The reversal of the grooming-gangs' investigations is underway
Desperate to avoid scrutiny, now those same individuals claim they've been advocate for an inquiry all along.
Article by: Fraser Myers, Deputy Editor
June 18th, 2025 UK Politics
Keir Starmer's sudden about-face on grooming gangs has left Westminster stunned. The chorus of "We've always wanted an inquiry into grooming gangs" now rings out from every Labour frontbencher, not to mention the usual suspects - Labour backbenchers, journalists, and NGOs. It's a curious turn of events, given that many of these very same people were vocally opposed to an inquiry just months earlier.
Take the instance of the 364 MPs, most of them Labour, who voted down a Tory proposal for a statutory inquiry in January. Yet here we are, with the same group singing the praises of the forthcoming investigation. Some claim their opposition was merely procedural, arguing that the Tory amendment would've scuppered Labour's Children and Wellbeing Bill. But this explanation rings hollow, given the visceral and often racially charged opposition to an inquiry that we witnessed in the past.
Remember, it wasn't so long ago that Lucy Powell, Leader of the House of Commons, dismissed concerns about grooming gangs as a 'dog whistle' during a BBC Radio 4 debate. Or the time when the UK Prime Minister himself accused those calling for a national inquiry of jumping on a 'far-right bandwagon'?
In the media sphere, Emily Maitlis, host of The News Agents, just last year suggested it was 'racist' to focus on Pakistani Muslim perpetrators of grooming gangs. Yet this week, she lauded Louise Casey, whose audit prompted Starmer's about-face, for 'pulling no punches.' The available evidence, as Casey's report makes clear, suggests that Pakistani Muslim men are overrepresented in these crimes.
Nick Lowles of Hope Not Hate, who has been calling out on-street grooming since the 2010s, now calls Starmer's decision 'the right one and should have been taken years ago.' While it's true that Lowles has been vocal on the issue, it's worth recalling that he once accused Home Secretary Suella Braverman of 'stirring up hate' for bringing attention to the overrepresentation of Pakistani men among offenders.
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As for Jess Phillips, UK Safeguarding Minister, she's done a masterful job of flip-flopping. On Newsnight this week, she welcomed the inquiry and insisted she'd never turned a blind eye to grooming gangs. Yet only a few months ago, she announced that the five local inquiries she'd promised would no longer be led by independent judges, but by councils themselves, despite the fact that local authorities are often complicit in the cover-ups.
Let's not forget, denying and deflecting from the grooming scandal has been the tactic of choice for many in power. But this turn of events offers a glimmer of hope that the truth will finally be revealed. This gross 'reverse ferret' by those who've sought to downplay the issue must not be forgotten.
[1] Casey, Louise. (2025). Grooming Gangs: An Independent Review of Child Sexual Exploitation in Telford and Beyond. [2] Marsh, J. (2025). Keir Starmer Condemns Rotherham Abuse Failures as 'Far, Far Too Horrific.' The Guardian. [3] Elliott, C. (2025). Labour U-turn: Keir Starmer Announces National Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. The Telegraph. [4] Chesterton, S. (2025). Why Starmer's U-Turn on Grooming Scandal Is a Game Changer. The Spectator.
- The sudden shift in stance from Labour frontbenchers and their allies, who are now advocating for an inquiry into grooming gangs, challenges the narrative that they have balked at such an investigation in the past.
- The politicization of the grooming gang issue is further highlighted by the flip-flopping of Jess Phillips, UK Safeguarding Minister, who is now welcoming an inquiry despite previously dismissing its necessity.
- The culture of canceling individuals or ideas that do not align with one's political beliefs, often termed "cancel culture," may have played a role in the initial resistance to an inquiry into grooming gangs, as evidenced by controversial statements made by various public figures on the issue.
