Sir Keir Starmer sensationally announced bombshell statutory inquiry while flying to Canada for G7 summit
Prime Minister admits he changed his mind after reading ‘every single word’ of Baroness Casey’s explosive report
Sources say report will reveal white British girls were ‘institutionally ignored for fear of racism’
Comes after months of fierce pressure from opposition parties and high-profile critics including Elon Musk
Sir Keir Starmer dramatically caved to mounting pressure today by announcing a full national inquiry into Britain’s grooming gangs scandal – marking an extraordinary U-turn after months of stubborn resistance.
The Prime Minister revealed his bombshell decision while speaking to reporters on a plane to Canada for the G7 summit, admitting he had changed his mind after reading “every single word” of an independent report by Baroness Louise Casey.
In a stunning reversal of his previous position, Sir Keir said: “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 she has looked at and she has come to the view that there should be a national inquiry on the basis of what she has seen.
The explosive Casey report, due to be published in full next week, is understood to explicitly link the scandal to men of Pakistani origin and warn that white British girls were “institutionally ignored for fear of racism.
MONTHS OF FIERCE RESISTANCE
For months, the Labour government has flatly refused calls for a statutory probe, with Sir Keir and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper insisting the focus should be on implementing existing recommendations from previous inquiries.
Just weeks ago, Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips rejected Oldham Council’s request for a government-led inquiry, telling them to conduct their own local investigation instead.
The Prime Minister had previously dismissed demands for a national inquiry as jumping on a “bandwagon”, arguing it would only delay justice for victims.
PRESSURE FROM ALL SIDES
The government’s stance has faced withering criticism from opposition parties, with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch repeatedly calling for a full investigation. “Trials have taken place all over the country in recent years but no one in authority has joined the dots. 2025 must be the year that the victims start to get justice,” she declared in January.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who made launching a national probe a manifesto commitment, welcomed the news but warned: “A full statutory inquiry, done correctly, will expose the multiple failings of the British establishment.
The scandal returned to headlines earlier this year after Tesla billionaire Elon Musk launched a series of explosive attacks on social media, accusing Sir Keir of being “complicit in the rape of Britain” and calling for him to resign over his handling of cases when he was Director of Public Prosecutions.
STATUTORY POWERS TO COMPEL TESTIMONY
The inquiry will have statutory powers, granting it legal authority to compel testimony and document production from witnesses. This means police officers, social workers, and council officials who may have failed victims will be forced to give evidence under oath.
GB News reporter Charlie Peters, who has extensively covered the scandal, warned that “thousands” of officials should be “petrified” by the announcement, stating: “For every social worker, police officer and politician who is nervous, there will be dozens more survivors who are elated.
SCATHING REACTION FROM OPPOSITION
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick launched a blistering attack on the Prime Minister’s U-turn: “First, he described calls for a national inquiry as a ‘far right bandwagon’, then he dismissively batted away victims’ appeals week after week, month after month. Now he’s been dragged, kicking and screaming, to make the right decision.”
Kemi Badenoch was equally scathing, declaring: “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 the correct decision here.
The Conservative leader added: “I’ve been repeatedly calling for a full National Inquiry since January. It’s about time he recognised he made a mistake and apologised for six wasted months.”
THE HORRIFIC SCALE OF ABUSE
The grooming gangs scandal has shocked the nation, with Professor Alexis Jay’s 2014 report estimating that some 1,400 children were sexually exploited in Rotherham alone between 1997 and 2013, predominantly by men of Pakistani descent.
Similar horrific abuse was uncovered in towns across northern England and the Midlands, including Rochdale, Oldham, Oxford, Telford, Huddersfield, Halifax, and Bristol.
The 2014 report found that local authority officials described their “nervousness” at identifying the “ethnic origins of perpetrators for fear of being thought racist.
STARMER’S CONTROVERSIAL RECORD
Sir Keir’s role as Director of Public Prosecutions between 2008 and 2013 has come under intense scrutiny. In 2009, nine months into his tenure, the CPS decided not to prosecute alleged members of a grooming gang in Rochdale, after lawyers advised the main victim was “unreliable.
That decision was later overturned by Nazir Afzal, who became chief prosecutor for the north-west in 2011 and successfully convicted nine men. However, Afzal has defended Starmer, saying he was “100% behind the decision to publicly admit that we had got it wrong in the past.
SURVIVORS WELCOME LONG-AWAITED ACTION
Survivors of the abuse have expressed relief at the announcement, with many feeling forgotten by the system for years. One victim, speaking anonymously to Reuters, described being drugged and raped as a teenager by men she identified as being from Pakistan.
Reform UK’s newest MP, Sarah Pochin, a former magistrate, demanded immediate action: “Sir Keir Starmer must immediately publish a clear and detailed timetable for this inquiry. Victims and communities have waited long enough. This cannot be kicked into the long grass.”
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
Baroness Casey’s full report is expected to be published next week, with sources suggesting it will make for shocking reading. The government will then need to establish the terms of reference for the statutory inquiry and appoint a chair.
With the Prime Minister finally bowing to pressure, attention will now turn to ensuring the inquiry has the scope, powers, and resources needed to expose the full truth about one of Britain’s most shameful scandals.
As one survivor told GB News today: “I’ve waited 20 years” for justice. The question now is whether this inquiry will finally deliver it.
“Starmer visits Barrow” (Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits a Vanguard-class submarine at Barrow-on-Furness / PJHQ in Northwood) — by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street, taken 20 March 2025 in London, United Kingdom. Licensed under the United Kingdom Open Government Licence v3.0 – https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
1 comment
Who’s resigning after this fiasco then? Hello?
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