Andy Burnham has defied Sir Keir Starmer to call for a national inquiry into grooming gangs.
The Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester said he believed there was a case for a “limited national inquiry” drawing on local reviews into historical child sexual exploitation.
Sir Keir ordered Labour MPs to vote to block a national inquiry into grooming gangs on Wednesday evening.
The Prime Minister did not take part in the vote and his spokesman said he would be “guided by the victims” on the issue, but Downing Street denied that this meant Sir Keir was wavering in his belief that a new inquiry was unnecessary.
It comes as Reform UK, which has led the calls for a national inquiry, came joint top of a national opinion poll for the first time.
A new survey by Find Out Now put the party on 25 per cent of the vote, joint top with Labour and five points ahead of the Conservatives.
Labour said that it blocked the Tory amendment backing a new inquiry because it would have derailed the entire Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
‘Case for a limited national inquiry’
Mr Burnham told BBC Radio Manchester on Thursday: “In my view, the Government was right to reject that form of opportunism. But I did hear last night coming out of the debate, ministers saying they are open to discussing issues now with survivors.
“And I will add my voice into this and say I do think there is the case for a limited national inquiry that draws on reviews like the one that I commissioned and the one we’ve seen in Rotherham, the one we’ve seen in Telford, to draw out some of these national issues, and compel people to give evidence who then may have charges to answer and be held to account. That is something I couldn’t do at my level.”
Mr Burnham commissioned an independent review in 2017 to consider allegations made in a BBC documentary. It looked at grooming in Manchester, Oldham and Rochdale and concluded that authorities failed to protect children.
Neil O’Brien, a shadow education minister, said that Mr Burnham’s intervention showed that the Government’s line on a fresh inquiry was “crumbling”.
Khalid Mahmood, a former Labour MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, has also backed the calls.
He said: “What the Prime Minister is doing is looking at the wider issue of the inquiry which is already taking place, but I think we need to look at this from a different angle, which is looking at the lives of people who have suffered – and they need to be given closure on this. Also, if there are any people left in these gangs, we need to ensure that we get them and that there is no continuation of this cruel, barbaric activity.”
Also on Thursday, a survivor of a grooming gang called on the Government to launch a national inquiry into the scandal.
The 38-year-old, who wrote a book about her ordeal under the pen name Gaia Cooper, demanded action in an exclusive interview with The Telegraph’s Daily T podcast.
There is mounting pressure on the Government over grooming gangs, with attention thrown back on the issue by Elon Musk. The US tech billionaire and key ally of Donald Trump has repeatedly posted on his social media site X criticising Sir Keir over the issue.
On Thursday, reports emerged that Mr Musk had even discussed with allies how the Prime Minister could be removed from office before the next general election.
The Financial Times quoted a source briefed on the matter as saying: “His view is that Western civilisation itself is threatened.”
Speaking to BBC Breakfast about Mr Musk’s interventions, David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, said that the Prime Minister had been “right” to “call out” Mr Musk over his comments earlier in the week.
Although the Prime Minister has not responded directly to remarks made about him by Mr Musk, during a press conference on Monday he appeared to accuse the entrepreneur of “spreading lies”.
Mr Lammy said: “There has been a debate prompted by Elon Musk, of course, this week.
“And I think the Prime Minister was right earlier in the week to really call to mind the facts, the truth, and to call out those who are putting forward mistruths in this area.
“And to keep in mind, as we heard yesterday from the Prime Minister at the despatch box and Prime Minister’s Questions, to keep in mind, at the forefront of our mind, the victims.”
Sir Keir met with Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, on Thursday and a French source said the pair would discuss Mr Musk’s interventions in European politics.
Mr Macron accused Mr Musk on Monday of “directly intervening” in elections around the world.
Responding to Mr Macron’s accusation, Mr Musk tweeted: “Oh like that time Starmer called [Donald Trump] a racist and said the British government should do everything to stop him?
“Or when Starmer sent British Labour Party members to campaign in the US against President Trump this year?”
Labour always insisted that its activists had campaigned for Kamala Harris in a personal capacity.
Read Also:BREAKING NEWS: Labour MPs block national inquiry into grooming gangs
Source: Uk Telegraph
