British Members of Parliament, MPs, have voted against a new national inquiry into grooming gangs.
MPs rejected the Conservatives’ attempt to force a new national inquiry on grooming gangs. The Tories’ amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill was voted down by 364 votes to 111, a majority of 253, on Wednesday.
The amendment sought to force a statutory inquiry into grooming gangs, which the government has refused, stating they prefer to implement the recommendations of a 2022 report instead.
Media Talk Africa reports that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch had earlier clashed over whether there should be a national inquiry into child sexual abuse by grooming gangs.
The Conservative leader argued that while there have been enquiries into child sexual abuse, there hasn’t been one specifically about “the rape gang scandal.”
Media Talk Africa recalls that a child sexual abuse scandal exposed how gangs of mostly Pakistani men had groomed, trafficked, and raped young white girls more than a decade ago, and it has returned to the political agenda in Britain.
This development followed criticism from tech billionaire Elon Musk. According to several media reports, children were raped and abused by gangs of men while the authorities failed to protect them.
