‘What have they got to hide?!’ fumes Nigel Farage as Labour rules out national inquiry into grooming gangs

'Playing politics trumps safeguarding children on the Conservatives’ list of priorities', says Labour

Labour said “playing politics trumps safeguarding children on the Conservatives’ list of priorities” after a Tory bid to push for another national inquiry into grooming gangs and block the Government’s child protection Bill was rejected by MPs.

“The Conservatives attempted to block this Government’s plans to keep the most vulnerable children in our country safe from harm, after spending years failing to implement Professor Jay’s recommendations,” a party spokesperson said.

“Our measures protect children from harm, beef up inspections of illegal schools, and will mean that abusive parents can’t keep their children out of school.

“The Tories tried to block them.

“Clearly playing politics trumps safeguarding children on the Conservatives’ list of priorities.”

'If Labour won't, we will!' Nigel Farage vows Reform UK will launch national inquiry into grooming gangs by the end of January

Nigel Farage has vowed that Reform UK will fund it's own unofficial inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal that has rocked the nation.

The promise came shortly after MPs rejected a Conservative bid to push for another national inquiry into the issue.

The amendment to the Government’s draft child protection legislation was put to a Commons’ vote on Wednesday following a bitter Prime Minister’s Questions in which Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said failing to back a probe would fuel concerns about a “cover-up”.

CHECK OUT THE FULL STORY HERE

Rupert Lowe: 'As a country, we got this wrong, horrifically, wrong'

Rupert Lowe, Reform UK Deputy Leader, said that a national inquiry will be a "start" to "acknowledging" the grooming gangs scandal.

He said: "Will a national inquiry solve everything, straight away? No, it won't - but it is a start.

"An acknowledgement that there is a deep wrong that needs righting. An acknowledgement that thousands and thousands of vulnerable children were failed by an establishment more concerned about upsetting 'community cohesion', than the safety of young working class girls. An acknowledgement that mass rape on British children by Pakistani men will not be tolerated, will not be accepted, will not be concealed.

"As a country, we got this wrong, horrifically wrong. The only first step on the path to some sort of redemption is an attempt to uncover the full horrors of what was inflicted on these children. This can happen all alongside robust action, obviously - to say otherwise is just playing politics. Starmer voted against this national inquiry tonight as a show of strength. He has never looked weaker."

All Labour MPs vote against inquiry

No Labour MPs voted in favour of the Conservative amendment, the division list showed.

The 111 MPs who supported the amendment included 101 Conservatives, five Reform UK, two DUP, the TUV’s Jim Allister, UUP’s MP Robin Swann and Independent Alex Easton.

Labour MPs have 'turned a blind eye to justice for the victims'

The Conservatives have accused Labour MPs of having “turned a blind eye to justice for the victims” of grooming gangs, after a Conservative demanding another national inquiry was rejected.

If approved, it would have prevented the Government’s Bill aimed at protecting children from making progress.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “It is disgusting that Keir Starmer has used his supermajority in Parliament to block a national inquiry into the rape gangs scandal.

“Labour MPs have put their party ahead of getting to the truth and turned a blind eye to justice for the victims. Labour MPs will have to explain to the British people why they are against learning the truth behind the torture and rape of countless vulnerable girls.

“We will not let them forget this act of cowardice.”

Labour votes down national inquiry on grooming gangs in major blow to victims

Labour MP’s have voted down a proposed national inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal.

This comes after Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch tabled an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill today, calling for a full inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal.

Sir Keir Starmer hit out at the Tory leader over “lies and misinformation and slinging of mud” which did not help victims of child sexual abuse.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir said a further inquiry could delay action on tackling child sexual abuse, saying that recommendations from a seven-year investigation which reported in 2022 had not yet been implemented.

CHECK OUT THE FULL STORY HERE

Schools Minister: 'This is the biggest piece of protection legislation in a generation'

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is “the biggest piece of protection legislation in a generation”, the school's minister said.

Urging MPs to vote for it, Catherine McKinnell said that it was time to take action. She also accused the Tories of “political opportunism”

She told the Commons: “This Bill will deliver landmark reforms to safeguarding and children’s social care. It is the biggest piece of child protection legislation in a generation, and we are bringing it forward to prioritize children. “

McKinnell added: “The child sexual abuse scandal is sickening, and it’s vital that we learn lessons from past failures, including the issues uncovered by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, and turn that into action to protect children.”

Former Reform UK London Mayoral candidate quits party

Howard Cox, Reform UK's London Mayoral candidate, decides to quit party after "much soul-searching".

