House of Commons chamber a few times now that the scale of the issue in the Bradford district will dwarf that of Rotherham, Rochdale, Oldham, Telford."
Moore added: "I've not shied away from actually calling this issue out for what it is. It's been a minority of Pakistani Muslim men that have been targeting predominantly white young children for far too long."
Part of the problem is that the local council in Bradford said the issue was a national one, while the Labour Government has so far resisted pressure, saying it should be dealt with locally.
POLITICS LATEST:
Christopher Hope speaks to Robbie Moore MP on Chopper's Political Podcast
GB News
He said: "It's not happened because I've constantly been asking for a local inquiry and get told at a local level. This is a national issue.
"You then heard the Prime Minister [Sir Keir Starmer] and our Safeguarding Minister [Jess Phillips] saying, well, actually this should be up to local councils or local authorities or those with local safeguarding responsibility to deal with this.
"What does that say to the victims and those survivors and those families across Keighley and the wider Bradford district who have been calling on this [and] who are now in the situation of not getting what they want? It is a disgrace."
A Home Office spokesman said this week: "No child should ever suffer sexual abuse or exploitation and it is paramount we do more to protect vulnerable children – which is why we are working at pace across Government to drive forward real action to implement the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
"Professor Alexis Jay worked for seven years on a comprehensive independent inquiry and continues to work with survivors of these heinous crimes – and this Government is committed to working closely with survivors and expert groups like Act on IICSA."
Watch Chopper's Political Podcast with GB News reporter Charlie Peters and Tory MP Robbie Moore on YouTube, or listen to it on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
