---

Starmer orders statutory inquiry into grooming

Britain’s Labour government has announced a full statutory inquiry into group-based child sexual exploitation following the publication of Baroness Casey’s review, which highlighted widespread systemic failures by authorities in tackling grooming gangs.

Labour Home Secretary Yvette Cooper addressed the House of Commons yesterday (16 June), describing the review’s findings as “deeply disturbing.”

'Disproportionately represented'

The report concluded that Asian and Pakistani men were disproportionately represented in grooming gang cases and that authorities failed to act due to fears of being perceived as racist.

Cooper apologised on behalf of the government and acknowledged a culture of silence and inaction by public bodies.

The Casey review sets out 12 recommendations and calls for a national statutory inquiry, which the government has now accepted.

The inquiry will have the power to legally compel witnesses to give evidence and will be overseen by a newly established national commission.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who previously said a nationwide probe was unnecessary, and accused those calling for one of jumping on a “far-right bandwagon”, reversed his position over the weekend.

As part of the inquiry, Britain’s Home Office has tasked the National Crime Agency (NCA) with leading a nationwide operation alongside local police forces.

Over 800 cases of group-based child abuse will be reopened. The NCA has also been instructed to implement cultural changes within policing to better support victims and ensure accountability.

Additionally, the government will improve its data collection on the ethnicity and nationality of perpetrators in all child sexual abuse cases.

The statutory inquiry will run for a limited time, with further research commissioned into the causes of child sexual  exploitation.