9 d. ago When will Brits discover if they face Rachel Reeves tax rises after DWP and PIP u

After partially reversing the cuts to the Winter Fuel Allowance and then agreeing to an inquiry into the grooming gangs having previously said there was no need, Keir Starmer pulls a third U-turn

Politics

1 week ago Starmer says welfare concessions are ‘common sense’ but dodges funding question – UK politics live

No 10 has offered significant concessions to the rebels amid fears over Tuesday’s voteNo 10 climbs down over welfare billStephen Kinnock, the care minister, was the government voice on the airwaves this morning. Here are the main points he made about the welfare bill U-turn.Kinnock rejected claims that the U-turn was a sign of weakness. When it was put to him on the Today programme that this move, coming after the U-turns on winter fuel payments and a national inquiry into grooming gangs, showed that if Keir Starmer was pushed, he would give in, Kinnock replied:I think if you talk to people out there in the country, they respond very positively to politicians listening, engaging, recognising that you don’t get everything right from day one every time, and making the adjustments and the changes that are needed.And this prime minister will always put the country first. He puts country before party, and he does the right thing for the country.He defended having a “staggered” approach t...

Politics

2 w. ago The conversation with Andy Burnham that led to the grooming gangs U

The government announced this week that a national inquiry into grooming gangs will go ahead. This is why

Events

2 w. ago Grooming gang survivors make plea to ‘put politics aside’ ahead of new inquiry

Exclusive: Telford survivors say people are ‘exploiting the exploited’ and push for women to shape investigationThe political “tug-of-war with vulnerable women” abused by grooming gangs must stop ahead of a new national inquiry into the crimes, survivors have told the Guardian.Holly Archer and Scarlett Jones, two survivors who played a key role in a “gold-standard” local inquiry into the crime in Telford, have urged politicians and those without experience of abuse to allow women to shape the investigation. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Televise grooming gang inquiry given public interest, Labour peer urges

Muslim Labour peer Baroness Hazarika apologised for the crimes carried out by ‘wicked, wicked men’.

Events

2 w. ago Andy Burnham sets out where he wants the new grooming gangs inquiry to go in Greater Manchester

The Greater Manchester mayor launched his own local inquiry into child sexual exploitation in 2017 but says it wasn't enough

Events

2 w. ago Labour MP who was groomed as teenager shares powerful message over Tory 'point scoring'

Natalie Fleet delivered a powerful message to Kemi Badenoch as she said 'I do not know how she dare' after the Tory leader claimed victory when a national inquiry into the grooming gang scandal was announced

Politics

2 w. ago What the national grooming gang inquiry means for Oldham's local investigation

The government will need to discuss with the council how to proceed

Events

2 w. ago Grooming gangs report author Baroness Casey ‘disappointed’ in Tories for ‘politicising’ scandal

Baroness Casey, the author of a report into grooming gangs, has said that she was “disappointed” that the Conservatives have “politicised” the findings of her audit.

Politics

2 w. ago Ethnicity of people in grooming gangs was 'shied away from', Louise Casey report says

"The appalling lack of data on ethnicity in crime recording alone is a major failing over the last decade or more. Questions about ethnicity have been asked but dodged for years"

Events

2 w. ago Expand grooming gangs inquiry to Scotland, UK Government urged

Shadow Scottish secretary Andrew Bowie said victims north of the border ‘must not and cannot be overlooked’.

Politics

2 w. ago Grooming gangs live: Baroness Casey to address parliamentary committee after inquiry announced

Watch live as Baroness Casey, author of a report into grooming gangs, gives an address to a British parliamentary committee on Tuesday (17 June).

Politics

2 w. ago Asylum seekers and foreign nationals are behind 'significant proportion' of child sex grooming gang cases, Casey report warns

The long-awaited review by Whitehall troubleshooter Louise Casey was released yesterday after being commissioned at the start of the year.

Events

2 w. ago Grooming gangs report: 9 things you need to know from major failings to taxi loophole

In a chilling report, Baroness Louise Casey outlined an array of failings from victim blaming, ethnicity data and the lack of mandatory rape charges for vile paedophiles

Events

2 w. ago Everything we know about the new grooming gangs inquiry so far

The Home Secretary set out a series of measures today

Events

2 w. ago The Guardian view on violence against women and girls: the grooming gangs inquiry should be part of a wider strategy | Editorial

It is right to confront child sexual exploitation, but this week’s announcement comes against a backdrop of failureThe government’s renewed focus on child sexual exploitation (CSE) gangs is overdue, and the new national inquiry recommended by Louise Casey must deliver justice, not just headlines. All child sexual abuse is horrifying. But the extreme sexual violence and financial incentives involved in gang-based offending demand special scrutiny. So do the institutional failures by police and councils, particularly in northern England, where numerous gangs operated.Past inquiries have exposed these institutional breakdowns. They have also shown that a reluctance to inflame racial tensions played a role in the way that some complaints were mishandled. That doesn’t excuse the inaction – nor justify turning a public safety issue into a culture war. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago The victims of grooming gangs deserve justice – at long last, they may get it

Editorial: The government’s decision to launch a full statutory inquiry into historic grooming cases is long overdue. Thousands of girls were failed not only by their abusers but by the very institutions and individuals meant to protect them. At last, a national reckoning is underway

Events

2 w. ago Cooper says law on rape being tightened so adults cannot use consent as defence against charge of raping child under 16 – UK politics live

Yvette Cooper tells parliament that Louise Casey audit found some cases were downgraded from rape to lesser charges ‘because 13- to 15-year-old is perceived to have consented’Starmer launches new grooming gangs investigationIn his interview on the Sky News this morning Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said that Keir Starmer should apologise for saying in January that those calling for a national inquiry into grooming gangs were jumping on a far-right bandwagon. Kemi Badenoch, his party leader, is also quoted today in an Daily Express splash story saying Starmer should apologise, but she is saying he should apologise for not agreeing to hold a national inquiry earlier.At the Downing Street lobby briefing this morning the No 10 spokesperson was asked if Starmer still thought that people who backed a national inquiry in January were joining a far-right bandwagon. In response, the spokesperson defended the phrase, and insisted that it only applied to Tories who were now demanding...

Society

2 w. ago Children and teenage girls were blamed for crimes against them, ‘damning’ grooming gangs report finds

A ‘deeply disturbing’ report found organisations avoided race for fear of appearing racist or inflaming community tensions, Yvette Cooper said

Events

2 w. ago What is the new grooming gangs inquiry going to do after the Casey report?

A full statutory inquiry into UK grooming gangs will soon begin work

Events