Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander was fiercely grilled on GB News by host Ben Leo over Labour's national grooming gangs inquiry, as he questioned the true scale of the investigation.
In a major U-turn by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced a national statutory inquiry into the rape gangs scandal.
Detailing a new report into the scandal by Baroness Casey, Cooper stated that the review sheds light on the "continued failure" to protect children.
Pressed by host Ellie Costello on whether she believes Labour's sudden change of stance will deter survivors from engaging in the investigations, Alexander denied that would be the case.
Heidi Alexander was quizzed by Ben Leo on what makes the new inquiry a 'national' investigation
GB News
Alexander explained: "I think we've been clear that the most important thing for this Government is the protection of vulnerable children. And we need to stamp out this vile crime that is being perpetrated by this.
"We need to ensure justice for the victims who have endured being ignored for far too long."
Grilling Alexander on the details of the inquiry, host Ben Leo questioned how the investigation can be a national inquiry if Whitehall and Parliament representatives will be exempt from any line of questioning.
Alexander explained: "I can tell you that it is being set up under the Inquiries Act. It will be a national inquiry with the ability to compel evidence from individuals and compel evidence being provided by organisations.
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Keir Starmer has been widely criticised for his U-turn on the grooming gangs scandal
Getty"It will sit alongside the local inquiries so that we can provide some oversight and overview to it, but it is going to be a national inquiry set up under the Inquiries Act."
Admitting that it will need to "operate in a slightly different way" in order to speed up the inquiry, Alexander stressed: "When you think about the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse that took place under the last Government, that took seven years, and I don't think anyone would suggest for one moment that we can wait another seven years to get to the bottom of this, and so we probably do need to operate it in a slightly different way.
"But there will be no stone left unturned in providing justice for the victims of these heinous and horrific crimes."
Alexander sharply criticised the Conservatives for failing to act on the grooming gangs issue during their time in Government: "The Conservative Party, who were in Government for 14 years, had 20 months between the publication of the Jay report, which followed the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.
Alexander told GB News that the Conservatives had '14 years' to act on the grooming gangs scandal
GB News
"There were 20 months before the general election happened, they took precisely zero action. When we came in, we got on with implementing those recommendations from the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.
"The Home Secretary in January also ordered police forces across the country to reopen closed cases, and as a result of that, over 800 cases that relate to grooming gangs and child sexual exploitation have been reopened."
Defending Starmer's U-turn on holding the inquiry, Alexander concluded: "Louise Casey herself, at the start of that process, said that she at the beginning didn't think that there was a need for an inquiry. She came to a different conclusion as she went around the country and collated evidence.
"She then made a recommendation to the Prime Minister in a report that she submitted about a week ago, and within days the Prime Minister reviewed that report, read every page of it, and said that he will be accepting all of the recommendations."
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