Doing worse was difficult, but they managed it. And great. British Labor has rejected for the second time the request to form a commission of inquiry to investigate the so-called grooming gangs, the groups of Pakistani groomers and rapists who have operated in the United Kingdom since at least 2010, abusing tens and tens of thousands of almost exclusively white and fragile girls. Investigations in the town of Rotherham uncovered sexual abuse of 1,400 children aged over 16, in Telford, up to 1,000 girls were abused over decades. Similar events have occurred in numerous other areas of the nation. Of course, some culprits have been arrested, but the phenomenon has never been explored or studied in detail. Indeed, it was often covered up by the institutions and even by the police. Reason? What British newspapers defined as “race-related nervousness”: since most of the suspects were Pakistani men, the decision was made not to create “community tensions” and not to shatter the English multicultural dream. Unfortunately, it was the victims of violence who paid the price.
In October, at the request of the city council of one of the towns plagued by gangs, the minister Jess Phillips refused to launch a national inquiry into the abuse. In response, the Conservatives returned to the fray with an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill which provided for the creation of a political investigative tool. Yesterday the proposal was rejected in the House of Commons by 364 votes to 111: a majority of 253.
This second failure is, if possible, even more serious than the previous one. In fact, the first request came from a city council: it should have been accepted immediately, but it was nothing compared to what happened in recent days. In the last week, in fact, all British public opinion has mobilised, the topic has been widely covered by all the media (even if their Italian colleagues have totally ignored the story, who knows why). Numerous testimonies have emerged, the victims have exposed themselves, illustrious intellectuals such as have spoken out JK Rowlingcommentators and editorialists. Not only that: even former policemen spoke out. Many of them, despite not liking either conservatives at all Elon Musk (who deserves credit for raising the fuss about the case) painted a rather disturbing picture of the situation. For example Simon Mortonformer senior investigating officer at Thames Valley Police who tackled grooming by leading Operation Bullfinch, at the time the largest criminal investigation in Oxford’s history, which led to the convictions of 21 men for crimes committed between the late 1990s and the end of the 2000s.
Morton he spoke to the BBC explaining that this type of sexual abuse still occurs and claims that “the men we haven’t managed to catch are still around”. According to him, those responsible for soliciting in the Oxford area are acting in plain sight and are “inducing others to do the same”. Second Mortonit is “obvious” that the phenomenon of solicitation “occurs in every city in the country”.
Unlike what happens in Italy, we were saying, the English press has given enormous prominence to the debate on grooming gangs. As he recalled Hannah Barnes on The New Statesman«in 2017 the BBC broadcast a prime time drama, Three Girlsbased on the events in Rochdale. This was followed by a Radio 4 documentary in 2013 and two editions of Panorama in 2014 and 2015. Grooming – Every Parent’s Nightmare it was broadcast on BBC TV in 2011. Other documentaries were broadcast in 2017 and 2020.” In essence, there is no shortage of information on the subject.
The location of the Barnes it’s very interesting. Clearly left-wing, she also didn’t like the intemperates at all Musk against Keir Starmer. Yet to hear what he says: «Has there been enough publicity about these abominable crimes? Maybe not. Were they ignored? No. Have the police officers, social services and local authorities who failed in their duty to protect girls, who were informed of the most horrific sexual abuse imaginable but failed to act, been adequately held accountable? No. Have enough rapists been imprisoned for their crimes? Absolutely not”.
Even though I am convinced that Musk face misinformation, la Barnes considers it «shameful that we still do not know the true extent of the depravity that has taken place. In 2022, after 7 years, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (Iicsa), which included a strand on the functioning of rapist gangs (but excluded already known cities), failed to determine the extent of it. It is up to the survivors to judge whether there is a need for a new national investigation.”
Despite the mass of evidence, the frightening numbers, the testimonies and the authoritative opinions, the Labor Party has nevertheless chosen to twice scuttle the possibility of setting up a commission of inquiry. We know why: Starmerwhen he led the Crown Prosecution Service, could and should have handled the case, but did not do so adequately. Above all, however, Labor relies heavily on the votes of immigrants, including those of the Pakistani community, which could be angered by a national survey. Ideology and convenience, it seems, matter more than rape victims.
