A former Conservative MP has launched a scathing attack on Labour's approach to grooming gang investigations, declaring it "too little, too late".
Alexander Stafford criticised the government's decision to pursue local inquiries rather than a national investigation into child exploitation.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced today that government-backed local inquiries into grooming gangs will be established with a £10million budget.
The inquiries will be led by Baroness Louise Casey and will examine the current scale of abuse. The investigation will focus on the "cultural drivers" and ethnicity of the gangs.
Former Tory MP, Alexander Stafford said: "I think it's too little, too late.
"If I was one of the towns that didn't have an inquiry given to me, I'd say, what about my girls?
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"What about my daughters and my wife. Don't they matter? Surely this is Labour saying we're going to pick and choose some towns which matter, and some that don't matter.
"That is why we do need a national inquiry. Because everyone's daughters and girls do matter. And they were saying, well, they don't.
"What is worrying, is obviously I represented a part of Rotherham, there's more than just what happened. It's the cover ups as well.
"What actually happened rather than in 2005, the councillors were told grooming was going on. When the media started reporting it, the Rotherham, the Labour run, council said it was Murdoch lies.
"Some of those people, some of those councillors who went to the seminar in 2005 who said there was grooming going on and then later denied it was going on were still councillors until 2024.
"Labour representatives in the area, and I, wrote to Keir Starmer six times, the MP saying these people should not be councillors.
"And you know how many times Keir Starmer in that time responded to me and care about it?
"No, not once, not once. So this is Labour doing nothing. They're clearly not caring for our girls"
Tom Crowther KC, who led the 2022 Telford grooming gang inquiry, will serve as an advisor to the investigations.
However, the inquiries will not have powers to compel witnesses to give evidence, a measure that Rotherham MP Sarah Champion had advocated for.
The evidence gathered during these local investigations is not expected to be reported back to the Home Office for a national response.
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Alexander Stafford criticised the government's decision to pursue local inquiries rather than a national investigation into child exploitation.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced today that government-backed local inquiries into grooming gangs will be established with a £10million budget.
The inquiries will be led by Baroness Louise Casey and will examine the current scale of abuse. The investigation will focus on the "cultural drivers" and ethnicity of the gangs.
Former Tory MP, Alexander Stafford said: "I think it's too little, too late.
"If I was one of the towns that didn't have an inquiry given to me, I'd say, what about my girls?
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"What about my daughters and my wife. Don't they matter? Surely this is Labour saying we're going to pick and choose some towns which matter, and some that don't matter.
"That is why we do need a national inquiry. Because everyone's daughters and girls do matter. And they were saying, well, they don't.
"What is worrying, is obviously I represented a part of Rotherham, there's more than just what happened. It's the cover ups as well.
"What actually happened rather than in 2005, the councillors were told grooming was going on. When the media started reporting it, the Rotherham, the Labour run, council said it was Murdoch lies.
"Some of those people, some of those councillors who went to the seminar in 2005 who said there was grooming going on and then later denied it was going on were still councillors until 2024.
"Labour representatives in the area, and I, wrote to Keir Starmer six times, the MP saying these people should not be councillors.
"And you know how many times Keir Starmer in that time responded to me and care about it?
"No, not once, not once. So this is Labour doing nothing. They're clearly not caring for our girls"
Tom Crowther KC, who led the 2022 Telford grooming gang inquiry, will serve as an advisor to the investigations.
However, the inquiries will not have powers to compel witnesses to give evidence, a measure that Rotherham MP Sarah Champion had advocated for.
The evidence gathered during these local investigations is not expected to be reported back to the Home Office for a national response.
Find Out More...