Chris Philp: The Conservative party has led the calls for doing what is right, and Starmer has merely followed

Chris Philp, is the Shadow Home Secretary, a former policing minister and is MP for Croydon South

After months of pressure, Keir Starmer has finally bowed to calls for a full statutory national inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal.

This is a step in the right direction an important and long-overdue acknowledgment of one of the most disturbing institutional failures in modern British history.

But let’s be absolutely clear, this is not an example of leadership. It’s the exact opposite.

Keir Starmer resisted, deflected, and smeared those pushing for justice. For six months, he ignored survivors and campaigners. He even accused those demanding an inquiry of “jumping on a far-right bandwagon.”

Those weren’t just clumsy words. They were a direct insult to the brave survivors who came forward. They were a dismissal of those trying to shine a light on systemic cover-ups. And they were a signal that Starmer would prefer political convenience to moral clarity.

The Prime Minister also made Labour MPs vote against a national statutory inquiry into grooming gangs three times before agreeing to hold the inquiry. In that time, thousands of people spoke out. Over 150,000 signed our campaign petition. Survivors, with immense courage, shared their trauma publicly, again, because they believed change was still possible. We raised the issue repeatedly in Parliament.

And only now, with the threat of a third vote looming and mounting public anger, has Starmer U-turned.

That’s not leadership. That’s damage control.

Sadly, this is becoming a pattern.

Keir Starmer’s instincts always put him on the wrong side until public backlash or political pressure forces yet another U-turn. It’s never about principle or evidence, just optics. Week after week, Kemi Badenoch holds his feet to the fire in PMQs, calling out his flip-flops and inconsistencies. The victims of grooming gangs never had the luxury of waiting. They were failed by public authorities and ignored by those who should have protected them.

Time and again, officials turned a blind eye to their suffering, some even discouraged investigations for fear of inflaming so-called community tensions. In some places, children as young as ten were labelled “prostitutes” by social services instead of being protected as victims. That is more than a scandal; it is a disgrace.

In Bradford, for example, a senior police officer reportedly ordered investigations into the abuse of young white girls to stop, to avoid offending certain communities. The consequences were grave. Hundreds of children abused who might otherwise have been saved. These are not isolated stories, they are part of a horrific pattern, and they demand a full, national response.

That’s why the inquiry must not only go ahead, but it must also be robust, independent, and swift.

Survivors have already waited too long, and a drawn-out or diluted process would be yet another betrayal. We need an inquiry with statutory powers: the ability to compel evidence, summon witnesses, and dig deep into the institutions that allowed these crimes to happen.

This must include scrutiny of public officials who turned a blind eye or actively covered up abuse. If there is evidence that officials acted unlawfully particularly under the offence of misconduct in public office they must be held accountable. So while many may feel a sense of relief today, we must not mistake a reluctant U-turn for resolution. The hard work begins now. We will be pushing for clear answers in Parliament today, on scope, timeline, powers, and accountability. The victims deserve no less.

What’s also clear is that without relentless campaigning from survivors, campaigners, and the Conservative Party, this inquiry would not be happening. Starmer’s initial reaction wasn’t to listen. It was to smear. His instinct wasn’t to lead, it was to hide.

This should be a moment of deep reflection for him. Leadership is about having the courage to do what’s right before it becomes unavoidable. Time and again, Starmer has shown a reluctance to speak up unless pushed. On grooming gangs. On winter fuel payments. On basic questions of biology and women’s rights.

Each time, he waits until the political cost of silence becomes too high. That is not the character of a leader. That is the profile of a man who puts politics before principle.

We cannot afford that kind of leadership, not when the stakes are as high as they are here. The grooming gangs scandal represents one of the most horrific, institutional betrayals of vulnerable young girls in this country’s history. Our response to it must be full, fearless and driven by justice.

The survivors have carried this burden for years. Some have been dismissed, insulted, or ignored. Many have watched as the people who failed them were protected by the very systems meant to deliver accountability. That must end now.

We owe it to every survivor to keep fighting, not just for a proper inquiry, but for a system that never again prioritises political correctness or reputational risk over the safety of children. And we owe it to the public to demand more from those who seek to lead this country.

When it comes to doing what is right, the Conservative Party has led and Starmer has followed. The survivors deserve justice and the country deserves better.