Rochdale grooming gang scandalRotherham grooming gang scandal
Rishi Sunak has announced plans to create a police taskforce to help tackle the issue of grooming gangs. The taskforce will be supported by the National Crime Agency and will focus on collecting data on the make-up of grooming gangs, including ethnicity, to ensure suspects cannot evade justice due to “cultural sensitivities”. The government also plans to introduce legislation to make membership of a grooming gang an aggravating factor during sentencing.
The Prime Minister was asked if the focus by the Home Secretary on British-Asian men when discussing grooming gangs in parts of northern England was appropriate. He responded that cases of victims and whistleblowers had been “often ignored” due to “cultural sensitivity and political correctness”. Sabah Kaiser, ethnic minority ambassador to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), warned that it was “very, very dangerous” to turn child sexual abuse into a matter of colour. She argued that child sexual abuse does not discriminate and does not have a skin colour, religion, or culture.
Sir Keir Starmer agreed that political correctness should not get in the way of prosecuting grooming gangs, but noted that the “vast majority of sexual abuse cases” do not involve ethnic minorities. The government could be accused of deploying police resources without having a full understanding of the scale of the problem. A report by the IICSA found that authorities might be potentially downplaying the scale of abuse, and that local authorities “don’t want to be labelled another Rochdale or Rotherham”.
Sir Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC, said it was “really important that by raising an issue such as race we don’t create other blind spots”. He argued that there are many predators and victims from a range of cultural backgrounds who deserve attention and support. Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the government’s plans were “far too inadequate for the scale of the problem” and accused ministers of “chasing headlines”. The Liberal Democrats’ home affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said they supported steps to crack down on abusers, but noted that unless the government tackles the backlog in courts and restores community policing, too many criminals will continue to evade justice.
Victims of grooming gangs have been neglected due to political correctness, according to Rishi Sunak. To address this issue, the government has proposed a police taskforce to help forces with their investigations. The taskforce will collect data on the make-up of grooming gangs, including ethnicity, to ensure suspects cannot hide behind cultural sensitivities as a way to evade justice. Furthermore, legislation will be introduced to make membership of a grooming gang an aggravating factor during sentencing.
Sabah Kaiser, ethnic minority ambassador to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), warned that it was “very, very dangerous” to turn child sexual abuse into a matter of colour. Sir Keir Starmer agreed that political correctness should not get in the way of prosecuting grooming gangs, but noted that the “vast majority of sexual abuse cases” do not involve ethnic minorities.
Sir Peter Wanless argued that it is important to raise awareness about race without creating other blind spots. He said there are many predators and victims from a range of cultural backgrounds who deserve attention and support. Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the government’s plans were “far too inadequate for the scale of the problem” and accused ministers of “chasing headlines”. The Liberal Democrats’ home affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said they supported steps to crack down on abusers, but noted that unless the government tackles the backlog in courts and restores community policing, too many criminals will continue to evade justice.