The British government has announced a national inquiry into organized child sexual abuse, also known as the “grooming gangs” case, after months of resisting the call from opposition groups. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had read “every single word” of an independent report into the scandal by Baroness Louise Casey and would accept her recommendation for the investigation.
Starmer told reporters that the inquiry was “the right thing to do” based on Casey’s audit. “I asked her to do that job to double-check on this; she has done that job for me and having read her report … I shall now implement her recommendations.” The decision comes after increased interest in the issue, which was pushed by far-right groups and tech billionaire Elon Musk.
However, critics have branded the push as a racist dog whistle, given the perpetrators’ ethnicity in some high-profile cases. The vast majority of “grooming gang” offenses are carried out by white men, according to the UK’s National Police Chiefs’ Council. Musk had criticized Starmer over not backing a national inquiry and alleged that he did not bring perpetrators to justice when he was the country’s chief prosecutor.
The opposition Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, said Starmer only backs the report because “a report told him to”. The government had previously dismissed calls for a public inquiry, focusing on recommendations made in a seven-year national inquiry by Professor Alexis Jay. In 2022, Jay found that there had been institutional failings across the country, affecting tens of thousands of victims in England and Wales.
The announcement has been seen as a significant step towards addressing the issue of child sexual abuse in the UK. However, the controversy surrounding the issue has highlighted the complexities and challenges involved in tackling this sensitive topic.