Labour votes down Tory demand for brand new nationwide inquiry into grooming gangs as Keir Starmer leaves himself open to contemporary assaults by Elon Musk

Labour MPs tonight voted down a Tory demand for a new national inquiry into grooming gangs.

It was voted down by 364 votes to 111. 

The House of Commons opposed a call, fronted by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, for a fresh probe into historical child sexual exploitation.

It came amid a furious political row over the issue, which has seen pressure piled on Sir Keir Starmer by opposition MPs and billionaire Elon Musk.

The PM has endured a barrage of attacks from the tech mogul after it was revealed the Government declined a request for a nationally led inquiry in Oldham.

The controversial businessman has used a slew of social media posts to fuel  demands for a new national inquiry.

This evening’s Commons vote was held on a Tory amendment to Labour’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

It called on the Government to establish a ‘national statutory inquiry into historical child sexual exploitation, focused on grooming gangs’.

But, due to Labour’s massive Commons majority, the amendment was defeated.

Neil O’Brien, shadow minister for education, gave an impassioned speech ahead of the vote calling for a ‘much needed’ national inquiry into grooming gangs.

‘There were 40 to 50 places where the grooming gangs operated and the victims voices in those places have never been heard,’ he said.

He said without a national inquiry it is clear ‘we will not get to the bottom of this and the people who looked the other way or covered it up will not be held to account’. 

‘So far, madame deputy speaker, how many people in authority have been brought to justice or held to account? The answer is zero.’ he said. 

Minister for education, Catherine McKinnell, said they would be rejecting the amendment, calling it ‘political opportunism’.   

‘Because instead of chasing headlines we want to focus our efforts and our actions on vulnerable children,’ she said.  

‘The Conservatives know that if their amendment today was to pass then this Bill would fall. They also know this Bill will deliver landmark reforms to safeguarding and children’s social care. 

‘It is the biggest piece of child protection legislation in a generation and we are bringing it forward to prioritise children.’

The vote was held just hours after Mrs Badenoch and Sir Keir had clashed at Prime Minister’s Questions.

The Tory leader warned that Sir Keir’s refusal to support a national inquiry would fuel concerns about a ‘cover-up’.

The PM hit back at Mrs Badenoch over ‘lies and misinformation and slinging of mud’ which did not help victims of child sexual abuse.

He had urged Mrs Badenoch to drop her amendment which, if it had succeeded, would have derailed Labour’s child protection legislation.

Sir Keir said a further inquiry could delay action on tackling child sexual abuse.

He pointed out that recommendations from a seven-year investigation chaired by Professor Alexis Jay, which reported in 2022, had not yet been implemented.

In heated Commons exchanges, the PM said: ‘This morning, I met some of the victims and survivors of this scandal, and they were clear with me that they want action now, not the delay of a further inquiry.’

He said Mrs Badenoch had ‘jumped on the bandwagon’ about grooming gangs.

And, in a further swipe at the Tory leader, he added that while in office as children’s minister and equalities minister, ‘I can’t recall her once raising this issue in the House, once calling for a national inquiry’.

Mrs Badenoch responded: ‘The PM called for nine inquiries in the last Parliament. Does he not see that by resisting this one, people will start to worry about a cover-up?’

She urged Sir Keir, a former director of public prosecutions, to ‘be a leader, not a lawyer’.

The PM told the Tory leader that ‘lies and misinformation and slinging of mud doesn’t help one bit’.

Mr Musk, estimated to be the world’s richest man, cheered on Mrs Badenoch following the PMQs exchanges.

Posting on X, the social media site he owns that was formerly known as Twitter, he wrote: ‘Well said by @KemiBadenoch.’

He had earlier branded Sir Keir ‘Starmtrooper’ and accused him of trying to cover up ‘terrible things’.

Prior to tonight’s vote, Mr Musk had also urged members of the public to call their MPs and ‘tell them that the hundreds of thousands of little girls in Britain who were, and are still are, being systematically, horrifically gang-raped deserve some justice in this world’.

Sir Keir’s official spokesman faced questions about the possibility of a national inquiry after safeguarding minister Jess Phillips told Sky News ‘nothing is off the table’ in dealing with the scandal.

The spokesman said the PM and his minister were of the same view, and insisted the Government’s response is ‘rooted in what victims want’.

Following PMQs, as MPs debated the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage suggested his party will fund an inquiry into child sexual abuse if the Government fails to do so.

He told the Commons that Reform will raise the money and appoint ‘independent arbiters’ to conduct the national inquiry.

Mr Farage said there was ‘overwhelming’ support across the political spectrum for an inquiry, adding: ‘The PM is doing his best to tell us there’s been an inquiry, the Jay inquiry.

‘Well, there has, and it’s 459 pages long. Grooming gangs are not mentioned once, Rotherham is literally mentioned once in passing.

‘The scope of that inquiry was like a shotgun, it was to cover a whole range of areas in which children were being abused. What we need, and what we’re calling for, is a rifle shot inquiry.

‘One that looks specifically at to what extent were gangs of Pakistani men raping young white girls. Because, ultimately, it seems to me, there’s a deep racist element behind what happened.

‘Now I might be right, I might be wrong, but doesn’t the country deserve a full, open national inquiry?’

Mr Farage also voiced his support for Mrs Badenoch’s amendment, but added: ‘I do note that as women and equalities minister from 2022 to 2024, she didn’t meet a single victim of these rapes, and never raised the issue once.

‘Insincere though it may be, I will vote for it. We will vote for it.

‘But I beg those on the other side of the House to think, don’t you believe that your constituents need to know the truth about this great evil that has happened in our culture?’

Labour MP Nadia Whittome said: ‘The Conservative leadership and Reform MPs marching to the beat of Elon Musk’s drum are plainly weaponising the pain and the trauma of victims for their own political ends.’

The Nottingham East MP added: ‘When you say that child sexual and exploitation is the result of alien cultures, or a multiculturalism project that has failed, you mask the reality, which is that child sexual abuse and exploitation is happening in every area of this country, perpetrated by members of every social class, every race and every religion.’

Reform MP Rupert Lowe raised around 30 questions during the debate, including: ‘Will the Government commit to pausing all Pakistani visas and foreign aid into the country until the Pakistani government agrees to accept any of its deported citizens that have perpetrated these crimes on British soil and also imprisons these rapists and their accomplices in Pakistan however they see fit?’

The Great Yarmouth MP added: ‘The mass rape of young white working-class girls by gangs of Pakistani rapists is a rotting stain on our nation. This is not about Elon Musk, this is not a bandwagon of the far right.’

Sarah Champion, Labour MP for Rotherham, said she was appalled by the language used by Mr Lowe. Speaking directly after him, she said: ‘I’ve got to say, I feel disgusted by what (he) has just said.

‘Can you imagine, if you’re a victim or survivor, listening to that? I’m sure his intent is to get to the truth and to get justice, but the language – please think about who hears our words.’

She said the previous inquiry by Professor Alexis Jay had taken seven years, cost £186 million, had more than two million pages of evidence, and spoke to 725 witnesses and more than 6,000 victims and survivors.

‘So I say with the deepest respect to all of those calling for a national inquiry: rather than that, put all of your energy in getting these recommendations adopted, because with the best will in the world … another inquiry will mean another 10 years of waiting,’ she added.

‘And what I want to see, and I truly believe we want to see, is child protection right now.’

Critics claim Sir Keir wants to avoid a national inquiry as it could put the focus on his time as director of public prosecutions between 2008 and 2013.

The PM has defended his record, pointing out that he brought the ‘first major prosecution of an Asian grooming gang’ and changed the approach to dealing with similar cases.