Badenoch demands inquiry into grooming ‘cover up’
“Kemi Badenoch has called for a full national inquiry into grooming gangs after Elon Musk accused Sir Keir Starmer of covering up failings while leading the prosecution service. The Conservatives have written to Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, and said only a statutory public inquiry can look into whether the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) led by Starmer “ignored or even covered up” reports of child sexual exploitation. Musk, the tech billionaire and Trump ally, is considering making a sizeable donation to Reform UK. In a series of posts on his social media platform X on Thursday, he said it was “time for Reform” and shared messages from Nigel Farage, the party’s leader, and Rupert Lowe, one of its MPs. Musk called for Tommy Robinson…to be freed from prison.” – The Times
- Labour blocks grooming gang inquiry into Starmer’s conduct as CPS head – The Daily Telegraph
- Musk claims PM failed to tackle grooming scandal when he was head of prosecution service – The Financial Times
- How Starmer was forced to admit CPS let down child victims of grooming gangs – The Daily Telegraph
- Musk’s calls for Robinson release anger Labour MPs – The Guardian
- Robinson is in solitary ‘for his own safety’, contrary to Musk’s claims – The I
- Ex-Labour chairman ‘told me not to raise grooming gang ethnicity to keep votes’ – The Daily Telegraph
- Bombshell figures show how Farage’s Reform could be biggest party as Labour crumbles – Daily Express
- What is Labour’s case against a judge-led probe into ‘grooming gangs’ scandal? – Editorial, The Sun
- What is Starmer to do about Musk the troll? – Patrick Maguire, The Times
- Why would a self-proclaimed feminist refuse to hold an inquiry into the Oldham ‘rape gangs’? – Tom Harris, The Daily Telegraph
- Farage and why Badenoch does not have time to ‘watch this space’ – Robert Shrimsely, The Financial Times
- Reform has an early lead in the race to revive real British conservatism – David Frost, The Daily Telegraph
>Today:
Robert Jenrick: The truth about ‘grooming gangs’ is finally coming out
“Hillsborough, Windrush, Grenfell: all appalling national scandals that are listed whenever gross institutional failures are discussed. But there is another that is usually conspicuously absent: the deep moral stain of “grooming gangs”. It is perhaps the greatest racially motivated crime in modern Britain, perpetrated predominantly by men of Pakistani heritage against vulnerable white girls. Even those who mention it tend to tiptoe…The “grooming gang” label is deployed euphemistically to sanitise depraved crimes and make them acceptable for public consumption. So we should start by calling it what it truly is. If you read the testimony of the victims…it’s clear they were rape torture gangs, perpetrating the most heinous sexual crimes imaginable on an industrial scale.” – The Daily Telegraph
Bigger public pay rises will mean cuts to services, Reeves warns
“Rachel Reeves has warned ministers that they will have to consider cuts to frontline services if they want to fund above-inflation pay rises for public sector workers. The chancellor has recommended that millions of teachers, nurses and other public sector workers should receive pay rises of 2.8 per cent next year. The offer has been heavily criticised by the unions, who have branded it “insulting” and threatened to take industrial action. The Treasury has taken a hardline stance and told ministers that there will be no additional funding and that if independent pay review bodies recommend bigger rises, they will have to fund it from existing budgets. It said that they would have to look at “offsetting savings on non-pay expenditure, including frontline services”… to fund further pay rises.” – The Times
Kyle backs away from social media ban for under-16s
“UK technology secretary Peter Kyle has said he has no plans to ban children aged under 16 from accessing social media, pivoting away from it being an option “on the table”. Australia introduced landmark legislation last year to restrict younger teenagers from using sites such as Instagram and TikTok, arguing the platforms were harmful to that age group. In the wake of Canberra unveiling its “world-leading” proposals, Kyle was asked if the UK would follow suit and told the BBC that “everything is on the table”, and vowed to do “what it takes” to keep children safe online. He also argued there was a lack of “firm, peer-reviewed evidence” about the impact of smartphone and social media use on young people.” – The Financial Times
Social care overhaul delayed for three more years
“Labour has delayed until 2028 a planned overhaul of social care, announcing an independent commission that it hopes will build a “national consensus”. Baroness Casey of Blackstock, a veteran Whitehall troubleshooter, will lead the review of social care and seek the support of the main political parties. The commission will begin work in April with the first phase, which will cover the “medium-term” problems facing social care, and will end by the middle of next year. The second phase, which will look at long-term problems, will report by 2028. Tory and Labour ministers have repeatedly pledged to resolve the social care crisis over the past 30 years, only to reject proposals or defer decisions because of concerns about the cost. The problem has become increasingly urgent…” – The Times
- Labour unveils plan for social care – but experts warn it will take too long – The I
- Fixing UK social care will be biggest challenge yet for Casey – Andrew Gregory, The Guardian
20 councillors in Nottinghamshire quit Labour over Starmer leadership
“Twenty councillors at a local authority in Nottinghamshire have quit Labour, saying the party has “abandoned traditional Labour values” under Keir Starmer’s leadership. The move means Labour has lost overall control of Broxtowe borough council, which it gained in 2023, and those defecting include the council leader, Milan Radulovic, who had been a party member for 42 years. In a statement, the councillors – who will now sit as part of a new Broxtowe Independents party – said: “It is with a heavy heart that we can no longer be in a party that has abandoned traditional Labour values under Keir Starmer’s leadership.” They were particularly critical of the cut to the winter fuel allowance, the bus fare increase and Labour’s plans to scrap two-tier county and district councils…” – The Guardian
Clegg exits Facebook as big tech ‘bows to Trump’
“Sir Nick Clegg has announced he will leave his role at Facebook-owner Meta weeks before Donald Trump returns to power. As Silicon Valley’s big tech companies seek to align themselves with the incoming Republican administration, the former Liberal Democrat leader said it was “the right time” to leave. Sir Nick, who spent seven years at Meta on a reported salary of more than £10m, will be replaced by Joel Kaplan, a Meta lobbyist with deep links in the Republican party. In a nod to the incoming US administration, Sir Nick said Mr Kaplan was “clearly the right person for the right job at the right time”. The former Liberal Democrat leader joined Facebook in 2018 as president of global affairs, the most prominent position at Meta after Mr Zuckerberg.” – The Daily Telegraph
News in Brief:
- Phillipson wants no alternatives to expose her education mistakes – Iain Mansfield, The Spectator
- Why is Labour rejecting a national grooming gangs inquiry? – Tom Jones, UnHerd
- The nihilism of newcomers – Chris Bayliss, The Critic
- Starmer is being duped by the dirigiste EU – Eliot Wilson, CapX
- Could Trump end the war in Ukraine this year? – Lawrence Freedman, The New Statesman
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