Sir Keir Starmer has defended his decision to launch a national inquiry into grooming gangs, despite previous criticisms of those calling for it. The prime minister commissioned Dame Louise Casey to write a report on the issue, which led to his agreement with her conclusions.

Dame Louise emphasized the need for a 'national reset' on grooming gangs and urged officials to be open to scrutiny and change during the inquiry. This move was seen by Starmer as a practical and common-sense approach to politics.

The report by Baroness Casey highlighted the lack of data on the ethnicity of perpetrators and recommended a national criminal operation overseen by the National Crime Agency. It also called for mandatory collection of ethnicity and nationality data for all suspects in child sexual abuse cases.

Starmer acknowledged the importance of addressing issues related to child sexual abuse and emphasized the need for the national inquiry to explore all relevant aspects, including ethnicity and the role of public officials.

The concern about grooming gangs dates back to 2010, when five men from the Asian community in Rotherham were jailed for sexual offences against underage girls. A local inquiry revealed widespread abuse in the town, involving an estimated 1,400 exploited children between 1997 and 2013, primarily by men of Pakistani heritage.

Baroness Casey praised the work of Baroness Jay, who produced a report in 2022 warning of 'endemic' abuse in communities across England and Wales. She stressed the importance of taking action on the 12 recommendations outlined in the report within six months.

Casey also called for an increase in prosecutions and criminal investigations related to child sexual exploitation, both past and present. She highlighted the need to charge adults engaging in penetrative sex with a child under 16 with the most serious offense of rape.

She urged a calm and data-driven approach to discussions on ethnicity in relation to child sexual exploitation, emphasizing the importance of interpreting data accurately.