BROMSGROVE’S MP has slammed the government for blocking a national inquiry into grooming and rape gangs in the UK.
In a vote in Parliament last night (January 8), Bradley Thomas MP voted for the amendment which called for a national inquiry. He was one of the signatories to the amendment to make this vote possible.
However, the government used its majority to block an inquiry.
Following the vote, Mr Thomas said: “We need a clear and focused national public inquiry into the grooming and rape gangs to get to the truth about the extent of the abuse and any cover-up, and it must go further than previous inquiries.
“I voted for a national inquiry because we need to examine the failings among police, prosecutors, charities, academics, local and national government, consider the racial and cultural backgrounds of the perpetrators and how that contributed to these crimes, identify those public servants who facilitated or ignored this abuse so they can be removed from their roles and any foreign nationals involved in the abuse must also be deported.
“Shamefully Keir Starmer used his majority to block Conservative calls for a national inquiry, choosing to ignore victims and justice. What’s just as shameful is Liberal Democrat MPs couldn’t even be bothered to vote.
“I will continue to support calls for a national inquiry to get to the truth about the extent of the abuse and the cover up.”
Since this call was made by the Conservatives, Labour state their intention is to work on the recommendations made in the Jay Report, a similar national inquiry into child sexual abuse in 15 areas across England and Wales.
The report, launched in 2015 before publication in 2022, looked into institutional failings in dealing with grooming gangs and described the problem as an ‘epidemic’.
This report was issued under the Conservatives with the previous government themselves being slammed by the prime minister’s party and the inquiry’s chairwoman, professor Alexis Jay OBE, for failing to implement the report’s recommendations whilst in government.
Many have accused the Conservatives of jumping on the bandwagon in calling for this new inquiry after they failed to take action following the outcome of the Jay report just a few years ago.
During the parliamentary vote which called for the inquiry, 350 Labour MPs voted alongside 10 Independent MPs.
A total of 101 Conservatives voted yes, alongside two Democratic Unionist Party MPs, five Reform MPs, one Traditional Unionist Voice member, and one Ulster Unionist Party member.
There were 16 unrecorded votes from Conservative representatives, 49 from Labour, and 72 from the Liberal Democrats as well as another 28 unrecorded votes from other parties.
Visit https://votes.parliament.uk/votes/commons/division/1900 for more information.