Announcing his decision to leave on social media, Cox said: "By leaving the party, it frees me up to talk about a number of political issues without criticism".

Cox, who also ran as a candidate for Dover, thanked those who have supported him along the way.

Reform UK demands Sadiq Khan impose Public Order Emergency to halt 'knife crime crisis'

Reform UK has demanded that Sadiq Khan declare a Public Order Emergency to halt the “knife crime crisis” in the capital.

Penning a letter to the London Mayor, Reform’s Deputy Leader Richard Tice and Assembly Member, Alex Wilson, have asked for a ramp up of stop and search, as well as a boosted police presence.

“In your London, we’re now at a point where parents have the constant worry they may receive a call from school telling them their child is not returning from school. Not because they’re at an after-school club. Not because they’ve got a detention. Because they’ve been stabbed to death,” the letter said.

CHECK OUT THE FULL STORY HERE

Labour's School Bill will jeopardise a 'proven recipe for success'

A Labour MP has warned the Labour's School Bill could jeopardise a “proven recipe for success” to help pupils.

Dame Siobhain McDonagh expressed concerns over three parts of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, including the requirement for all state schools – including academies – to teach the national curriculum.

Critics of the Bill fear academies will lose freedoms which can help to recruit teachers and improve pupil outcomes in challenging areas.

Dame Siobhain opened by saying it “really saddens me” to make her speech about the Bill, telling the Commons: “There are three main aspects of the Bill that are of particular concern to me.

“The proposal to make it compulsory for academies to teach the national curriculum; the harmonisation of teachers’ pay across academies and maintained schools; and the pathway for future failing schools.”

She said that academies' abilities to choose their curriculum is "a proven recipe for success" , which allows teachers to "carefully consider what pupils needed to learn and the right time for pupils to revisit this knowledge"

Labour warned benefit claimants will 'move from England to Scotland' in bid to exploit extra handouts

Labour has been warned that benefit claimants will “move from England to Scotland” to profit off the SNP’s decision to axe the two-child cap on Universal Credit.

An official report by The Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC), which provides SNP ministers with their budget forecasts, has said that the finance minister's decision to scrap the cap could lead to an exodus from the south.

The report said that for low-income families that have three or more children, the “incentives are large”.

CHECK OUT THE FULL STORY HERE

'Labour are going to take us back in the EU', says Shadow Minister for Defence

Mark Francois, Shadow Minister for Defence, has said that "Labour are going to try and take us back in the EU", thanks to Starmer the "Remainer".

Speaking to GB News, the MP for Rayleigh and Wickford said: "If Labour wanted to rejoin the EU, Olly Robbins, a notable Europhile, is their perfect choice at the FCDO. As the official who led the negotiations on Theresa May’s deeply flawed Withdrawal Agreement, he is well connected around the EU.

"I have always argued that Starmer ‘Remains a Remainer’ at heart and this just helps prove it. Labour are going to try and take us back in, one step at a time."

Badenoch issues chilling 'rape gangs' warning as she blasts Starmer for risking 'cover-up'

Kemi Badenoch has warned that grooming gang abuse is "still going on" in a chilling warning to Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs today.

The Tory leader said she believed there is "still work to be done" to uncover the full extent of the scandal - which she later dubbed "one of the worst in British history".

She also defended her demands for a Public Inquiry by saying: "No one has the total picture and it is almost certainly still going on".

Sir Keir Starmer, in response, claimed the Tories had failed to act on the Jay Report's recommendations, adding that while the Tories "have been tweeting and talking, we have been acting".

He then blasted Badenoch for having "jumped on the bandwagon" after not raising the issue of grooming gangs in Parliament throughout her eight-year tenure in the Commons.

The Tory leader then said: "The Prime Minister called for nine inquiries in the last Parliament. Does he not see that by resisting this one people will start to worry about a cover-up?"

Starmer replied: "This is an important issue and we have to focus on the victims and survivors - and it is isn't helpful, this sort of lies and misinformation and slinging of mud... It doesn't help them one bit."

It comes as the Tory motion to table an amendment on Labour's Schools Bill has been selected to go to the House floor. As a result, MPs will be voting on whether to hold a national Public Inquiry into grooming gangs today.

Former Education Secretary 'seriously concerned' about Labour's Schools Bill: 'It will stamp out brilliance'

Former Education Secretary Sir Gavin Williamson said he has “very serious concerns” about the changes to schooling included in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

Williamson said it would diminish the best schools and “stamp out brilliance”.

