Grooming gangs inquiry: Why is there a row?

"Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced the inquiry in June this year. The UK government said it would "co-ordinate a series of targeted local investigations" into the group-based child sexual exploitation of girls by grooming gangs. Called the Independent Commission on Grooming Gangs, the inquiry will have legal powers to direct targeted investigations in local areas and summon witnesses to give evidence."

"The grooming gang scandal was first exposed in 2003, in The Times newspaper, and has often been the subject of debate, inquiry and news reports in the two decades since. It returned to prominence at the start of this year, partly because of tech billionaire Elon Musk, who criticised the prime minister for not calling a national inquiry. A row between the two centered on high-profile cases where groups of men, mainly of Pakistani descent,"

A national inquiry into grooming gangs in England and Wales was announced by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in June. The inquiry, named the Independent Commission on Grooming Gangs, will co-ordinate targeted local investigations into group-based child sexual exploitation and has legal powers to direct investigations and summon witnesses. Area selection will follow appointment of an independent chair and will use information from police, survivors and the public. The process is managed by the independent child exploitation charity NWG Network rather than the Home Office. The scandal dates to a 2003 Times exposure and resurfaced this year amid high-profile convictions and public debate.

Read at www.bbc.com