Chancellor dismisses 'hurt feelings' after PM's U-turn on grooming gangs inquiry

The chancellor has refused to accidental if the authorities volition apologise for dismissing calls for a nationalist national enquiry into grooming gangs aft the premier curate U-turned connected the substance past night.

Rachel Reeves told Sky News Sir Keir Starmer changed his mind aft a government-requested audit into the standard of grooming gangs crossed the state concluded a nationwide probe was necessary.

But she said the astir important happening is to absorption connected the victims, not the "hurt feelings" of however others whitethorn person been spoken about.

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Speaking to Sky's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Ms Reeves said 1 of the reasons the premier curate changed his caput connected the request for a statutory nationalist enquiry is to guarantee that "people are compelled to springiness evidence", which section inquiries bash not person the powerfulness to do.

The chancellor was past asked if determination volition beryllium an apology to radical who were criticised by ministers for "talking full nonsense", spreading "misinformation", and were accused of jumping connected an extremist "bandwagon".

She replied: "What is the astir important happening here? It is the victims, and it's not people's wounded feelings astir however they person been spoken about."

What has the PM antecedently said?

The premier curate has been sharply criticised for his comments astir radical calling for a statutory nationalist inquiry. He said connected 6 January: "What I won't tolerate is this treatment and statement based connected lies without calling it out. What I won't tolerate is politicians jumping connected the bandwagon simply to get attention.

"When those politicians sat successful authorities for 14 agelong years tweeting, talking, but not doing thing astir [it]. Now, truthful hopeless for attraction that they're amplifying what the acold close is saying."

But Ms Reeves defended the premier minister's handling of the issue, saying helium pledged to instrumentality each 20 recommendations from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), transgression convictions are present astatine "a grounds high", and that helium brought the archetypal convictions for grooming erstwhile helium served arsenic manager of nationalist prosecutions.

PM explains his U-turn

Sir Keir confirmed past nighttime that helium volition present beryllium ordering a afloat statutory enquiry into the grooming gangs scandal. The afloat study from Baroness Louise Casey is acceptable to beryllium published connected Monday, and the location caput is expected to marque a connection to parliament.

He told reporters travelling with him to the G7 acme successful Canada: "[Baroness Casey's] presumption erstwhile she started the audit was that determination was not a existent request for a nationalist enquiry implicit and supra what was going on.

"She has looked astatine the material... and she has travel to the presumption that determination should beryllium a nationalist enquiry connected the ground of what she has seen. I person work each azygous connection of her report, and I americium going to judge her recommendation. That is the close happening to bash connected the ground of what she has enactment successful her audit.

"I asked her to bash that occupation to treble cheque connected this; she has done that occupation for me, and having work her report... I shall present instrumentality her recommendations."

What volition the study say?

The adjacent 200-page study is to beryllium published adjacent week and is expected to pass that achromatic British girls were "institutionally ignored for fearfulness of racism".

One idiosyncratic acquainted with the study said it details the organization failures successful treating young girls and cites a decennary of mislaid enactment from the IICSA, acceptable up successful 2014 to analyse grooming gangs successful Rotherham.

The study is besides expected to nexus amerciable migration with the exploitation of young girls.

Read much connected this story:
Telford kid maltreatment victims talk out
What we cognize astir grooming gangs, from the data
The women who blew whistle connected Rotherham

The grooming pack ungraded came backmost into the headlines astatine the opening of the twelvemonth aft Elon Musk attacked Sir Keir and safeguarding curate Jess Philips for failing children.

The premier curate and Ms Phillips deed back, with Sir Keir citing his grounds of prosecuting abusers arsenic manager of nationalist prosecutions, portion Ms Phillips has agelong been a campaigner against home violence.

At the time, she told Sky News that the tech billionaire's claims were "ridiculous" and that she would beryllium led by what victims person to say, not him.