The British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has considered it unnecessary to open a national investigation in the United Kingdom, as requested by the Conservatives, into the cases of gangs that seduced minors for the purpose of sexual abuse. In the weekly control session in the House of Commons this Wednesday, the Labor leader referred to the scandal that dominates the political debate about these groups this week.
The gangs, largely of Pakistani origin and located in different areas of the country, have been seducing girls and then abusing them for more than 20 years. The controversy broke out after the technological millionaire Elon Musk accused Starmer a few days ago of having been an “complicit” of authorities’ failure to protect victims and prosecute abusers when he was director of the Public Prosecutor’s Office between 2008 and 2013.
At the insistence of the conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, for the Government to open a national investigation – despite the fact that there have been several on the matter but at the local level in the past -, Starmer has stated in the lower house that the victims now want “action” and not another investigation, considering that this would take years. Thus, he has stressed that an investigation can be completed in 2031 and that it is necessary to apply measures now.
Instead, the prime minister has urged Badenoch to support an ongoing bill aimed at make it a crime to fail to report or cover up any case of child sexual abuse. Starmer has also urged Badenoch to drop his call for a national inquiry because it would derail legislation aimed at strengthening child safety.
The Conservatives have presented an amendment to that bill – titled Child Welfare and Schools – demanding a new national investigation into gangs. If the deputies support it, the legislative piece will have difficulties moving forward.
In this sense, Badenoch has stated that not supporting an investigation could be interpreted as a attempted “cover-up” by the Government and that the national investigation could establish whether there was a “racial or cultural” motivation behind the abuses. Furthermore, he added that it is very likely that these seduction activities for exploitation purposes still continue in some parts of the country.
The scandal has also deepened after it came to light that the Deputy Minister for the Protection of Women and Girls, Jess Phillips, rejected requests from Oldham City Council – within the so-called Greater Manchester, northern England – for a Government investigation into historical pick-up rings in the city.
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