Labour peer accused of mocking grooming gang inquiry: 'Just because I'm Muslim!'

The Labour peer says, “I’m an enabler” to which Mr Abell returns, “Yeah, you are. A groomer!"

Baroness Hazarika replied: "A groomer! Oh my god. Just because I'm Muslim. Stop it."

Mr Abell responded: "Don't groom me! Don't groom me, Ayesha."

She added: "There will be an inquiry, a judge-led inquiry into me right now."

The pair are laughing during the 24-second exchange on the topic.

Whilst Baroness Hazarika has flirted with a comedic career - in 2003, she was a runner-up in Channel 4’s stand-up competition “So You Think You’re Funny”, it appears that many did not think she was in Sunday’s exchange.

Marilyn Hawes, founder and CEO of Freedom from Abuse, told GB News she was "speechless" when she listened to the exchange, calling it "so inappropriate" and "hideous".

She said: "This is typical of privileged people who have no idea about the reality of this issue - they are not part of the real world.

"They have and will never have any idea of what it is like to be raped by 1,000 men as some of these girls have been.

"I don't know why or how she is Baroness."

Freedom of Abuse is a community interest company, aims to reduce and call out sexual and domestic abuse, as well as harassment, stalking and bullying.

An outcry about the exchange also filled social media.

A man on X, who posted a recording of the exchange: “It’s awful that these presenters see the Pakistani rape gangs, one of the biggest scandals in Britain, as something to mock.

“If the races were reversed, Labour Peer Ayesha Hazarika wouldn’t dare laugh about it.”

One woman weighed in, writing on X: “Why is she making light of an extremely serious inquiry?”

Another individual said they had lodged a complaint with Ofcom.

Others shared their thoughts on the exchange, regarding it as a “disgrace” and called for Times Radio to investigate the incident and for apologies to be made.

For decades, organised networks of men sexually exploited young, vulnerable girls and women across the UK, with particularly infamous cases in Rotherham, Rochdale, Telford, Oxford and Oldham.

Victims of grooming gangs were typically young teenagers, with little support, often in care.

Previous local inquiries, such as in Rotherham in 2014, found that police, local authorities and social services had repeatedly failed to act, in some cases out of fear of being regarded as racist.

A national audit published in June 2025 - spearheaded by Baroness Casey, a crossbench peer - found systemic facilities and institutional paralysis had allowed grooming gangs to operate for many years.

Her findings concluded that a statutory independent inquiry was required.

The inquiry formally began on March 31 this year, after Labour peer, Baroness Anne Longfield, finalised the terms of reference - essentially outlining the full scope of what the inquiry will examine - after interviewing survivors of the gangs.

It confirmed that it will examine whether ethnicity, culture or religion played a part in the scandal and the institutional response to it.

The terms will be laid before Parliament on April 13.

Oldham was confirmed as among one of the first areas to receive a local probe.

The inquiry has powers to compel witnesses and documents, with any evidence of professional wrongdoing referred to Operation Beaconport, the national policing operation reviewing hundreds of previously closed investigations.

It has a maximum duration of three years, concluding no later than March 2029 and a budget of £65 million.

Findings will be published progressively rather than held until a final report.

GB News has reached out to Baroness Hazarika, Mr Abell and Times Radio for comment.