British MPs voted against launching a national inquiry into the UK grooming gang scandal on Wednesday, objecting to the way the vote was being carried out – and amid international scrutiny of the crisis led by Elon Musk.
The House of Commons voted on an amendment to call for a statutory inquiry into the scandal – where it was revealed that men, mainly of Pakistani heritage, had sexually abused girls in towns across northern England for years.
The measure was an amendment to the children’s well-being and schools bill supported by the Labor government. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned that voting in favor of the amendment would kill the overall bill to which it was attached. The amendment was rejected in the Labour-controlled House by 364 votes to 111, Sky News reports.
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“We need action now,” Starmer said before the vote. “What cannot be tolerated is that members opposite this afternoon will reject a bill to protect children.” He described it as a “disastrous amendment”.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer addresses members at the Labor Party conference in Liverpool, England on Tuesday. (AP)
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch pushed back.
“Be a leader, not a lawyer,” she told him, as he said a new inquiry should look into the issues surrounding the cities.
“The national inquiry is important because this issue is systemic,” he said, adding that it would involve “local and national officials, police, prosecutors and politicians.”
“These interlinked issues cannot be covered by local inquiries alone,” he said.
Previous reports had found evidence of “horrific” abuse, with more than 1,400 girls abused between 1997 and 2013 in Rotherham alone. Reports also found that officers feared fostering racism in dealing with crimes given the ethnic composition of criminals. The scandal gave rise to concerns about multiculturalism and mass immigration.
The issue came into the spotlight again recently when local officials in Oldham called on the government to launch a national inquiry into the town’s handling of the crisis. A 2022 report found that children had been failed by authorities, but that there was no coverup, despite concerns that this would be exploited by right-wing activists.
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The UK government rejected the request, saying that any investigation should be conducted at a local level. In turn, there were calls for a national investigation from Badenoch and Elon Musk.
Palace of Westminster, Houses of Parliament, in the center of London.
“Across the country, thousands of girls were tortured and sexually abused at the hands of men who treated them as objects to be used and disposed of, leaving many lives destroyed forever. The Prime Minister referred to previous investigations “He is right, there have been investigations into child sexual abuse, but this was not about the rape gang scandal,” Bedenoch said.
Musk, who has been pushing for the issue on the issue – even calling for the prosecution of top UK government officials, including Starmer – appealed again to the British public ahead of the vote.
President-elect Trump and Elon Musk attend the SpaceX Starship launch in Brownsville, Texas on November 19, 2024. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
“Please call your Member of Parliament and tell them that the millions of little girls in Britain who were and continue to be systematically, horrifically gang raped, deserve some justice in this world,” Musk said on Twitter on Wednesday. are entitled to.”
“This is extremely important, otherwise it will just keep happening,” he said.
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Starmer had previously criticized “lies and misinformation” without naming Musk directly, and accused UK politicians of jumping on the “hygiene of the far-right”.
On Wednesday, he again accused Badenoch of jumping on a bandwagon and urged lawmakers to ensure the sweeping bill passes.
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“One of the provisions of the Bill is to protect children who are out of school today and to prevent abuse of those children out of school. I urge members of the Opposition to disregard the misleading leadership of the Leader of the Opposition and actually I urge you to vote.” Important bill.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
