has launched a withering attack on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer over the Government’s refusal to hold a public inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal, branding a previous report published nine years ago a “whitewash”.
And the Reform UK leader, who has vowed to raise the funds for a full review himself if necessary, also vented his anger at the PM’s decision to label those calling for an inquiry “far right”.
The UK Government’s refusal to hold a national public inquiry into in Rotherham and other towns has sparked widespread controversy and public anger.
Critics argue that such an inquiry is necessary to uncover systemic failures by local authorities and law enforcement that allowed the abuse to persist unchecked for years.
The Alexis Jay Report, authored by Professor Alexis Jay, a child protection expert, exposed widespread and systemic child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, over a 16-year period.
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Nigel Farage talking on GB News and Sir Keir Starmer (Image: GETTY/GB News)
However, critics including Mr Farage claim it failed to fully hold accountable those in positions of authority or address broader systemic issues.
Speaking on Monday after billionaire accused him of being “complicit in the rape of Britain”, Sir Keir claimed opposition MPs were “jumping on a bandwagon” and “amplifying what the far-right is saying.
Speaking on , said: “Oh, dear, oh dear, oh dear. It’s all the far right. Wanting to know the truth means you’re part of the far right.
“Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, she’ll be asking in the House of Commons, she’ll be putting an amendment down, effectively saying there needs to be a full public inquiry.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch (Image: Getty)
“Her difficulty, of course, is that the Conservative government, when they were faced with this, didn’t have an inquiry.”
Referring to the Jay report, the Clacton MP continued: “There was one, but it was a whitewash, frankly, because it only looked at what had happened in six towns and cities, as opposed to the 50 that we know about now. And grooming was just but a part of it.
“What we need here is an inquiry that is not a shotgun that deals with all of the problems that young people can face, and that can be through the church or elsewhere we know about these things.”
Mr Farage added: “We need a rifle that deals with what I believe was outright racist behaviour against young white girls, who some, mercifully few, but some in the Pakistani community simply thought were trash.
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“I have said that if the government don’t give us a full review, that I will raise the money and put the money towards an independent inquiry. And I mean it.”
The scandal, which primarily involved organised gangs targeting vulnerable young girls, has been a source of national outrage since it came to light in the 2010s.
Calls for a comprehensive inquiry have intensified, with victims and campaigners insisting it would provide justice and accountability.
However, the Government has resisted these demands, citing previous investigations and claiming that new measures are already in place to prevent similar failings.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer giving a speech on Monday at a hospital in Surrey (Image: PA)
On Wednesday, Kemi Badenoch’s party will bring forward an amendment to the Government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill which is expected to call for ministers to establish a “national statutory inquiry into historical child sexual exploitation, focused on grooming gangs”.
Sir Keir told the : “It’s a shocking tactic, completely short-sighted.
“I would implore any right-thinking Tory MP to vote for the Bill because this would kill the Bill, this would kill the legislation.”
Speaking yesterday, the Prime Minister’s spokesman insisted action to implement some of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse’s recommendations had not come as a result of the latest uproar.