Nadine Dorries and Sir Chris Bryant (Image: BBC )
Former Conservative MP Nadie Dorries lambasted a Labour MP on BBC Question Time tonight, calling the funds allocated into five new local inquiries into grooming gangs as a “drop in the ocean”.
The former Tory health minister clashed with Sir Chris Bryant as Fi ona Bruce presented the topical debate show with politicians, commentators and members of the public, from Northampton.
On the panel were government minister Sir Chris, Ms Dorries; Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesperson Calum Miller MP, former Labour adviser and radio host Baroness Hazarika, and economist and journalist Liam Halligan.
An audience member asked the panel why there still wasn’t a national inquiry into the grooming gang scandal. Labour Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the House of Commons today (Thursday) there would be new “victim-centred, locally-led inquiries” in five areas, including Oldham, Greater Manchester.
Nadine Dorries clashed with Sir Chris Bryant on Question Time (Image: BBC )
Sir Chris said he wanted to “get to the bottom of this” and that he wanted to see “proper” data, but the MP was cut short as Nadine Dorries fumed: “£5million that has been allocated to this, the Telford Inquiry alone cost £8million, it is a drop in the ocean.”
Sir Chris tried to interject, but Ms Dorries continued: “And we still don’t know whether it’s a public inquiry, which compels witnesses to come forward legally, or an independent inquiry, which is actually what we use a lot in the health service.”
Attempting to shift blame back on the previous Conservative administration, Sir Chris said: “What we should have done 11 years ago was introduce mandatory reporting, if anybody was hiding the fact and covering it up, they should be facing criminal prosecution as well.
“We could have done that 10 years ago, but unfortunately the previous government refused to adopt that recommendation.”
However, Sir Chris did concede the move by the Home Secretary to announce more inquiries into the grooming gang scandal probably would not have happened without the intervention of Elon Musk via his social media site X in recent weeks.
Nadine Dorries (left) and Sir Chris Bryant (right) clashed over grooming gangs (Image: BBC )
An audit looking into the current scale and nature of “gang-based exploitation” across the country was announced today (Thursday), as well as local reviews into grooming in some areas.
The Home Secretary, following weeks of pressure including from billionaire X-owner Elon Musk for a national inquiry into grooming, said local reviews would provide more answers and change than a nationwide probe.
Yvette Cooper’s announcements came a day after she was threatened with legal action over the child grooming issue.
