Now Labour's caved, the rape gangs inquiry must pass five tests. The stakes could not be higher - Chris Philp

Not because he wants to do the right thing, but because he’s been forced to.

Child rape gangs were covered up for too long, simply because the perpetrators were predominately of Pakistani heritage. These sickening crimes were deliberately covered up because those in authority were more concerned about so-called community relations than about protecting young girls.

When he smeared those pushing for justice, Keir Starmer was perpetuating the same attitude that led to the cover up of the evil child rape gangs' scandal in the first place.

One of the things that struck me about this scandal was that the authorities were not just negligent or didn't investigate properly, they deliberately and intentionally covered up these crimes.

The mother of a rape gang victim who attended our press conference on Tuesday said the police told her to ‘shut up’ otherwise her son, who was being abused, would suffer consequences. In my view, many of these people, including police, social workers, councillors, and council workers, who covered this up, are guilty of misconduct in public office.

They need to be prosecuted and, frankly, sent to prison. And that needs to happen alongside the inquiry. It can't wait until afterwards. This is our first test.

Our second test is that the inquiry needs to cover all towns and cities that were affected. We know some towns like Bradford have refused to cooperate with any inquiry at all, even to this day. No town or city where grooming gangs were operating should be overlooked – they must all be investigated.

Thirdly, all the local inquiries must have statutory powers to compel the production of evidence, and the inquiry needs to be genuinely independent so the cover-up can't continue. Survivors and their families cannot trust those councils who have been covering this up actively for so many years to investigate themselves.

Next, the inquiry must look at the role of ethnicity. We cannot shy away from the fact that the perpetrators were mainly of Pakistani heritage. As Baroness Casey’s report says: ‘a significant proportion of rape gang cases appear to involve suspects who are non-UK nationals and/or who are claiming asylum in the UK’.

Finally, the inquiry must start soon. We need to see the terms of reference and the chair appointed by Parliament’s summer recess, which is towards the end of July. And we need survivors to be at the heart of this. They need to be consulted about how this inquiry is conducted and kept regularly updated. The inquiry must be driven by the survivors, not just imposed by the central government.

The rape gangs scandal represents one of the most horrific, institutional betrayals of vulnerable young girls in this country’s history. Our response to it must be full, fearless, and driven by justice.

I want to thank the survivors and their families for having the courage and bravery to speak out on behalf of thousands of young girls and boys who suffered and are suffering terrible abuse. We owe it to them to keep fighting, not just for a proper inquiry, but for a system that never again prioritises political correctness or reputational risk over the safety of children.