David Shipley

What is Labour doing to fix the grooming gangs scandal?

Jess Phillips (Getty Images)

Thank God for Katie Lam. Yesterday the government tried to conduct a grubby betrayal of thousands of young girls groomed and raped in towns and cities across the country. On the last day parliament sat before the Easter recess, Jess Phillips, the junior minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls spoke to an almost empty Commons to update MPs on the government’s plans to deal with ‘grooming gangs’. Few MPs were present.

Phillips assured her colleagues that Labour are developing ‘a new best practice framework to support local authorities that want to undertake… local inquiries’. A meagre £5 million will be available for local authorities should they wish to investigate organised child rape clans in their areas.

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