Labour leader hits back at critics after agreeing to probe he branded ‘far-right bandwagon’ just five months ago
Sir Keir Starmer has launched an extraordinary defence of his humiliating U-turn on grooming gangs, claiming he gets “frustrated” with politicians who “shout and scream but do nothing” – despite his own five-month refusal to launch a national inquiry.
In an explosive interview with Sky News’s political editor Beth Rigby, the Prime Minister was grilled over his January comments that those calling for a national probe into paedophile rings were “jumping on a far-right bandwagon” – words that have come back to haunt him after his shock announcement on Saturday.
The Labour leader, speaking from the G7 summit in Canada, insisted he was “really clear” he was talking about the Tories, who demanded an inquiry they never set up during their 14 years in government.
“I was calling out those politicians. I am frustrated with politics when people shout and scream a lot and do nothing when they’ve got the opportunity to do it. It’s one of the worst aspects of politics, in my view,” Starmer told Rigby.
The Prime Minister also vowed there “must be accountability” for authorities who “shied away” from talking about the ethnicity of perpetrators for fear of being branded racist – a stunning admission after months of Labour dismissing such concerns.
HUMILIATING CLIMB-DOWN
Starmer’s dramatic U-turn came on Saturday when he announced he would accept Baroness Louise Casey’s recommendation for a national inquiry – five months after rebuffing calls from the opposition Conservative Party and the billionaire Elon Musk to conduct a full probe.
The about-face represents one of the most embarrassing reversals of Starmer’s premiership, coming after he accused advocates for an inquiry of jumping on a “far-right bandwagon” in January.
Other senior government officials have in recent months dismissed discussions on rape gangs as “dog whistle” politics riddled with “mistruths,” and described an inquiry as too “lengthy.
TORY FURY
The Conservatives have reacted with fury to Starmer’s attempts to blame them for his own refusal to act.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said Starmer had to be led by the nose to make what she said was the correct decision. I’ve been repeatedly calling for a full national inquiry since January,” she said.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accused the Prime Minister of being “forced” into changing his policy position after mounting pressure from various factions within his own party and beyond.
We owe it to every survivor to keep fighting, not just for a proper inquiry, but for a system that never again prioritises political correctness or reputational risk over the safety of children,” Philp wrote.
‘FAR-RIGHT’ SLUR BACKLASH
The Prime Minister’s January comments have sparked particular outrage. When calls for an inquiry intensified following intervention from Elon Musk, Sir Keir said that those calling for a national inquiry on grooming gangs were seeking to “jump on a bandwagon of the far-Right.
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said that “smearing people who raised those issues is exactly how this ended up getting covered up in the first place.” He told the Commons: “It is not far-Right to stand up for victims of mass rape”.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage demanded an apology, saying the Prime Minister should “apologise to the victims for the cynical way that he tried to avoid a proper grooming gang inquiry and for his insults to those that have tried to ensure the perpetrators are held to account.
LABOUR REVOLT
The U-turn came after several Labour figures broke ranks to demand action. Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham told the BBC: “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.
Liverpool Walton MP Dan Carden became the first MP to demand an inquiry into the Asian grooming gangs that targeted white working-class girls.
Even more embarrassing for Starmer, Labour MPs voted in their droves to reject Tory efforts to force an inquiry, with 350 blocking an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing & Schools Bill. Even Labour MPs from the towns most impacted by the rape gangs scandal voted against the proposed national inquiry.
CASEY’S BOMBSHELL
The Prime Minister insisted his mind was changed by Baroness Casey’s report, which he said he had read “every single word” of.
(Casey’s) 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,” Starmer told reporters en route to the G7 summit in Canada on Saturday. “She has come to the view that there should be a national inquiry on the basis of what she has seen”.
The report explicitly linked the grooming gang scandal to men of Pakistani origin and said that victims were ignored for fear of racism – findings that vindicated what critics had been saying for months.
MUSK’S VICTORY
Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who had been relentlessly criticising the British government over the issue, responded to news of the inquiry by saying he was “glad to hear this is happening.
Musk had previously accused Starmer of being “deeply complicit in the mass rapes in exchange for votes” and called safeguarding minister Jess Phillips “a rape genocide apologist.
WARNING OVER ‘WHITEWASH’
Critics are now warning that the inquiry must not become a whitewash. Farage warned: “If this turns out to be a whitewash, the fury of the country will be hard to control. This needs to be a proper inquiry—with full terms-of-reference, on a sensible timescale”.
Will Starmer’s ‘full national inquiry’ invite him and others who know exactly what was happening in various local authorities and constituencies to come forward to the inquiry with their evidence? Or will it be like Hallett/covid and those allowed to give evidence will be handpicked? questioned one critic.
DEFENDING TO THE END
Even after his U-turn, Starmer continued to defend his position when challenged by GB News at the G7 summit. Asked if GB News viewers were “far right” for being concerned about grooming gangs, he said: “No, no, no and I’m certainly not criticising your viewers.
But he couldn’t resist another swipe at the Tories, adding: “There’s one thing that I find frustrating, it’s politicians who had the opportunity in power to do something about it and did absolutely nothing”.
The scandal has revealed the depths of Labour’s reluctance to confront uncomfortable truths about grooming gangs. As one commentator put it: “The Labour Party has been at the forefront of this grand displacement activity for 25 years now.
Now, after months of resistance and accusations of playing into “far-right” hands, Starmer has been forced to do exactly what his critics demanded all along – launch the full national inquiry that victims and their families have been calling for.
