'Dangerous space!' Charlie Peters reveals rape gang inquiry 'fear' as Keir Starmer under pressure to take action

He explained: "I was quite optimistic in June, so were many of the survivors and campaigners and their families that I spoke to.

"We are now in a very dangerous space, I think, where nine months on from the first announcement of local inquiries, I now start to fear that this national inquiry will either come in a different format to what was promised or be watered down enormously."

Directly addressing concerns about Oldham Council being invited to engage in a so-called Truth Project, Charlie added: "Instead of having a statutory power-led inquiry, where people can be dragged in front and forced to give testimony, there is just a process of truth and reconciliation. Share your experiences and let's all move on.

"There is no moving on from this. This is a life of pain. This is a life of suffering that you cannot move past if it's not recognised, if it isn't actioned."

Charlie was joined at the Prosperity Institute event by Tory MP Katie Lam and Open Justice founder Melisa Tourt.

Ms Lam and Ms Tourt echoed Charlie's concerns about the probe, with the pair putting pressure on Sir Keir Starmer's Government to confirm key details about the inquiry.

"I worry that a lot of the framing that the Government is going with is that it's a victim-led approach," Ms Tourt said.

"I don't think it's fair to victims to have heavily traumatised people leading the framework looking into what they went through.

"It's incredibly traumatic and their experience won't get those more zoomed out parts, national aspects and also the culture drivers, the ethnic drivers."

Ms Lam added: "It is absolutely critical that the terms of reference for the public inquiry, which haven't yet been published, are right.

"We still don't know what it will look like... I worry that what essentially they're going to do is have local inquiries with a co-ordination function. That is not good enough."

It has been more than 110 days since Sir Keir confirmed that the Government would commission a national inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal.

The Prime Minister, who had previously accused those demanding an inquiry of jumping on a "far-right bandwagon", confirmed a probe would take place after reading Baroness Casey's damning 197-page report.

"She's come to the view there should be a national inquiry on the basis of what she's seen," Sir Keir said at the time.

"I've read every single word of her report, and I'm going to accept her recommendation. I think that's the right thing to do, on the basis of what she has put in her audit.

"I asked her to do that job, to double-check on this. She's done that job for me, and having read her report… I shall now implement her recommendation."

However, the Home Office now admits that it is still looking to appoint a chair and taking time to identify the areas which will be included in the investigation.

“We are getting on with this work, while taking the time needed to get it right," a Home Office spokesman said.

"Work is underway to appoint a chair who will play a central role in shaping the inquiry, identifying the first local areas to be investigated and setting out how it will work alongside existing locally-led initiatives.”

Analysis by GB News found that grooming gangs were prevalent in at least 50 towns and cities across the UK.

Despite cases being recorded in Ilford and Barking, Charlie pointed out that London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan continues to reject calls for the capital to be included in an investigation.

He said: "The answer is yes, London does have a problem. We are still working on that, gathering that testimony, but more and more people are coming forward now, very bravely, for the first time."

Sir Sadiq has rejected calls for a grooming gangs probe in London seven times.

Conservatives in London had put pressure on City Hall to spend £4.5million on an independent inquiry into the exploitation of children in the capital.

When he was being grilled by Tory Assembly Member Susan Hall, Sir Sadiq refused to answer whether grooming gangs operate in London.

Sir Sadiq instead said: "I am unclear, chair, what is meant by the question. If she could spell it out, I can answer."