The Elon Musk-instigated argument over whether the UK needs another national inquiry into rape and sexual abuse gangs reached the Commons on Wednesday, with the Conservatives pushing an amendment that would set up such a process, while at the same time torpedoing a wider government bill on schools and child welfare.
Below are four claims being made about this much-contested subject, and what we actually know to be the case.
Has there been a “cover-up”?
The claim: The idea that the scale of “grooming gangs” was not just neglected as an issue but actively covered up has been a common charge not just by the likes of Reform UK, but also the Conservatives on occasions. At prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, Kemi Badenoch said Keir Starmer’s refusal to order another national inquiry could mean “people will start to worry about a cover-up”.
The reality: This is to a great extent a value judgment. The 2022 report by Prof Alexis Jay into the subject was scathing about the lack of protection for victims, and the way they were very often not believed. Jay’s earlier report, from 2014, into abuse and rapes in Rotherham, found a similar pattern, and said that some officials had been wary about discussing any ethnic patterns to the crimes for fear of being seen as racist.
Whether this counts as gross negligence or a cover-up could be argued both ways. That said, the more specific idea that Starmer was resisting a second inquiry because he feared it could harm him or his government seems unlikely. As well as the fact that much of the relevant time period took place under Conservative rule, Starmer has been praised for his role in pushing forward prosecutions for such offences when he was director of public prosecutions.
Have governments failed to act more generally?
The claim: This allegation has come from both sides of the political spectrum. The Conservatives argue that Starmer and his government have only taken action after Musk’s fusillade of tweets; in response, Labour say the Conservatives did little to improve matters during their 14 years in power.
The reality: Once again, it depends how you frame things. There has been action in the sense of a series of reviews and inquiries, and a large number of prosecutions of perpetrators. Of 20 recommendations in the Jay report, Starmer’s government has pledged to implement several, including criminal sanctions for professionals who fail to report claims of child sexual abuse, overhauling how evidence on abuse is gathered, and to make grooming an aggravated factor in the sentencing of abuse cases.
The Conservatives have said they would have also implemented some of Jay’s recommendations in their criminal justice bill, which was lost when the general election was called. However, some campaigners said this bill watered down the sanctions for not reporting abuse, requiring only that there had to be hard evidence for it, rather than just suspicions.
Has Tommy Robinson advanced the cause of victims?
The claims: This has largely come from Musk and the coterie of hard- and far-right X users he has recently discovered. According to their narrative, Robinson, the adopted name of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is a journalist and campaigner who has brought the abuse scandal to prominence, and has in response been unjustly jailed by the state and is a political prisoner.
The reality: This is a much easier one to adjudicate, as pretty much everything Musk has said or spread about Robinson is complete nonsense. A longtime far-right agitator, he made his name leading the English Defence League, and anti-Islam street group that organised violent street protests in Luton, Robinson’s home town. He has criminal convictions for assault, mortgage fraud and trying to illegally enter the US. He is now in jail for contempt of court for repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee.
Will a new definition of Islamophobia stifle debate about the subject?
The claim: Badenoch told the Commons on Wednesday that a definition the government plans to adopt will cite “talking about sex groomers [as] an example of Islamophobia”.
The reality: The all-party parliamentary group on Islamophobia, which drew up the definition, has said this isn’t true. It says the only way discussion of grooming gangs would be covered would be if it was used as a “collective smear and trope being used against all British Muslims”. This was intended, the group said, to try to stop repeats of documented cases of attacks on Muslims by attackers citing grooming gangs as a reason.
