Muslim campaigner explains why he pushed for rape gang inquiry as he warns those ‘with something to hide’

"Anyone who resists investigation into the violation of young children on such a scale has got something to hide. Our basic, moral reaction should be 'my God, we should look at this'," he said.

The Faith Matters founder, whose organisation works on integration and countering extremism, suggested that political figures may be avoiding scrutiny. "I suspect there are people in the political echelons who know they are going to end up answering some difficult questions," Mughal stated.

The issue of authorities avoiding action due to fears of racism has deep roots. When Labour MP Ann Cryer raised concerns about grooming gangs in her Keighley constituency in 2003, she faced severe backlash.

Her son, Lord Cryer, recently told peers that his mother "faced accusations that she was a racist and also received threatening notes and phone calls, leading police to install a panic alarm in her house."

Similar suppression occurred elsewhere. In 2004, Channel 4's documentary Edge of the City, which highlighted abuse in Bradford, was pulled following pressure from anti-racism groups.

Lord Gove revealed that as education secretary, he had to overrule Whitehall and council officials who attempted to block publication of information about a Rotherham victim in 2011.

Baroness Casey's recent report exposed widespread institutional failures in protecting children from grooming gangs. The review found that authorities had avoided pursuing child sex grooming gangs due to fears of being viewed as racist.

Casey discovered clear evidence of "over-representation among suspects of Asian and Pakistani-heritage men," though she noted that ethnicity data was missing for two-thirds of perpetrators.

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Her report stated bluntly: "It is not racist to examine the ethnicity of the offenders."

Following the report's findings, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the government would accept Casey's recommendation for a national statutory inquiry. "I have read every single word of her report and I am going to accept her recommendation," Starmer said whilst travelling to Canada.

The inquiry will have powers to compel witnesses to testify.

Mughal warned that avoiding difficult conversations about race has created the current crisis. "Are we going back to this whole issue of, 'my God, are we going to create racial divisions in our society?' We are way past that point," he said.

His comments echo Baroness Casey's own warnings about the consequences of delayed action. "As Baroness Casey said, if we dealt with these issues five, ten years ago, we wouldn't be having these ramifications today," Mughal noted.

He argued that the current situation arose precisely because authorities avoided confronting the issue. "We are now in this position because all these individuals were saying 'this could be racist, we don't want to talk about this'," he said.

Mughal stressed that addressing these issues promptly is essential to prevent "major ramifications down the line."