Yvette Cooper points key replace on grooming gang scandal | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Yvette Cooper has denied Labour is dropping 5 Telford-style native inquiries into grooming gangs amid mounting criticism from victims and campaigners.

The Home Secretary blamed “party political misinformation” and insisted plans for native probes are being drawn up. It follows criticism from Sir Trevor Phillips, the previous Chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, who stated Labour had dropped its plans as a result of it didn’t wish to offend Pakistani voters.

Sir Trevor branded the Government’s strategy to the scandal “utterly, utterly shameful”, including the U-turn was “political”.

The “victim-centred, locally-led inquiries” together with in Oldham, Greater Manchester, have been first introduced in January as a part of a collection of plans to deal with grooming gangs and youngster sexual abuse.

Asked if all the native investigations would happen, Yvette Cooper informed LBC: “Yep. We’re still going ahead. The framework is being drawn up at the moment.

“There’s been, sadly, lots of, I feel, get together political misinformation about this. What we must be doing is all working collectively to help victims and survivors of those actually vile crimes.”

Questions about whether the inquiries would not go ahead arose when safeguarding minister Jess Phillips did not provide an update on them in the Commons, as she updated MPs on the Government’s latest steps to tackle child grooming on Tuesday.

Ms Phillips told MPs that local authorities will be able to access a £5 million fund to support locally-led work on grooming gangs. She added that “following suggestions” from local authorities, the fund will have a flexible approach to support independent local inquiries as well as victims’ panels or locally-led audits into the handling of historic cases.

After the statement, Conservative frontbencher Katie Lam said local inquiries are not good enough and now the Government is “watering them down even additional”. Sir Trevor Phillips, the former chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, also hit out at the Government’s approach as “completely shameful”.

But Ms Cooper said: “What we’re additionally doing is we’re setting up stronger measures. We’re strengthening the regulation into these gangs and we’re additionally growing police investigations, which is crucial factor of all, as a result of, frankly, these perpetrators must be behind bars, and if you do not get the police investigations in place, that will not occur. That is the easiest way to get folks justice and to maintain communities protected.”

The move comes after the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), led by Professor Alexis Jay, found institutional failings and tens of thousands of victims across England and Wales. The seven-year probe made 20 recommendations in the final report published in 2022, as it described child sexual abuse as an “epidemic” across the two nations.

The Government had knocked back calls for a national review in favour of locally-led inquiries, saying it was focused on implementing recommendations from Prof Jay’s report.

Sir Trevor, the former chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, told Times Radio: “I think what the Government is doing on this question is utterly, utterly shameful.

“It is so obviously political, that if people, who are in Government who are really decent people, should be ashamed of themselves. It is so obvious they are not doing this because of the demographic of the people involved, largely Pakistani/Muslim background and also in Labour-held seats and councils who would be offended by it.

“That is clearly the reason they are not pursuing this, and it is utterly shameful, given what has been done to these children by these men. I cannot tell you how cross I am about it.”

Campaigner and former police detective Maggie Oliver said: “As I’ve at all times anticipated, yesterday’s announcement by the federal government that the 5 native enquiries into grooming gangs should not taking place got here as no shock. And I really feel for the survivors and victims given false hope and fed lies.”