Thread by @StarkNakedBrief

It hasn’t really hit the news yet, but…

Labour is being accused of quietly "killing" the local grooming gang inquiries they promised back in January.

Critics say it’s a betrayal.

Here’s what they've done. Thread 🧵

Back in January, Labour Home Secretary Yvette Cooper promised the country that the government would act on the grooming gang scandal.

They pledged to conduct local inquiries. It wasn’t what certain survivors and commentators hoped for but it was something.

This week, however, we learned they’ve been quietly dismantling such promises.

On January 16th, Cooper announced a national plan to roll out local inquiries into child sexual exploitation across five key areas.

The announcement was backed by £5 million in funding and led by a respected figure: Tom Crowther KC, the barrister who chaired the Telford inquiry—which uncovered the sexual abuse of more than a thousand children over three decades.

They asked him to help create an independent national framework for victim-centred, locally led inquiries. He agreed. Days later, Cooper stood up in the Commons and formally announced his involvement.

But from that point on, the cracks began to show—revealing, perhaps, far more about Labour’s true intentions than they ever planned to admit.

Ahead of his committee appearance this week, and still unclear on what his role actually was, Crowther sought advice from former Conservative Justice Secretary Robert Buckland who passed him Jess Phillips’ number—the Labour's Minister for Safeguarding.

Crowther texted her, asking if she could clarify “what I was likely to be asked to do and when.”

By February 14th—five full weeks Cooper announced his involvement—Crowther still hadn’t received a formal update.

He called the Home Office directly and asked: “Do you still want me?”

The reply from somewhat of a bombshell.

An official informed him that the framework would now be drafted by ministers and advisers. Crowther’s role was no longer central—he could “comment” on a draft, once written, but that was it.

In short, it was now Labour-controlled—decisively not independent.

He asked the official to confirm the exchange in writing and was promised an email that day. Seven days passed. Nothing came.

Then, this reportedly happened:

A meeting with the Home Office has since been scheduled—only after Crowther went public with his concerns in the Committee meeting.

It’s an obvious point to make but, on many levels, it seems the government is less concerned with being responsive than looking responsive.

Then came the money.

Initially, £5 million had been set aside for five local inquiries. But on March 20th, it was revealed that this funding would no longer be allocated directly. Instead, councils would have to bid for it.

Leaving it up to councils to decide whether to “opt in” to a grooming inquiry is not only a vast knock down from what they promised; in certain areas, it’s a glaring conflict of interest.

Some of these councils are alleged to have been complicit—either through denial, incompetence, or outright cover-up in grooming/r*pe gang scandals.

Arguably, giving them the power to decide whether to subject themselves to scrutiny is akin to letting suspects choose whether they want to be investigated.

And even if a council does bid, they don’t have to conduct a "full inquiry".

Conservative MP Robbie Moore discovered in further correspondence with the Home Office that the money can now be used for “options” that fall “short of a full investigation”—such as “victim-survivor engagement”, “scrutiny,” and “follow-up”.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives—having spent 14 years in government without launching a full, independent inquiry—now says they will add an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill to mandate a statutory investigation.

The move, though no doubt in part politically-motivated, would force a vote in Parliament and—if passed—compel local authorities to participate in inquiries, regardless of whether they want to or not.

Outside Westminster, Rupert Lowe has launched his own private inquiry into the scandal. But without statutory powers, it can’t compel testimony, demand documents, or force cooperation from councils or police forces.

Still, Lowe remains undeterred. Writing in The Telegraph on Tuesday, he said: “We have to try. I want to be able to say I have done everything within my power to shine a light on the many horrors that still continue today.”

Full breakdown—including some interesting info on Jess Phillips' recent meets with grooming victims—with source links:

news.starknakedbrief.co.uk/p/labour-kills…

Going to struggle to forever forget this headline...