The Conservatives have tabled an amendment to Labour's Schools Bill, which MPs are set to vote on its second reading today.

He welcomed the areas focusing on children’s wellbeing, but said: “The other side of the Bill, in terms of schools, is an area that I think does raise very serious concerns.

“As was said by the Government, the current discrepancy between maintained schools and academies leaves potential for inconsistencies in education standards, opportunities and outcomes for pupils from different types of schools.

He added: “If you look through the clauses, it doesn’t seem to be about making sure that excellence within our schooling system is actually driven forward, it seems to be about dragging the excellent down.”

Williamson later said: “There’s a sense that what we want to do is have a homogenous schools system where brilliance, and excellence and freedom for teachers and for schools to deliver the very best for their pupils is stamped out.”

Top Labour MP brands Tories ‘bandwagon jumpers’ as she lashes out at their calls for grooming gangs inquiry

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has launched a blistering attack on Conservative MPs, branding them "a shameless bunch of bandwagon jumpers" over their push for a new grooming gangs inquiry.

Speaking to GB News, Phillipson condemned the Tory approach as "political opportunism".

She highlighted how the Conservative government had failed to act on recommendations from a previous inquiry completed in 2022.

CHECK OUT THE FULL STORY HERE

Reform UK will vote with the Conservatives on grooming gangs inquiry

Reform UK's five MPs will vote for the Conservative-tabled amendment to Labour's Schools Bill today.

The Tories are calling upon the Government to "develop new legislative proposals for children's wellbeing at the same time as establishing a national statutory inquiry into historical child sexual exploitation, focused on grooming gangs" - but save a mass Labour rebellion, it's unlikely the motion will pass, even with Reform's support.

Badenoch has NOT met any grooming gang victims despite calling for Public Inquiry - while Starmer met survivors this morning

Kemi Badenoch has not met any victims of the grooming gangs scandal, Tory aides have confirmed.

Despite calling for a Public Inquiry - through tabling an amendment and launching a petition - the Conservative leader has not yet any survivors of Britain's rape gangs.

In contrast, the Prime Minister met with some victims this morning.

Starmer swipes at Robert Jenrick's failed leadership bid after 'alien culture' remarks

Sir Keir Starmer's official spokesman has taken a swipe at Robert Jenrick's failed Tory leadership bid after his comments on "alien culture" being partially to blame for the grooming gangs scandal.

Jenrick had said: "The scandal started with the onset of mass migration... importing hundreds of thousands of people from alien cultures, who possess medieval attitudes towards women."

And now, Downing Street has hit back - "I'm not going to give a running commentary on Robert Jenrick's submarine leadership campaign," the PM's spokesman has said.

READ IN FULL: Tories' amendment to Labour's Schools Bill

That this House, while welcoming measures to improve child protection and safeguarding, declines to give a Second Reading to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill...

• Because it undermines the long-standing combination of school freedom and accountability that has led to educational standards rising in England, effectively abolishes academy freedoms which have been integral to that success and is regressive in approach, leading to worse outcomes for pupils;
• Because it ends freedom over teacher pay, making it harder to attract and retain good teachers;
• Because it ends freedom over Qualified Teacher Status, making teacher recruitment harder;
• Because it removes school freedoms over the curriculum, leading to less innovation; because repealing the requirements for failing schools to become academies and for all new schools to be academies will undermine school improvement and remove the competition which has led to rising standards;
• Because the Bill will make it harder for good schools to expand, reducing parental choice and access to a good education;

[This House] calls upon the Government to develop new legislative proposals for children's wellbeing at the same time as establishing a national statutory inquiry into historical child sexual exploitation, focused on grooming gangs.

Grooming gangs vote WILL go ahead after Speaker green-lights Tory-tabled amendment

MPs will vote on whether there should be a national Public Inquiry into Britain's rape gangs scandal today after the Speaker selected Kemi Badenoch's amendment to Labour's Schools Bill.

Labour MPs are set to be whipped to vote against the Tory-tabled amendment - despite Sir Keir Starmer urging the Conservatives to withdraw it.

Labour's Islamophobia definition under the microscope as MPs warned of 'chilling effect'

Labour's Islamophobia definition has come under fire in the wake of the reemergence of the grooming gangs scandal from across the aisle.

Addressing the Prime Minister at PMQs, Kemi Badenoch said: "The Labour Party has adopted the APPG definition of Islamophobia.

"That same APPG report said talking about sex groomers was an example of Islamophobia.

