“I have never said we should not look again at any issue."
Sir Keir Starmer has ordered a statutory national inquiry into the grooming gang scandal after months of mounting pressure.
The Prime Minister announced the move while speaking to journalists on the flight to the G7 summit in Canada.
He said he was acting on a new recommendation from Dame Louise Casey, who led the original review into child sexual exploitation cases involving grooming gangs across the UK.
The decision follows criticism from survivors, campaigners, and political opponents who accused Labour of previously resisting such an inquiry.
Sir Keir and domestic abuse minister Jess Phillips had faced backlash over their refusal to commit to a full investigation.
Accusations of a political cover-up have circulated for years, particularly over the ethnicity of some perpetrators, many of whom were of Pakistani heritage, and the failures of local authorities to act.
Sir Keir denied any U-turn, stressing that he had been waiting for Dame Louise’s review before committing.
He said: “From the start, I have always said that we should implement the recommendations [of Dame Louise’s report].
“I think there were 200 recommendations when you take all of the reviews that have gone on at every level and we have got to get on with implementing them.
“I have never said we should not look again at any issue. I have wanted to be reassured on the question of an inquiry. That’s why I asked Louise Casey, whom I hugely respect, to do an audit.
“Her position when she started the audit was that there was not a real need for a national inquiry over and above what was going on. She has looked at the material and she has come to the view that there should be a national inquiry on the basis of what she has seen.
“I have read every single word of her report and I am going to accept her recommendation. That is the right thing to do on the basis of what she has put in her audit.”
The announcement was immediately criticised by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who has met survivors and had repeatedly demanded an inquiry. She accused the Prime Minister of lacking leadership and acting only under pressure.
Badenoch said: “Keir Starmer doesn’t know what he thinks unless an official report has told him so.
“Just like he dismissed concerns about the winter fuel payment and then had to U-turn, just like he needed the Supreme Court to tell him what a woman is, he had to be led by the nose to make this correct decision here.
“I’ve been repeatedly calling for a full national inquiry since January. It’s about time he recognised he made a mistake and apologise for six wasted months.
“But this must not be the end of the matter.
“There are many, many more questions that need answering to ensure this inquiry is done properly and quickly.”
“Many survivors of the grooming gangs will be relieved that this is finally happening, but they need a resolution soon, not in 10 years’ time. Justice delayed is justice denied.”
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp also pointed to Labour’s past dismissal of Tory calls for an inquiry. He noted that Sir Keir had previously accused Conservatives of being “far right” for raising the issue.
Labour has also faced internal pressure, with Rochdale MP Paul Waugh renewing his call for a national inquiry following the conviction of seven men from his constituency in a long-running grooming case.
He said: “Whether national or local inquiries are deployed, both need statutory powers to compel witnesses before them.
“And they should follow the evidence, wherever it leads them. No political party, no council, no police officer, no social worker, no racial group should be exempt from the need to find the facts. We still need accountability for everything that went wrong.”
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