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A newly-announced full statutory inquiry into group-based child sexual abuse across England and Wales must centre on the needs and voices of the survivors.
Too many were failed by the institutions meant to protect them — police forces, local authorities, and social care services.
These failures deserve to be scrutinised and those responsible held to account.
But let me say this as clearly as possible: justice must never come at the cost of inflaming racism.
Five books are gone – 45 to go!
Just click on the image, make your donation
and provide your details!
Even before the ink on Keir Starmer’s announcement was dry, far-right agitators were rushing to claim the inquiry as a personal victory.
Nigel Farage called it a “welcome U-turn” and warned against a whitewash. Rupert Lowe of Reform UK claimed “none of this would have happened” without Elon Musk — who, in turn, replied with a heart emoji, as though the matter were a popularity contest on social media rather than a national tragedy of systemic child abuse.
And of course, we can expect Tommy Robinson — real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, convicted criminal and serial inciter of hatred — to portray the move as validation of his years-long anti-Muslim crusade.
Let’s be clear: these people are not interested in justice.
They are not interested in safeguarding children.
They are interested in scapegoating ethnic minorities, weaponising trauma, and turning public concern into racial division.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
The far-right hijack: from Rotherham to X.com
The real danger here is that a serious national inquiry — with the potential to reveal how institutions systematically failed vulnerable girls — may now be co-opted by those who have spent years distorting the issue for their own gain.
We’ve seen this before. In Rotherham, Rochdale, and Telford, the heinous crimes committed by groups of British Pakistani men became the singular media focus, despite ample evidence that most perpetrators of child sexual abuse in the UK are white men, often acting alone or within families.
The obsession with ethnicity — rather than institutional failure or victim support — has created a false public perception that grooming is somehow a uniquely “foreign” problem.
This is not only untrue, it is dangerous.
It diverts attention away from other victims and other offenders, and creates the toxic impression that some abuse “matters more” than others — based on who committed it.
It also lets institutions off the hook. Blaming “cultural drivers” and minority communities may be easier than confronting the deep-rooted misogyny, social neglect, and bureaucratic indifference that allowed this abuse to persist for so long — in every region, and across every demographic.
Get my free guide: “10 Political Lies You Were Sold This Decade” — just subscribe to our email list here:
👉 https://voxpoliticalonline.com
Keir Starmer’s political calculus: leadership or capitulation?
Starmer’s decision follows a rapid review by Baroness Louise Casey, who initially doubted the need for a national inquiry but has since changed her view.
He insists he’s simply following her recommendation — not caving to outside pressure.
But let’s not ignore the political backdrop.
Earlier this year, Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper resisted calls for such an inquiry, arguing that the work of the seven-year Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), led by Alexis Jay, had covered the ground.
Yet now, after a barrage of criticism — including from Elon Musk of all people — the Prime Minister has suddenly changed course.
Leadership means standing by your convictions when they’re right, not when they become politically convenient.
What the data really tells us
It’s worth revisiting the facts, since the loudest voices rarely seem interested in them.
Multiple serious studies — including those by CEOP, the Home Office, and independent watchdogs — have repeatedly found that while certain high-profile grooming cases involved groups of Asian men, the overwhelming majority of child sexual abuse in the UK is committed by white men, and most abuse is committed by individuals, not organised gangs.
Baroness Casey’s audit may find that group-based abuse has specific characteristics worth investigating — and it should. But group-based does not mean racially based, and it is deeply irresponsible to pretend otherwise.
Five books are gone – 45 to go!
Just click on the image, make your donation
and provide your details!
A call for responsible scrutiny, not racial blame
We should welcome scrutiny of institutions that ignored victims or downplayed abuse.
We should demand answers from councils and police forces that were more afraid of offending community leaders or upsetting their public image than of protecting children.
But we must also guard against another kind of failure: allowing the far right to dictate the terms of the conversation.
We must not let them turn this inquiry into a theatre of blame, where complex problems are reduced to hateful slogans and survivors’ stories are twisted into tools of propaganda.
The Labour government has a moral obligation now to frame this inquiry with care, clarity, and courage.
That means refusing to single out one ethnic group for scrutiny.
It means protecting minority communities from the backlash that will inevitably follow if the messaging is careless.
And it means upholding the principle that every victim matters — no matter who they are or who hurt them.
