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MPs debate children’s safety bill after Sir Keir Starmer urges Kemi Badenoch to ‘withdraw her wrecking amendment’
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Kemi Badenoch’s call for the government to establish a national inquiry into grooming gangs will be put to a Commons vote on Wednesday.
Echoing demands by billionaire Elon Musk, Ms Badenoch has tabled an amendment to Labour’s children’s safety bill for a symbolic vote to call on ministers to open a new national probe into child sexual exploitation.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has warned that the Tory move, if successful, would leave the Labour Bill “stone dead”, describing it as “the biggest piece of child protection legislation in a generation”. Sir Keir used PMQs to urge Conservative MPs to back it later on Wednesday.
Urging Tory MPs to back the Bill during PMQs, Sir Keir accused Ms Badenoch of a “shortsighted, misguided, bandwagon-jumping approach”, and said he could not recall her ever raising the issue in the eight years she has been an MP.
Pressed by the Tory leader that failing to call a new inquiry would fuel “cover-up” claims, the PM accused Ms Badenoch of spreading “lies and misinformation”.
Ahead of the vote at around 7pm, No 10 indicated that the government is “open-minded” about the possibility of a further national inquiry into child sexual abuse “and will always listen to what victims want in this case”.
SNP leader John Swinney has said he is concerned by the moderation changes at Facebook and Instagram, while signalling that he may reconsider the Scottish Government’s use of X, formerly Twitter, in future.
Meta has announced that Facebook and Instagram will move away from using third-party fact checkers to flag misleading content in favour of user-based notes similar to X.
Kemi Badenoch has refused to restore the whip to Sayeeda Warsi, despite her being cleared of wrongdoing over a tweet calling Rishi Sunak a coconut.
The former party chair resigned the Tory whip in the Lords in September when it emerged she was being investigated over the tweet.
The Independent has now learned that the disciplinary panel cleared Baroness Warsi of being “divisive” and “bringing the party into disrepute”. But despite this, the Tory chief whip has written to the peer, who was UK’s first Muslim cabinet member, saying she is not welcome back in the party.
Baroness Warsi said she was being targeted for warning of rising levels of Islamophobia in the party.
Our political editor David Maddox has the exclusive report:
Exclusive: Tory leader refuses to reinstate UK’s first Muslim cabinet member less than 24 hours after backing Robert Jenrick for railing against ‘alien cultures with medieval attitudes’
The Independent’s Political Correspondent Archie Mitchell reports:
Exclusive: Firms owned by Elon Musk have raked in more than £190m of taxpayer cash since 2016, sparking calls for Sir Keir Starmer to prevent any further public funds going to the billionaire’s sprawling business empire
Labour has accused the Tories of using the child sexual abuse scandal to raise funds for the party, after it launched a campaign website and sent out emails to supporters asking them to sign a petition on the site which calls for a national inquiry into child grooming.
The party also includes a link for donations at the bottom of its email.
A Labour spokesperson said: “Kemi Badenoch has stooped to a new low, fundraising for the Conservative Party by playing politics with the safety of vulnerable children. This shows breath-taking disrespect to brave victims who are being used as a political football by the Conservatives.
“The Tories failed to implement the Jay recommendations to protect vulnerable children. Any money raised by the Conservatives must be donated to victims of child sexual abuse: this attempt to fill their party bank account off the back of such a sensitive subject is a disgrace.
“This Labour Government is taking action with landmark reforms to safeguarding and children’s social care. No more empty words or ‘lessons learned’, but real action to keep children safe.”
The political storm over calls for new inquiry on grooming gangs started after Elon Musk used his social media platform to launch a barrage of attacks at Sir Keir Starmer and Jess Phillips.
Mr Musk called for a national probe, while sharing wild and baseless claims about Labour ministers.
Ahead of vote on Tory leader Kem Badenoch’s amendment to the child safety Bill, calling for ministers start a statutory inquiry on grooming gangs, Mr Musk has shared a message on his social media platform.
He wrote: “Please call your member of parliament and tell them that the hundreds of thousands of little girls in Britain who were, and are still being systematically, horrifically gang-raped deserve some justice in this world. This is vitally important or it will just keep happening.”
Mr Musk has also been sharing clips of Reform UK MPs speaking at the debate which comes before the vote, set to take place at around 7pm.
A register of children not in school – as mandated in Labour’s new children’s safety bill – is an “additional measure” which could have helped improve the safety of murdered 10-year-old Sara Sharif, the Lib Dems’ education spokesperson has said.
Munira Wilson told the Commons: “All the evidence points towards the fact that education and schools – and that’s why it’s in the Bill – have to be a key safeguarding partner, so where a child is at risk and has been identified as being at risk, ensuring that that child is in school, as this Bill seeks to do, will help to safeguard them.
“But we saw too tragically in the recent case of Sara Sharif the fact that she was taken out of school and then being abused at home and tragically died, but the point is this is just an additional measure to make sure that she is safe.”
In a damning admission, Kemi Badenoch’s spokesperson confirmed she has not yet met any victims of the grooming gangs scandal and that she currently has no plans to do so.
Her spokesperson said her calls for a national inquiry into grooming gangs are based on what she has read in the media and other reports.
Sir Keir Starmer has opened the door to a u-turn on his refusal to hold an inquiry into grooming gangs, Downing Street has confirmed.
After safeguarding minister Jess Phillips said a new national probe into the scandal was still on the table, the prime minister’s official spokesman said the government would grant one if victims’ groups called for it.
“Jess Phillips has been engaging extensively with victims, and what we have heard loud and clear from victims is that they do not want to see more inquiries,” he said.
Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell reports:
After safeguarding minister Jess Phillips said a new national probe into the scandal was still on the table, the prime minister’s official spokesman said the government would grant one if victims’ groups called for it
As the PM stands by his Treasury minister despite allegations of corruption, MPs are wondering if there is ‘one rule for us’ and another for his allies, writes Andrew Grice
Kemi Badenoch condemns the abuse directed at Home Office minister Jess Phillips following Elon Musk’s social media attacks on her, her spokesman said, but the Tory leader remains a fan of the billionaire’s work.
Asked about the abuse faced by Ms Phillips, a spokesman for the Leader of the Opposition said: “Any abuse directed towards MPs is obviously disgraceful and should not happen, and as a black, Conservative woman, Kemi gets more than her fair share.”
Press whether she remained a fan of Mr Musk, the spokesman said: “She is a fan of what he has done with his companies.”
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