Rachel Reeves defends Starmer’s delay in launching grooming gangs inquiry

<p>Chancellor says PM not ‘grandstanding’ and wanted to ‘assure himself’ that national public inquiry was necessary</p><p>Rachel Reeves has defended Keir Starmer’s decision to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jun/14/keir-starmer-national-inquiry-grooming-gangs">launch a national inquiry</a> into historic child sexual exploitation after months of pressure, saying that victims of grooming gangs have always been the government’s priority.</p><p>The chancellor said the prime minister was not concerned with “grandstanding” and had instead wanted to “assure himself” that a full public inquiry was necessary. She insisted that ministers had “never dismissed the concerns of victims”, even as Labour previously resisted calls for a wide-ranging investigation.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jun/15/rachel-reeves-defends-starmers-delay-in-launching-inquiry-into-grooming-gangs">Continue reading...</a>