Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer appeared to blame his own Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, for the Labour Government’s unconvincing response to the grooming gangs crisis in the UK.
This has led to claims of a feud between Sir Keir and Ms Cooper as the Government’s approval ratings continue to slump.
The Mail on Sunday cites sources from inside Number 10, who say the Home Office did not alert the Prime Minister when calls for a new inquiry into grooming gangs were first raised.
This then led to Labour blocking the inquiry. Ms Cooper later annouced a number of local investigations in areas affected by the gangs.
A Number 10 source told the paper that, had Downing Street been aware of Oldham’s request for a Government-led inquiry in the town, the request would not have been denied.
Another Government source dismissed any suggestion of a rift between Sir Keir and Ms Cooper.
They said: “This is absolute nonsense. The PM and his team have been working very closely with the Home Secretary and the safeguarding minister [Jess Phillips] to take the action needed to tackle evil grooming gangs and better protect children.
“Nothing is more important than getting justice for victims.
“Across government, we will work to deliver the change needed after 14 years of inaction from the Tories.”
This comes after Culture Minister Chris Bryant said that interventions from Elon Musk, the Tesla and X CEO, had led to more debate about grooming gangs.
However, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy appeared to disagree as she said: “We are not a Government that governs by social media, we govern for the real world.”
The Conservative Party’s Shadow Home Secreatary, Chris Philp, responded: “Labour is more interested in fighting each other than fixing the issue.”
The grooming gangs crisis in the UK stretches back over two decades as organised gangs, whose members were predominantly British men of Pakistani heritage, sexually abused hundreds of women and young girls.
The gangs were most prevalent in towns across the north of England.
It later became apparent that many of the gangs were known to local police forces who have been accused of responding slowly to the abuse.
The issue returned to the fore of political debate in the UK when Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips denied Oldham City Council’s request for a Government-led national inquiry.
Ms Phillips instead told the council it should launch its own inquiry.
Earlier this month, Parliament voted against a grooming gang inquiry tabled by the Tories – although the vote was largely symbolic as a vote in favour of an inquiry wouldn’t have forced the Government to launch one.
Before the vote, education minister Stephen Morgan accused the Tories of “political game-playing.”
But this week, Home Secretary Ms Cooper announced a “rapid national audit” into grooming gangs.
