Tory leadership candidate and Prime Ministerial hopeful Rishi Sunak has told GB News how political correctness is getting in the way of Britain tackling grooming gangs.
In an exclusive interview with Esther McVey and Philip Davies, the former chancellor outlined how he would tackle grooming gangs in the UK.
Stories of vulnerable young girls being sexually exploited in towns like Oldham, Rotherham and Telford have continued to surface in the last few years.
Enquiries have found police and councils have failed to protect children in these areas, and Mr Sunak has vowed to tackle this "horrific crime" as a priority if he is made Prime Minister, and not to let political correctness stand in the way.
Rishi Sunak speaking exclusively to GB News
GB News
Mr Sunak outlined his steps to tackle grooming gangs
He told GB News: "We all know the reason that people don't focus on it, it's because of political correctness.
"They're scared of calling out the fact that there's a particular group of people that are perpetuating these crimes and I think that's wrong."
He added: "I'm not going to let political correctness stand in the way of tackling this absolutely horrific crime. I want to call it out for what it is and I want to tackle it properly.
"A Conservative government should not be letting political correctness stand in the way of keeping people safe."
Mr Sunak pledged to create a new taskforce focussed on grooming gangs, and a new life sentence for culprits, with very limited options for parole.
He also said police will be required to prioritise grooming gangs and record the ethnicity of those involved, something they are currently not doing.
Philip Davies and Esther McVey
GB News
He also told Philip and Esther: "I have two young girls who are nine and 11 and I think for too long we just haven't focussed on this issue.
"It’s a horrific crime that is affecting not just girls in a few places, it’s far more pervasive across the country than we all realise."
Despite Liz Truss opening up a wide lead in YouGov polls, Mr Sunak believes the race is still wide open.
Ms Truss won a 34-percentage point lead over Mr Sunak in a YouGov poll of party members, before a survey for the ConservativeHome website released on Wednesday put her 32 points ahead.
Mr Sunak said: "I have support from all parts of the party, I’m getting out and about among the people. This race is closer than the polls make out."
You can watch the full interview on Saturday morning from 10 with Esther & Phil.