"This is exactly why people are scared to tell the truth and the lack of clarity means that innocent British Muslims are smeared by association.

"That is not fair and only a national inquiry that can solve this.

"So will the Prime Minister look again at the Labour Party's adoption of the definition of Islamophobia, its chilling effect and rule out introducing it in Government?"

Badenoch's warning came as part of her call for Sir Keir Starmer to "be a leader, not a lawyer" - his response was: "I will call out any aspect that has prevented anybody coming forward or any case going forward when it comes to violence against women and girls, child abuse or child sexual exploitation, as I have been doing now for the best part of 15 years."

'Be a leader, not a lawyer!' Badenoch's plea to PM as she warns how people kept quiet on grooming gangs 'because they thought they'd be called racist'

Kemi Badenoch has urged the Prime Minister to "be a leader, not a lawyer" over his response to Britain's grooming gangs scandal.

"We know that people were scared to tell the truth because they thought they would be called racist," she said. "If we want to stop this from ever happening again we cannot be afraid."

Starmer replied: "I will call out any aspect that has prevented anybody coming forward or any case going forward when it comes to violence against women and girls, child abuse or child sexual exploitation, as I have been doing now for the best part of 15 years."

Davey and Starmer take swipes at Musk-Farage fallout as Lib Dems accuse X owner of trying to 'buy' Reform UK

Sir Ed Davey has taken a jab at "overseas oligarchs" funding British politics in the wake of Elon Musk and Nigel Farage's apparent fallout.

The Lib Dem leader - whom Musk has called a "snivelling cretin" just this week - called for a larger-scale crackdown on foreign money in politics at PMQs today.

Davey also accused Musk of attempting to "buy" Reform UK, and asked Sir Keir Starmer to join his party in cracking down.

Starmer said that he is "looking at the question of funding more generally" - and took a swipe at Farage to boot.

"We all had a smile" when Musk disavowed the party leader, the PM said.

Jess Phillips does NOT rule out new national inquiry into grooming gangs if victims want one - 'Nothing is off the table!'

Jess Phillips has now refused to rule out a national inquiry into grooming gangs - despite it having emerged that she has still not spoken to victims in Oldham.

Phillips had admitted to ITV last night that she had failed to speak to Oldham victims despite rejecting their pleas for a national inquiry - though she vowed she was "very much hoping to do that and arranging that".

And now, she has pledged to listen to abuse victims as part of a new panel announced by the Government this week.

"If the victims come forward to me in this victims panel and they say: 'Actually, we think there needs to be a national inquiry into this', I'll listen to them," she told Sky News.

"Nothing is off the table," she added.

It flies in the face of comments from Sam, a survivor from Oldham, who told GB News: "It's infuriating to think a person who has no knowledge of what it's like in Oldham and has ever met one of us survivors in real life can make these decisions."

Rather than launching a Public Inquiry, Labour has instead vowed to implement the recommendations of the 2022 Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).

The Conservatives have tabled an amendment to Labour's Schools Bill which would include the need for an inquiry. MPs are set to vote on the Bill's second reading today - with Labour's whipped to vote against the amendment.

Starmer faces urgent grooming gangs inquiry grilling at PMQs

Sir Keir Starmer has urged the Conservatives to "withdraw their wrecking amendment" for a grooming gangs inquiry on Labour's Schools Bill at PMQs today.

The Prime Minister said he had met abuse survivors earlier today - and said that "they want action now, not the delay of a further inquiry"

"Action is what's required," he added.

"It's shocking that anyone would vote down the Children's Welfare Bill," he said, before urging Badenoch to reconsider.

Badenoch's petition for full grooming gangs inquiry sparks concern from Farage - 'Why didn't she do it before?'

Kemi Badenoch has vowed to "get justice for the victims of the rape gangs" through a petition ahead of the Tory-tabled vote to force a full national inquiry later today.

In a new social media video, Badenoch warned: "The public demand answers, the victims deserve justice" and accused Labour of "trying to sweep it under the rug".

But in response, Nigel Farage pointed to her own record in Government.

"Kemi Badenoch was Minister for Women and Equalities from 2022 to 2024. Why did she not demand a full inquiry then?" he wrote.

Migrants from 'medieval' cultures should be BLOCKED from coming to Britain, Tories vow

Migrants from countries with a "medieval" attitude to women should be barred from coming to Britain, senior Conservatives have vowed.

With the grooming gangs scandal firmly back in the limelight, Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has warned that recent arrivals in the UK hold "backward, frankly medieval attitudes to women", adding: "We have to be very careful about who is coming into this country."

