Dominic Cummings blows lid on ‘absolute desperation’ to cover-up grooming gangs scandal: ‘I witnessed it’

He explained that whilst the typical Whitehall cliche of "it's a cock-up, not a conspiracy" usually holds true, child abuse represents a significant exception.

"The one big exception I would say is regarding child abuse, where there are actually multiple conspiracies constantly and largely successful," Cummings stated.

He revealed he witnessed this pattern repeatedly whilst working at the Department for Education, where the issue had been "parked" by Gordon Brown and Ed Balls.

Cummings detailed a specific incident where officials attempted to suppress reporting on the grooming gangs scandal.

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"What happened on the gangs is that when Andrew Norfolk at the time started to try and report the issue, the council went to officials in the Department for Education and said, 'we want to bring a judicial review to have the courts suppress The Times's reporting and not allow it to happen'," he revealed.

Some DfE officials who "routinely organise cover-ups on such issues" supported this attempt, according to Cummings.

However, he and other officials opposed this move, advising Michael Gove to warn the council that the department would appear in court supporting The Times rather than the council.

This intervention prevented the judicial review and allowed Norfolk to publish his reporting.

The Conservative Party has maintained pressure for a national inquiry into grooming gangs, with the party tabling an amendment to the Government's Crime and Policing Bill.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp stated: "The Conservative Party will not stop fighting for justice for the victims of these heinous crimes."

The proposed amendment would require ministers to establish an inquiry within three months to examine gang-based exploitation and potential failures by police, government and other authorities.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch recently met with grooming gang survivor Fiona, describing it as a "phenomenal meeting" that reinforced her commitment to the issue.

"This issue touches on two points for me - one, women's rights. Violence against women are physically, we are more vulnerable, and a lot of people pretend that that's not the case," Badenoch said.

Badenoch expressed broader concerns about integration and cultural issues, stating: "We cannot have societies where we've got lots of different racial and religious groups doing their own thing, protecting their members from being investigated for crimes."

She criticised Labour's handling of the issue, suggesting political considerations were influencing their response.

"I think that he makes a very good point," Badenoch said, referring to Trevor Phillips's suggestion that Labour might be "nervous about losing the Muslim vote."

She accused safeguarding minister Jess Phillips of being "scared" and "in over her head," adding: "This is someone who claimed to be a campaigner for women's rights, but when the time came, what she showed was a lack of bravery."

Badenoch emphasised that "not all cultures are equal" and called for a "shared, dominant culture that binds everyone together."