Rachel Reeves has defended Keir Starmer’s decision to launch a national inquiry into historic child sexual exploitation after months of pressure, saying that victims of grooming gangs have always been the government’s priority.
The chancellor said the prime minister was not concerned with “grandstanding” and had instead wanted to “assure himself” that a full public inquiry was necessary. She insisted that ministers had “never dismissed the concerns of victims”, even as Labour previously resisted calls for a wide-ranging investigation.