His comments have received the backing of one-time leadership rival Kemi Badenoch, who has previously said that all cultures are not "equally valid".

The Tory leader - echoing calls from Reform UK - has also demanded that foreign nationals found guilty of child sex abuse are deported from Britain.

Jenrick then told the BBC: "I think that we have to be very careful about who is coming into this country, the scale and pace of that immigration so that we can have a much more successful integration policy than we have today.

"I have always said, and it is a point made by Kemi Badenoch, the leader of my party, that not all cultures are equal."

Badenoch is set to pile pressure on Labour later today to hold a fresh national inquiry into grooming gangs by trying to force a vote in the Commons - and has launched a petition backing the move.

British probe into Tulip Siddiq over 'dictator links' WON'T investigate allegations in Bangladesh

A UK probe into Labour's Anti-Corruption Minister Tulip Siddiq will not investigate corruption claims made by Bangladeshi authorities.

Siddiq is under investigation in Britain over her use of properties linked to her aunt, the deposed Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

On Monday, Sir Keir Starmer said she had referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards Sir Laurie Magnus - but it is unclear whether he can investigate into the Bangladeshi allegations, Guido Fawkes reports.

Neither the Independent Adviser's terms of reference nor the ministerial code itself make it clear whether Magnus's scope of work is also limited to the period after which Siddiq became a minister.

The ministerial code says: "On appointment to each new office, ministers must provide their permanent secretary with a full declaration in writing of private interests which might be thought to give rise to a conflict, actual or perceived.

"This declaration should also cover interests of the minister's spouse or partner and close family."

Siddiq has owned, rented and lived in several properties in London with links to the Awami League, her aunt's political party, according to various reports from the Financial Times and The Sunday Times.

These include:

• A two-bedroom flat near King's Cross Station. Siddiq owns the flat, but it was purchased by Awami League-linked developer Abdul Motalif.
• A property in Hampstead, which was transferred to her sister by Moin Ghani, a lawyer who represented the Awami League-led Bangladeshi government. Siddiq had lived at this property.
• A £2.1million-valued home in East Finchley owned by Abdul Karim, a senior member of the Awami League's UK wing. Siddiq rents this home, having moved in shortly after July 2022.

'Do the right thing!' Labour MPs told to IGNORE Starmer ahead of crunch vote

Labour MPs have been told to ignore the whip and vote for the Tories' grooming gangs inquiry amendment on the Children, Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

Writing on social media this morning, Reform UK's Rupert Lowe said: "It seems that Starmer is ordering his MPs to vote against a full national inquiry into the Pakistani rape gangs today. They should ignore him, and do the right thing."

Elon Musk, a fierce critic of Sir Keir Starmer, then replied: "For all those poor little girls who were so terribly abused, many of whom died, they should do the right thing."

'It's SICKENING!' Phillipson fumes as Tories move to 'kill' Labour's Schools Bill

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has labelled the Tories' push to amend Labour's Children, Wellbeing and Schools Bill to include a national inquiry into grooming gangs "absolutely sickening".

Speaking to Times Radio this morning, Phillipson accused the opposition of moving to "kill" the Bill - which she vowed would "protect the very children they claim to care about" if passed un-amended.

"We are looking right across the recommendations that Alexis Jay set out and there are crucial recommendations from the review that she carried out," she said.

"That's why today we are setting out legislation that addresses many of the wider challenges that we see right across our system. It's why the Home Secretary announced in the House of Commons the action that we are taking.

"So we are wasting no time in legislating to keep children safe. The question for the Conservatives today is why they are intent on blocking this landmark piece of child protection legislation that would keep the very children safe that they claim they are concerned about.

"They come along today as we set out legislation to protect the very children they claim to care about and they intend to block it and kill it stone dead.

"It is absolutely sickening."

Musk fumes as Labour MPs to be whipped to vote AGAINST grooming gangs inquiry

Labour MPs are set to be whipped to vote against the Tory-tabled amendment to the Children, Wellbeing and Schools Bill demanding a national grooming gangs inquiry today - sparking fury from long-time Starmer critic Elon Musk.

"The mechanism for this amendment would involve the Opposition voting against the entire [Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill]," the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.

"That means a vote against improved safeguarding measures for vulnerable children, that means a vote against putting more cash in working parents' pockets by capping school uniform costs."

But Musk has torn into the PM with yet another fiery claim - accusing "Keir Starmtrooper" of "hiding terrible things".

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