PM hits out at politicians who 'shout and scream but do nothing' over grooming gangs

Sir Keir Starmer has said helium gets "frustrated" with politicians who "shout and shriek but bash nothing" arsenic helium defended past comments astir a grooming gangs inquiry.

Speaking to Sky News's governmental editor Beth Rigby, the premier curate was asked if helium regretted saying successful January that those calling for a nationalist probe into paedophile rings were "jumping connected a far-right bandwagon" - given helium has present agreed to one.

Politics latest: Baroness Casey asks radical to 'keep calm' astir grooming pack ethnicity data

Sir Keir said helium was "really clear" helium was talking astir the Tories, who were demanding an enquiry they ne'er acceptable up erstwhile they were successful government.

He said: "I was calling retired those politicians.

"I americium frustrated with authorities erstwhile radical outcry and shriek a batch and bash thing erstwhile they've got the accidental to bash it. It's 1 of the worst aspects of politics, successful my view."

Sir Keir besides said determination "must beryllium accountability" for authorities who "shied away" from talking astir the ethnicity of perpetrators for fearfulness of being branded racist, arsenic exposed successful a report by Baroness Casey published connected Monday.

Asked if helium is blessed for "social workers, policemen and radical that failed" to beryllium held accountable, the premier curate said: "Where the enquiry uncovers nonaccomplishment oregon wrongdoing, past determination should perfectly beryllium accountability.

"That is amongst the purposes of an inquiry, and it's a statutory inquiry... which volition truthful mean determination is powerfulness to compel grounds of witnesses due to the fact that it's important that it is broad and important that it gets to each azygous issue. And arsenic portion of that process, there's accountability for individuals who did wrong."

Baroness Casey was asked to nutrient an audit of intersexual maltreatment carried retired by grooming gangs successful England and Wales successful January, erstwhile comments by tech billionaire Elon Musk brought the ungraded backmost into the spotlight.

The authorities initially resisted calls from the Tories for a nationalist enquiry into grooming gangs, saying they wanted to absorption connected implementing the recommendations of Professor Alexis Jay's seven-year reappraisal into kid abuse.

The reappraisal concluded successful 2022 but the Conservatives did not instrumentality its recommendations earlier they mislaid the predetermination past July.

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The government's presumption has changed pursuing Baroness Casey's audit, which recommended an inquiry.

Her study recovered that ethnicity information is not recorded for two-thirds of grooming pack perpetrators.

However astatine a section level successful 3 constabulary forces - Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire - "there has been a disproportionality of group-based kid intersexual exploitation offending by men of Asian ethnicity".

The transverse seat adjacent said alternatively of looking into whether ethnicity oregon taste factors played a part, authorities "avoided the taxable altogether for fearfulness of appearing racist", and this warranted further investigation.