Starmer under pressure as second Labour MP breaks ranks to call for grooming gangs inquiry
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U-turn by Rotherham MP Sarah Champion risks re-opening row triggered by billionaire and Donald Trump ally Elon Musk. Keir Starmer is under increasing pressure to order a new inquiry into grooming gangs after a second Labour MP in as many days broke ranks to call for a probe.
![[Sarah Champion is the MP for Rotherham and a long-time campaigner on the abuse of women and girls]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/13/16/240d6a7fd7f7634d66c5f446ddddcaddY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM2ODY4NDU4-2.73133187.jpg)
Sarah Champion, the MP for Rotherham and a long-time campaigner on the abuse of women and girls, warned the prime minister it was “clear that nothing less than a national inquiry into the failings of those in authority… will restore the faith in our safeguarding systems”.
Meanwhile Paul Waugh, the MP for Rochdale, said he could support an inquiry “with some key caveats”. Both MPs were praised by Donald Trump ally Elon Musk, who sent Westminster into a spiral when he began writing about the issue on his social media platform X last week. The billionaire wrote: “Good for them.”.
Sir Keir ordered his MPs to vote against such a probe in the Commons last week, arguing that victims wanted action rather than another lengthy investigation. But it later emerged that the PM and many of his senior ministers did not take part in the vote themselves.
At the weekend, Labour MP Dan Carden became the first Labour MP to openly call for an inquiry. But the U-turn by Ms Champion, who has campaigned on child protection for more than a decade, will put Sir Keir under greater pressure over this issue. She said child sexual abuse was “endemic” in the UK and had to be “recognised as a national priority”.
