Grooming Gangs - A Response From

Mark Conway - Deputy Leader

Grooming Gangs and their Protectorates.

The first and most important thing to recognise is the abhorrent nature of Child Sexual Exploitation. This has left so many victims without a voice and their stories have been dismissed and minimised by social commentators and politicians, whom seek to blame anyone but the perpetrators.

The grooming gangs and the protection of them is not a party political issue, in so much as, all those who have been in parliament during the last 40 years and before have covered up these issues. These issues are not exclusive to one political party. Any of those elected to or appointed to these chambers has had ample opportunity to continuously and vigorously push for justice for the victims. Instead they have, as so often is done, made victims out of perpetrators.

The current outcry stems from what is a cover up for those who it may be politically sensitive to reveal. This stems from a failed open door immigration policy, a diversity policy, an equality policy and the fact that over the years parliamentarians and their associates have also been caught in such depravity.

We have had an inquest which the majority of people commenting, believe did not go far enough and was akin to people marking their own homework. It was not aimed at the fifty or so towns, where gangs formed of a majority of Pakistani and Afghan men, were organising the rape and torture of predominantly white, but also, Sikh and Hindu girls. The report was limited in it’s discussion of the size of the issue. This deeply flawed inquiry which has seen no action from the conservatives, will Labour offer anymore than a few token arrests? Doubtful.

Would a fresh inquiry reveal anymore information?

A truly independent inquiry might.

Would the recommendations of such an inquiry be implemented?

We believe that is up to all of us to put pressure on the government to ensure they are.

It may be an uncomfortable truth, it is for me, but we should have demanded more action from the initial inquiry, earlier and persisted with our demands until they were met.

We as a nation, have the chance to persuade our government that it is in the national interest to act on the initial inquiry now and to demand the questions that weren’t asked are asked now.

Make no mistake, what has been uncovered to date is the tip of the iceberg. We must have the full problem shown and individuals as well as departments made accountable.

We cleared the prisons of rapists for those who posted on social media, it’s time we put that in reverse.