Conservatives call for public inquiry into child sexual exploitation

The Conservatives have called for a national inquiry into the “rape gang scandal” in the UK, after the Home Office denied requests for an investigation into child sexual exploitation in Oldham.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch wrote in X that a public inquiry into organized grooming gangs is “long overdue.”

After 14 years in government, the Conservatives in opposition have written to the Labor government calling for a national inquiry into the scandal that shook communities across the UK after it was exposed in 2013.

Shadow ministers Chris Philp and Alicia Kearns wrote a letter to the Home Secretary on Thursday, urging her to “launch a statutory, time-limited national public inquiry into grooming and rape gangs to get to the truth of a once and for all.”

The letter also calls on the government to introduce mandatory deportation for “all foreigners convicted of harassment and rape” and to regularly publish data on the ethnicity of abusers and victims.

This comes as Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips said the government will not “intervene” when it comes to an investigation into Oldham, one of several locations where child sexual exploitation was exposed.

Phillips said he understands the “strength of feeling” in favor of a government-led inquiry, but believes “it is solely up to Oldham Council to decide to commission an inquiry into child sexual exploitation at a local level, rather than the government intervening.” ”.

A Labor spokesperson said the government “will welcome and support an independent inquiry commissioned by Oldham Council that takes into account the voices of victims, following the examples of Telford and Rotherham.

“Child sexual abuse and exploitation are the most horrendous crimes and the Home Office supports police investigations and independent inquiries to achieve truth and justice for victims.

“We have supported both the national comprehensive inquiry into child abuse which was reported in 2022 and independent local investigations and reviews, including Telford, Rotherham and Greater Manchester.

“This government is working urgently to strengthen the law so that these crimes are properly reported and investigated.”

The 2022 independent inquiry into Oldham Council’s handling of the scandal found that children were failed by agencies meant to protect them from sexual abuse.

The report found that interventions by the council and Greater Manchester Police fell “well short” of what was required, but that there was “no evidence” of a “cover-up”.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk joined calls for government action on Wednesday, saying Phillips “deserves to be in prison” for his response to Oldham Council.

He also appeared to shift the blame to the Prime Minister, arguing that “rape gangs were allowed to exploit girls without facing justice” during Starmer’s time as director of public prosecutions.

Badenoch said: “There have been trials across the country in recent years, but no one in authority has connected the dots.

“2025 must be the year victims start getting justice.”

A spokesperson for Oldham Council said: “Survivors are at the heart of our work to end child sexual exploitation.

“Whatever happens in terms of future investigations, we have promised them that their wishes will be paramount and we will not break that promise.”

Responding to Badenoch’s post, UK reform leader Nigel Farage said: “Talk is cheap. The Conservatives had 14 years in government to launch an investigation.

“The establishment has failed the victims of recruiting gangs at every level.”

The national grooming scandal saw girls as young as 11 groomed and raped in several towns across England, including Oldham, Rochdale, Rotherham and Telford.

A 2014 report by Professor Alexis Jay revealed that between 1997 and 2013, around 1,400 girls were abused and police and social services failed to intervene.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which published its final report in 2022, described child sexual abuse as an “epidemic leaving tens of thousands of victims in its wake.”

In November last year, Professor Jay said she was “frustrated” that none of the inquiry’s 20 recommendations had been implemented more than two years after its conclusion.

She said: “It is a difficult issue, but it is essential that there is some public understanding about it.

“But we can only do what we can to put pressure on the Government to look at the implementation of all this.

“It doesn’t need any more consultation, it doesn’t need any more research or discussion, it just needs to be done.”

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