Share this post:
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Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
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Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
Justice for grooming victims must not be twisted into a tool of racism
Share this post:
A newly-announced full statutory inquiry into group-based child sexual abuse across England and Wales must centre on the needs and voices of the survivors.
Too many were failed by the institutions meant to protect them — police forces, local authorities, and social care services.
These failures deserve to be scrutinised and those responsible held to account.
But let me say this as clearly as possible: justice must never come at the cost of inflaming racism.
Five books are gone – 45 to go!
Just click on the image, make your donation
and provide your details!
Even before the ink on Keir Starmer’s announcement was dry, far-right agitators were rushing to claim the inquiry as a personal victory.
Nigel Farage called it a “welcome U-turn” and warned against a whitewash. Rupert Lowe of Reform UK claimed “none of this would have happened” without Elon Musk — who, in turn, replied with a heart emoji, as though the matter were a popularity contest on social media rather than a national tragedy of systemic child abuse.
And of course, we can expect Tommy Robinson — real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, convicted criminal and serial inciter of hatred — to portray the move as validation of his years-long anti-Muslim crusade.
Let’s be clear: these people are not interested in justice.
They are not interested in safeguarding children.
They are interested in scapegoating ethnic minorities, weaponising trauma, and turning public concern into racial division.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
The far-right hijack: from Rotherham to X.com
The real danger here is that a serious national inquiry — with the potential to reveal how institutions systematically failed vulnerable girls — may now be co-opted by those who have spent years distorting the issue for their own gain.
We’ve seen this before. In Rotherham, Rochdale, and Telford, the heinous crimes committed by groups of British Pakistani men became the singular media focus, despite ample evidence that most perpetrators of child sexual abuse in the UK are white men, often acting alone or within families.
The obsession with ethnicity — rather than institutional failure or victim support — has created a false public perception that grooming is somehow a uniquely “foreign” problem.
This is not only untrue, it is dangerous.
It diverts attention away from other victims and other offenders, and creates the toxic impression that some abuse “matters more” than others — based on who committed it.
It also lets institutions off the hook. Blaming “cultural drivers” and minority communities may be easier than confronting the deep-rooted misogyny, social neglect, and bureaucratic indifference that allowed this abuse to persist for so long — in every region, and across every demographic.
Get my free guide: “10 Political Lies You Were Sold This Decade” — just subscribe to our email list here:
👉 https://voxpoliticalonline.com
Keir Starmer’s political calculus: leadership or capitulation?
Starmer’s decision follows a rapid review by Baroness Louise Casey, who initially doubted the need for a national inquiry but has since changed her view.
He insists he’s simply following her recommendation — not caving to outside pressure.
But let’s not ignore the political backdrop.
Earlier this year, Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper resisted calls for such an inquiry, arguing that the work of the seven-year Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), led by Alexis Jay, had covered the ground.
Yet now, after a barrage of criticism — including from Elon Musk of all people — the Prime Minister has suddenly changed course.
Leadership means standing by your convictions when they’re right, not when they become politically convenient.
What the data really tells us
It’s worth revisiting the facts, since the loudest voices rarely seem interested in them.
Multiple serious studies — including those by CEOP, the Home Office, and independent watchdogs — have repeatedly found that while certain high-profile grooming cases involved groups of Asian men, the overwhelming majority of child sexual abuse in the UK is committed by white men, and most abuse is committed by individuals, not organised gangs.
Baroness Casey’s audit may find that group-based abuse has specific characteristics worth investigating — and it should. But group-based does not mean racially based, and it is deeply irresponsible to pretend otherwise.
Five books are gone – 45 to go!
Just click on the image, make your donation
and provide your details!
A call for responsible scrutiny, not racial blame
We should welcome scrutiny of institutions that ignored victims or downplayed abuse.
We should demand answers from councils and police forces that were more afraid of offending community leaders or upsetting their public image than of protecting children.
But we must also guard against another kind of failure: allowing the far right to dictate the terms of the conversation.
We must not let them turn this inquiry into a theatre of blame, where complex problems are reduced to hateful slogans and survivors’ stories are twisted into tools of propaganda.
The Labour government has a moral obligation now to frame this inquiry with care, clarity, and courage.
That means refusing to single out one ethnic group for scrutiny.
It means protecting minority communities from the backlash that will inevitably follow if the messaging is careless.
And it means upholding the principle that every victim matters — no matter who they are or who hurt them.
Share this post:
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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