When it comes to a U-turn, Sir Keir Starmer’s cowardice knows no limits. He knew his line that only those from the ‘’far-right’’ wanted a national inquiry into Pakistani grooming gangs, simply wouldn’t hold.
So, instead of doing the right thing, the democratic thing, and telling Parliament he had made a mistake and the nation needed to know why this abuse of thousands of white girls had been swept under the carpet, he waited until he was actually on a plane to Canada before briefing journalists about his change of heart.
As Rod Liddle in the Sunday Times points out, this U-turn has taken longer than usual. This one was six months in the making. Normally, it’s a week or so max.
I suspect, as the evidence of the inquiry comes forward, we will all understand why Starmer thought and prayed that the whole thing would go away.
The reality is that most of the rapes and sexual abuse happened in towns runs by Labour councils. Places like Rotherham and Rochdale.
And thanks to this being a statutory inquiry, councillors, social services people and police officers will be compelled to give evidence.
Baroness Casey, whose month-long audit into the grooming gangs led to Starmer’s U-turn, says the abuse of the white girls was ignored because the authorities feared they would be accused of being racist.
I have no doubt that will be true. And I’m sure when the inquiry’s report is published (God knows how long that will take), there will be the same old rubbish published about a) this must never happen again and b) lessons must be learned.
A reckoning is coming but one guilty party will be spared the rape gangs inquiry - Kelvin MacKenzie
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The main lesson should be that our children need to be protected from a subset of Muslim men.
The problem, and another big reason Starmer didn’t want this inquiry, is that the Labour Party relies on Muslim votes to survive.
The good news for us and the bad news for Jess Phillips, who has the important job of protecting our girls for Labour, will get the boot from the voters of Yardley in Birmingham, which predominantly houses followers of Islam. How sad.
There will be around 30 constituencies which are currently Labour, which could see Muslim voters either switch to an Islamic candidate or, incredibly, to the Greens.
But to my mind one of the guilty parties who won’t be cross-examined but should be, is mainstream media with the notable exception of Andrew Norfolk, the Times journalist who single-handedly exposed the rape hangs.
Outside of him, virtually nobody in journalism showed any interest in what those white girls had to endure.
News sites were deserts. Or, if they did carry an article, it would be around the ‘’racism’’ of those who were supporting the white girls. The Guardian was first among equals for that particular trick.
The BBC and ITV virtually never covered the abuse. Last night on the BBC 10 pm news, a package was done about a white girl who had been abused. But instead of linking it to the Pakistan scandal (the big story that night), the abusers were white men.
Look, I accept there are more white sex attackers. We are 82 per cent white compared with 2.7 per cent Pakistanis in this country. But if you compare it on percentage terms, it is those of Pakistani heritage who are doing much more of the abusing.
Finally, let’s have tributes to those who did fight for those white girls who had pretty poor and unloved lives in council homes, before they were picked up by these vile groomers of predominantly Pakistani heritage.
Pride of place goes to Tommy Robinson. Not everybody’s cup of tea, but he was a lone voice for years in fighting for these girls to be heard.
Next must come Elon Musk, who tweeted about this back at the turn of the year, giving the campaign the rocket fuel it needed.
Rupert Lowe and Charlie Peters of GB News must receive honourable mentions. I see Charlie is reporting that the scum who run Pakistan are saying they will only receive deportees from the UK if we allow Pakistan International Airline planes back into the country.
PIA was banned in 2020 after its safety was questioned following a plane crash in which 97 people died.
Knowing Starmer there will be another U-turn shortly.
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