Chris Philp is the Shadow Home Secretary and MP for Croydon South.
The whole country has been shocked by the rape gang scandal. Over years or decades, thousands of vulnerable young girls were systematically raped by organised gangs of men, predominantly of Pakistani heritage. Instead of those victims being protected and the perpetrators prosecuted, those young girls were failed.
Many cases were covered up because of absurd concerns about so-called community relations. We have seen Labour MPs like Ann Cryer, Simon Danczuk, and, as recently as 2017, even Sarah Champion being pressured to stay quiet by senior figures in the Labour Party. Others raising concerns were frequently accused of racism. Never again can people be silenced in this way. That is why the Prime Minister was so wrong to smear those raising concerns as being “far-right” – the kind of language which led to the cover ups in the first place.
We now need a full statutory Public Inquiry to get to the truth. The Government’s refusal to hold one is shameful. That is why we will be putting the matter to a vote in Parliament on Wednesday.
Labour says that the previous Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) and a handful of local inquiries cover the issue. That is totally wrong.
Not a single person in a position of authority – not one – has been held to account for covering up these heinous crimes.
IICSA was mainly about other forms of abuse and only six towns were covered in relation to the rape gangs. There have only been a handful of local inquiries. Most of the 50 or so towns where abuse occurred – including Keighley where the alarm was first raised – have had no investigation all.
Local investigations do not generally have legal powers to summon witnesses and requisition evidence. That lack of powers led to the resignation last year of those leading the Manchester Inquiry – because the cover-up was continuing and they lacked the legal power to compel disclosure.
That’s why we need a full statutory national public inquiry. It will cover all the towns affected and it will have the legal powers to make sure everything comes out. Victims’ families speaking in the last 24 hours agree. Such an inquiry should be focused, rapid, and time-limited. We need simple answers fast, not a lawyers’ fee-fest lasting years. I also want to see prosecutions under the common law offence of misconduct in public office for those responsible for the cover-up.
The last government did good work – including setting up the Grooming Gangs Task Force which led to 550 arrests of perpetrators in its first year alone. Data on perpetrator ethnicity is now being collected and a Bill was introduced to make reporting of sexual abuse mandatory for those in authority. I am pleased that the new Government has picked this up. But we need to see more prosecutions for perpetrators, more protection for victims, and longer prison sentences. I will support the Government where they want to do this.
But we need more. Those perpetrators with dual nationality or who have the right to it should be stripped of UK citizenship and kicked out of the UK. If their country of origin won’t take them back, then the UK should use visa sanctions – suspending visa issues for nationals of those countries wanting to come to the UK – until they change their mind.
As a Minister, I legislated for these powers in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. It is time those powers are used to ensure we can deport the vile criminals who have been abusing vulnerable young girls.
Chris Philp is the Shadow Home Secretary and MP for Croydon South.
The whole country has been shocked by the rape gang scandal. Over years or decades, thousands of vulnerable young girls were systematically raped by organised gangs of men, predominantly of Pakistani heritage. Instead of those victims being protected and the perpetrators prosecuted, those young girls were failed.
Many cases were covered up because of absurd concerns about so-called community relations. We have seen Labour MPs like Ann Cryer, Simon Danczuk, and, as recently as 2017, even Sarah Champion being pressured to stay quiet by senior figures in the Labour Party. Others raising concerns were frequently accused of racism. Never again can people be silenced in this way. That is why the Prime Minister was so wrong to smear those raising concerns as being “far-right” – the kind of language which led to the cover ups in the first place.
We now need a full statutory Public Inquiry to get to the truth. The Government’s refusal to hold one is shameful. That is why we will be putting the matter to a vote in Parliament on Wednesday.
Labour says that the previous Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) and a handful of local inquiries cover the issue. That is totally wrong.
Not a single person in a position of authority – not one – has been held to account for covering up these heinous crimes.
IICSA was mainly about other forms of abuse and only six towns were covered in relation to the rape gangs. There have only been a handful of local inquiries. Most of the 50 or so towns where abuse occurred – including Keighley where the alarm was first raised – have had no investigation all.
Local investigations do not generally have legal powers to summon witnesses and requisition evidence. That lack of powers led to the resignation last year of those leading the Manchester Inquiry – because the cover-up was continuing and they lacked the legal power to compel disclosure.
That’s why we need a full statutory national public inquiry. It will cover all the towns affected and it will have the legal powers to make sure everything comes out. Victims’ families speaking in the last 24 hours agree. Such an inquiry should be focused, rapid, and time-limited. We need simple answers fast, not a lawyers’ fee-fest lasting years. I also want to see prosecutions under the common law offence of misconduct in public office for those responsible for the cover-up.
The last government did good work – including setting up the Grooming Gangs Task Force which led to 550 arrests of perpetrators in its first year alone. Data on perpetrator ethnicity is now being collected and a Bill was introduced to make reporting of sexual abuse mandatory for those in authority. I am pleased that the new Government has picked this up. But we need to see more prosecutions for perpetrators, more protection for victims, and longer prison sentences. I will support the Government where they want to do this.
But we need more. Those perpetrators with dual nationality or who have the right to it should be stripped of UK citizenship and kicked out of the UK. If their country of origin won’t take them back, then the UK should use visa sanctions – suspending visa issues for nationals of those countries wanting to come to the UK – until they change their mind.
As a Minister, I legislated for these powers in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. It is time those powers are used to ensure we can deport the vile criminals who have been abusing vulnerable young girls.