Has the Government Changed its Mind on Grooming Gang Inquiries?
Newscast
BBC
4.3 • 6.6K Ratings
🗓️ 16 January 2025
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced five government-backed local inquiries and a new national-level "rapid audit" of grooming gangs.
The government faced calls for a full national inquiry after interventions by tech billionaire Elon Musk. Adam is joined by Henry Zeffman, chief political correspondent, and social affairs editor Alison Holt.
And the ceasefire vote in Israel is delayed as airstrikes continue in Gaza. Adam also speaks to Lyse Doucet, chief international correspondent.
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Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Chris Flynn with Shiler Mahmoudi and Nancy Geddes. The technical producer was Michael Regaard. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:04.8 | Hello. Now, the year started with Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, the social network, calling for, well, a lot of stuff, but particularly a national inquiry into child grooming gangs in the UK. |
| 0:18.5 | Now, that was resisted by Kier Starrmer, who said the better thing to do |
| 0:23.0 | would be to implement all the recommendations of a previous inquiry into child sexual abuse, |
| 0:28.5 | and he resisted those calls and even got Labour MPs to vote against it in the House of Commons. |
| 0:35.1 | Well, today, the government changed its position, |
| 0:38.9 | and there are going to be inquiries, and there will be a national element. So, what has gone |
| 0:44.4 | on? We'll discuss on this episode of Newscast. Newscast from the BBC. I like landscapes. |
| 0:50.5 | I don't think I'm being rude. Japping, unemployed people who are overweight. That is not the |
| 0:55.0 | agenda. It's the fun police working overtime. The star is born, Elon. It's all perked that a miracle |
| 1:01.4 | let us happen. Frankly, I think we need a British Trump. Take me down to Downing Street. Let's go |
| 1:06.3 | have it to work. Blimey. Hello, it's Adam in the newscast studio and shortly I'll be joined by BBC legend Leis Ducet |
| 1:13.6 | as we get the latest on the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas over the war in Gaza. |
| 1:20.5 | And the implementation of that deal is maybe not going quite as smoothly as some people suggested. |
| 1:26.0 | Sounds like there's a few sticking points. And also, |
| 1:28.7 | there has still been further military action by Israel in Gaza, because even the ceasefire once is |
| 1:34.3 | agreed, does not kick in until Sunday. But first of all, we're going to talk about why the |
| 1:39.5 | Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, was saying this in the House of Commons today, as she announced |
| 1:44.0 | a raft of new measures and investigations into child grooming this in the House of Commons today, as she announced a raft of new |
| 1:44.8 | measures and investigations into child grooming gangs in the UK. |
| 1:48.5 | I have asked Baroness Louise Casey to oversee a rapid audit of the current scale and nature |
| 1:54.5 | of gang-based exploitation across the country and to make recommendations on the further work |
... |
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