Labour has come under fire after refusing to hold a public inquiry into historic sexual abuse by grooming gangs in Oldham.

Could we possibly stick to the title of this thread as there is already a thread on Musk.

This whole subject has been swept under the carpet for far too long. Those who were well aware of what was happening should now be made to account for themselves. If those responsible had been brought to justice at the time, that would have been the end of it. As it was, they were given the green light and the practice spread to other towns.
The Labour party has been forced into dealing with this matter simply because of outside pressure.
Just Welby turned a blind eye to child sex abuse and has been forced to resign. Those who did nothing to stop the so-called 'grooming gangs' should be named, shamed and forced to resign from whatever position they hold.
I do hope this is a sign of the wind of change in this country. It's well over-due.

Calls for yet another public enquiry are simply Reform weaponizng the issue and the Tories running to catch up. Implementing previous recommendations is the answer (which the Tories failed to do while in office). Ignore Musk who is ill-informed.

petra

Weaty

Where are all the parents of these young girls? No mention of their
responsibility. Do they not talk to their
children or wonder where they are?

I’ll keep this short otherwise I might do damage because I’m f-%#@£g angry at your comment😡
Do yourself a favour and watch Three Girls then you’ll know how those parents suffered.
Not that you’ll care.

Thank you for making this comment, everybody should watch Three Girls and then they will understand the appalling circumstances these girls were in, to keep them quiet the girls and their families were threatened with rape, arson and murder.

Weaty not all families are like The Waltons you know.

Musk is mentioned in the title of this thread. He is mentioned twice. The OP stands with him, and his attack on the politician Jess Phillips, who some victims state has been helping and supporting them for years.

mum2three

Could we possibly stick to the title of this thread as there is already a thread on Musk.

This whole subject has been swept under the carpet for far too long. Those who were well aware of what was happening should now be made to account for themselves. If those responsible had been brought to justice at the time, that would have been the end of it. As it was, they were given the green light and the practice spread to other towns.
The Labour party has been forced into dealing with this matter simply because of outside pressure.
Just Welby turned a blind eye to child sex abuse and has been forced to resign. Those who did nothing to stop the so-called 'grooming gangs' should be named, shamed and forced to resign from whatever position they hold.
I do hope this is a sign of the wind of change in this country. It's well over-due.

Why are you not trying to call to account the failure of the Conservative Party to act in all this time? When called upon, they said "there's an inquiry". And there was, and it reported in 2022. Most of the difficulties were systemic. What is the point on spending another billion pounds inquiry instead of spending the money on making sure it cant happen another time?

Jane43

petra

Weaty

Where are all the parents of these young girls? No mention of their
responsibility. Do they not talk to their
children or wonder where they are?

I’ll keep this short otherwise I might do damage because I’m f-%#@£g angry at your comment😡
Do yourself a favour and watch Three Girls then you’ll know how those parents suffered.
Not that you’ll care.

Thank you for making this comment, everybody should watch Three Girls and then they will understand the appalling circumstances these girls were in, to keep them quiet the girls and their families were threatened with rape, arson and murder.

Weaty not all families are like The Waltons you know.

Where are all the parents, etc...

... was a comment borne out of ignorance of the facts as anyone who's watched "Three Girls" will know.

It fits with the victim-blaming that was part of the whole problem during the investigations.

Ill-informed comments on any aspects of child sexual abuse will do damned-all to help the victims.

Neither will politicisation of the abuse.

Maybe there should be a public inquiry, but it should not be orchestrated by Elon Musk who is clearly pursuing an agenda which must, by now, be obvious, even to his admirers.

The remit has got to be, surely, to uncover how it happened, why it was allowed to be shoved under the radar and ultimately what the heck can be done to prevent it.

Young girls - and boys - will always be vulnerable, and potential victims of men from all social backgrounds who have an abusive or misogynistic nature, and cultures where women have a low-status.

My own interest in this matter is because my son, as a young teen, was targeted by (as far as we know) a gang or group of paedophiles. Nothing bad happened because both myself and my late ex were 'on the ball' and aware, and prevented it, and it was over very quickly. But it left me shocked, and the awareness that there is an underworld of abusers 'out there' changed my life as a parent. I don't know how close we sailed to the wind, and I've never forgotten that episode.

If I was in power and I knew wrong had been done, I would be putting all my energies into putting it right. Not crying 'it's all your fault'!

love0c

If I was in power and I knew wrong had been done, I would be putting all my energies into putting it right. Not crying 'it's all your fault'!

What Dickens said. The huge complexity of systems trying to deal with all manners of abuse. Systems that didn't work for the victims.

They are putting energies into putting it right by long overdue implementations of the 2022 report at last.

You don't put it right by fixating on hundreds of different workers in different agencies. Systems that didnt work: already revealed in the 2022 report

They are putting energies into putting it right by long overdue implementations of the 2022 report at last.

By all means love0c outline your ideas on how to "put it right".

Fire away.

Grantanow

Calls for yet another public enquiry are simply Reform weaponizng the issue and the Tories running to catch up. Implementing previous recommendations is the answer (which the Tories failed to do while in office). Ignore Musk who is ill-informed.

Sadly Musk isn't the only one who is ill informed.

Yvette Cooper's announcement yesterday, that the government would be reviving the mandatory reporting policy, which was dropped by its Conservative predecessors on the eve of the 2024 election is, as far as I can see, exactly the right move.

