The Labour led Birmingham City Council is being asked to join a Conservative call for a new public inquiry into child sexual exploitation
Birmingham City Council House.(Image: Copyright Unknown)
Birmingham City Council’s Labour members are to be pressed to join Tory calls for a ‘comprehensive national public inquiry’ into grooming gangs amid claims that ‘justice remains elusive’ for exploited victims.
The council’s Conservatives have submitted a motion to the next meeting of the city council calling for ‘cross party’ backing for a new probe into grooming and child sexual exploitation, after the issue was reignited by controversial billionaire Elon Musk earlier this year.
The call has also been championed by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK’s Nigel Farage.
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The Local Conservatives say it is necessary to ‘ensure past failures are understood and future atrocities are prevented.’
The Labour Government have so far rejected the call for a new inquiry, saying focus should instead be on implementing the findings of the Jay report, a seven year investigation into child sexual exploitation that reported in 2022 but has not yet had any of its recommendations actioned.
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In their motion to full council, which will happen at the meeting on Tuesday June 17, the Local Conservatives group leaders say they will reference a recent BBC Newsnight interview that included the testimony of one grooming victim who said she was ‘passed on’ to a Birmingham gang after being systematically abused in other parts of the country.
They will also highlight previous media reports highlighting concerns about child sexual exploitation across the city.
Cllr Alex Yip (Con, Sutton Wylde Green), shadow cabinet member for social justice, community safety and equalities, said the motion sought a new full inquiry to ‘protect vulnerable children’.
“The scale and severity of grooming gangs require an independent, thorough, and comprehensive inquiry to ensure past failures are understood and future atrocities are prevented.”
While group leader, Cllr Robert Alden (Con, Erdington ) said: “The people of Birmingham and beyond have a right to know why previous inquiries and public sector responses have been so limited and ineffective and sometimes hidden.
“This inquiry is vital to achieving real justice and lasting change.”
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The current Government have so far rejected calls for a new inquiry, instead pledging to proceed to implement the findings of the Jay Inquiry, chaired by Professor Alexis Jay, a child protection expert.
She was commissioned by former Conservative PM Theresa May in 2014 to investigate abuse in children’s homes, the church and Westminster and scrutinising institutional responses to child sexual exploitation, including grooming gangs.
Her ‘wide ranging’ report featured testimony from more than 7,000 victims and survivors of child sexual abuse who shared their experiences and helped shape the call for change.
Prof Jay said earlier this year: “We’ve had enough of inquiries, consultations and discussions… we have set out what action is required and people should just get on with it locally and nationally.”
Local inquiries into specific concerns are seen by the Government as powerful alternatives to a full blown national inquiry. Some commentators have recommended a short ‘update’ review of the Jay inquiry to take account of new information.
Recommendations of the Jay inquiry included mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse, action on online abuse, and the creation of a Child Protection Authority and Minister for Children, alongside creating a single set of core data relating to child sexual abuse and exploitation and introducing more protections in the workplace and more support for survivors.
Elon Musk poured scorn on Birmingham MP Jess Phillips earlier this year for rejecting calls for a government-led inquiry into grooming in Oldham and other parts of the UK. She was accused by Musk of being an ‘apologist for child rape’ in vicious tweets that heightened security fears around her.
The Office for National Statistics’ Crime Survey for England and Wales states that 7.5% of all adults in England and Wales are estimated to have been sexually assaulted before the age of sixteen, equating to 3.1 million adult victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.