Summary

  • Sir Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch clash over whether there should be a national inquiry into child sexual abuse by grooming gangs

  • The Conservative leader says that while there have been inquiries into child sexual abuse, there hasn't been one about "the rape gang scandal"

  • The prime minister says there are mixed views among victims about further inquiries and "what we need now is action", rather than another inquiry

  • The PM tried to take the heat out of the issue - but without question, the heat is there, our political editor Chris Mason writes

  • MPs will vote this evening on whether there should be a new national inquiry, but the measure is unlikely to pass

  • The vote will be on an amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which is being debated by MPs now - watch the session live at the top of the page

PM: Tories 'jumping on bandwagon' over grooming gangs inquiry

Live Reporting

Edited by Jacqueline Howard and Owen Amos

  1. PM on his feet

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer is on his feet now and the session is under way.

    Stay tuned as we bring you live updates, as well as political analysis from our colleagues at Westminster.

  2. Chamber fills ahead of PMQs

    Chris Mason
    Political editor

    Hello from the press gallery of the House of Commons.

    The chamber is filling up – we are just awaiting the arrival of the prime minister and the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch.

    How central will the row about child sexual abuse gangs be?

  3. Victims want action, child abuse inquiry chair says

    Victims "clearly want action" and do not need a new national inquiry into grooming gangs, the woman who led a seven-year probe into child sexual abuse told the BBC yesterday.

    Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Prof Alexis Jay said "people should get on with" implementing herreforms and "locally people need to step up to the mark and do the things that have been recommended".

    "We've had enough of inquiries, consultations and discussions - especially for the victims and survivors who've had the courage to come forward," she said.

    The Labour government has rejected calls for a new inquiry, saying it will enact the reforms set out by the Jay Review.

    Child sexual abuse: 'The time has passed for more inquiries'

  4. Phillips says Musk 'disinformation' is endangering her

    Jess Phillips says threat has increased since Musk tweets

    In October, safeguarding minister Jess Phillips rejected a request from Oldham Council to launch a government-led inquiry into child sexual abuse in the town.

    She and instead said it should launch a local inquiry similar to those set up in Rochdale and Telford.

    After Phillips' decision was reported by GB News at the start of the year, Elon Musk criticised Phillips and the government on his social media platform X.

    He called Phillips a "rape genocide apologist".

    Yesterday, Phillips told the BBC's Newsnight programme that "disinformation" spread by Elon Musk was "endangering" her - although she stressed it was "nothing" compared to the experiences of victims of abuse.

    She also defended her decision, saying: "What I saw happen in Telford is the exact opposite of what I have seen happen because of the national expert inquiry for the last two years since it came out - I saw change happen."

    She also described the locally led Telford inquiry as "the only model I've seen work, and I've worked in this field for 15 years".

  5. BBC Verify

    What is the grooming gangs scandal?

    By Tom Edgington

    The row between Kemi Badenoch, Keir Starmer, Elon Musk, and others, centres around a series of high-profile cases where groups of men - mainly of Pakistani descent - were convicted of sexually abusing and raping predominantly young white girls around the UK.

    In 2012 The Times newspaper investigated Rotherham grooming gangs, which led to a major inquiry.

    At least 1,400 children were subjected to appalling sexual exploitation in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013, according to a 2014 report , written by Prof Alexis Jay.

    The report made headlines in the UK and around the world and led to major debates in Parliament.

    Similar scandals also occurred in other towns, including Oldham, Oxford, Rochdale and Telford, leading to a national inquiry into child sexual abuse, which was also led by Prof Jay.

    How was Keir Starmer involved?

    The CPS, an independent body, prosecutes criminal cases in England and Wales.

    Sir Keir was appointed head of the CPS in 2008 and held the role for five years. He became an MP in 2015.

    The CPS was criticised for a decision not to proceed with a prosecution in Rochdale on the basis that it viewed the main victim as "unreliable" following an investigation between August 2008 and August 2009.

    That decision was overturned later by Nazir Afzal in 2011 after being appointed by Sir Keir as the CPS chief prosecutor for north-west England.

    The prime minister has robustly defended his record as the former head of the CPS, saying he made a series of changes to bring more prosecutions.

  6. How calls for a national inquiry into child sexual abuse gained momentum

    In October last year, Home Office minister Jess Phillips rejected Oldham Council's request for a government-led inquiry into child sexual abuse by "grooming gangs" - saying the council should lead it instead.

    After this decision was reported by GB News on 1 January, the backlash began.

    On 2 January, opposition and Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch called for a full national public inquiry into the UK's "rape gangs scandal".

    And the day after on 3 January, Musk called Phillips a "rape genocide apologist" as well as criticising Keir Starmer for, he said, failing to prosecute gangs.

    On 4 January, Musk wrote a flurry of posts on X criticising the UK government, with one poll asking: "America should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government (yes or no)".

    Starmer - without mentioning Musk directly - then criticised "those spreading lies and misinformation" in response to questions over child grooming gangs during his news conference on Monday.

    PM criticises those "spreading lies and misinformation" over grooming gangs

  7. The first PMQs of 2025 comes after a busy week of politics

    Rachel Flynn
    Live reporter

    Good morning from the BBC's office in Westminster. Just over the road, the prime minister and his Cabinet are preparing for today’s questions from Kemi Badenoch and others.

    Keir Starmer started the week with a clear intention - to launch his government’s NHS reforms. But the focus quickly shifted.

    He was forced to defend his record of tackling child sexual abuse by grooming gangs when he was head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), amid attacks by tech billionaire Elon Musk and others.

    Remember - Badenoch's Conservatives have called for a national inquiry into child sexual abuse by gangs, something the government says is not needed.

    We’ll explain how we got there, as well as the usual live commentary of the grilling.

    You can follow all the action at 12:00 GMT by pressing Watch Live at the top of the page.

    The official account of Elon Musk on social media app X (formerly Twitter), displaying a pinned post, a poll asking if 'America should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government', on a mobile phone in London.PA Media