With no intention to diminish the awful events so often being referred to on here, reviving mandatory reporting will mean that NO organisation, group, or person in a position of power could decided they or their organisation should sweep such events under the corporate or financial carpet.

I would like to see this extended to all predatory acts disclosed, no matter what the age of the victim, being compulsorily reported to the police where the accused is in a position of power.

"‘We stand by Jess’: Telford survivors criticise Musk’s attack on Phillips
Exclusive: Victims of male violence sign letter praising minister for devoting life to ‘fighting for women and girls’"

www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jan/07/jess-phillips-telford-survivors-musk-attack-letter-women-girls

"Three of the letter’s signatories – Holly Archer, Joanne Phillips and Scarlett Jones – are survivors of the grooming scandal in Telford. All three use pseudonyms. The other four signatories – Julie Devey, Carole Gould, Emma Ambler and Nour Norris – have lost a female relative to gender-based violence or have suffered domestic abuse."

"In their response to Musk, coordinated by the campaign group Killed Women, the women said that those who “weaponise our pain for their own ends or political gain” should “hang their heads in shame”.

“We write as victims of extreme male violence,” the letter said. “What connects us all beyond our shared trauma is the support and kindness we have received from Jess Phillips over many years, personally and as activists fighting for change.

We know there are those who would weaponise our pain for their own ends or political gain; who speak out with new-found interest, not to tackle the horrendous crimes that stole so much from us, but to further their own agenda. They should hang their heads in shame

I thought it was about time we cut through any potential racist parts of the narrative to see what the Muslim Council of Britain have had to say (Jan 4th) Its a page long report.

mcb.org.uk/mcb-we-need-truth-and-action-against-child-sexual-abuse-gangs-not-a-racist-witch-hunt/

It includes, at the end, details of enquires carried out in 2014

Jenrick used inflammatory language this morning.

Wyllow3

I thought it was about time we cut through any potential racist parts of the narrative to see what the Muslim Council of Britain have had to say (Jan 4th) Its a page long report.

mcb.org.uk/mcb-we-need-truth-and-action-against-child-sexual-abuse-gangs-not-a-racist-witch-hunt/

It includes, at the end, details of enquires carried out in 2014

We know there are those who would weaponise our pain for their own ends or political gain; who speak out with new-found interest, not to tackle the horrendous crimes that stole so much from us, but to further their own agenda. They should hang their heads in shame

Thank you Wyllow3

Jenrick stirring the pot Iam. I’m not a fan.

Yes, openly racist remarks by Jenrick. As in tarring all with same brush and usual memes.

It's salutary to have a report from the Muslim Council followed by his statements.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Jenrick stirring the pot Iam. I’m not a fan.

He is a loathsome man, the interview this morning was all about him. He is not only a blatant racist, he is also a liar, as was proved this morning. He is trying to out reform Reform.

He’s doing exactly what Starmer feared - winding up anti Muslim feeling. If he’d made similar comments about certain groups of white men or other faith groups there’d be a righteous outcry.

I caught sight of Jess Phillips on tv in Parliament yesterday and she did not look well at all, very stressed.

I was very sorry to see her and hope she'll be all right. That was a wicked and unwarranted attack on a decent MP.

And let me stress I’m not wanting to close down debates on the Muslim abuse gangs, I’m wanting to acknowledge the horrific extent of child sexual abuse involving families, organisations, every faith group and more.
Child sexual abuse has been recorded since the beginning of time. I recall not long ago on this forum, the suggestion that posters whose work involved csa “see it everywhere”

Allira

I caught sight of Jess Phillips on tv in Parliament yesterday and she did not look well at all, very stressed.

I was very sorry to see her and hope she'll be all right. That was a wicked and unwarranted attack on a decent MP.

I agree. Whatever one's politics, nobody can deny that Jess Phillips is an outspoken campaigner for women and children who have suffered violence and abuse, domestic or other. It would be good to see MPs from other political parties acknowledge her tireless work, but I won't hold my breath.

Jess Phillips has worked to safeguard women and children throughout her career. She is principled, she left the shadow cabinet because she disagreed with policy on Gaza/Israel but didn’t set about colleagues who disagreed with her
She’s proud of the work she’s done with the Conservatives. The left don’t like her. We all saw the dreadful scenes of her being heckled abusively when her election was confirmed

The attacks on her by Musk and others are outrageous as well as dangerous. What’s to be done

Apropos of nothing but -

You'd think two MPs could not be more unalike than Jacob Rees-Mogg and Jess Phillips.
However, she visited him in his constituency years ago and they were filmed chatting to his constituents and each other as he showed her around. It was very interesting and both were very polite and seemed to have a good rapport.
Note the bored child tagging along with them, perhaps it was Nanny's day off.

www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DfMQLSkM1_sU&ved=2ahUKEwjW8d2l_OOKAxVkSUEAHdZFIzQQwqsBegQIDBAE&usg=AOvVaw0jKh7g3VXYr4XfdVG2D8s2

That's interesting that survivors have the courage to support Jess Phillips but people on here are happy to type at their keyboards and cricitise.

It is fine to criticise Jess Phillips, I am afraid in my view there are many braver feminist campaigners than her. It is fine to disagree on the merits of Jess Phillips.