UK lawmakers vote against new national inquiry into 'grooming gangs scandal'

UK lawmakers have voted against the proposal to start a new inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal on Wednesday (January 8). The proposal was brought forward by the Conservative Party, which is in the opposition.

The proposal was presented as an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. The amendment was rejected in the House of Commons by a vote of 364 to 111, resulting in a majority of 253. With the approval of the house, the amendment would have struck down the bill which intends to protect children and bring reform academics.

Members of the ruling Labour Party accused the opposition of blocking the bill, by introducing the amendment of inquiry against the scandal.

The grooming scandal came into the limelight in 2010. It involved allegations that young girls were abused by British-Pakistani men in towns such as Rochdale, Oldham, and Rotherham.

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A 2014 investigation found that at least 1,400 children were abused in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. In Telford, nearly 1,000 girls were abused in a span of 40 years.

Another inquiry in 2022 said that child sexual abuse was widespread across England and Wales.

Starmer versus Kemi Badenoch

The debate during the proposal resulted in a verbal clash between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch.

During the debate, Badenoch accused the Starmer government of trying to “cover up” the scandal by refusing to make an inquiry.

She argued that the 2022 inquiry didn’t focus on the “rape gang scandal.” BBC quoted her as saying, “No one has connected the dots, no one has the full picture.”

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She took a dig at Starmer, claiming he was avoiding questions about the potential link of Labour MPs to these cases.

In response, Starmer said that she had only recently begun showing concern for the issue despite having served as a children’s minister under the previous Rishi Sunak-led Conservative government.

“I can’t recall her ever raising this matter in the House or calling for a national inquiry. It’s only in recent days that she’s jumped on the bandwagon,” Starmer said.

Elon Musk’s dig at Starmer

Elon Musk recently targeted Starmer and his Labour Party over the grooming gang scandal. Musk accused Starmer of being ‘complicit’ in the failure to protect victims and prosecute abusers during his tenure as the director of public prosecutions from 2008 to 2013.