{
  "id": 11297601,
  "title": "Badenoch welcomes expanded grooming gangs inquiry",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/badenoch-welcomes-expanded-grooming-gangs-inquiry",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-01T22:42:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
    "slug": "myjoyonline-ghana",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/badenoch-welcomes-expanded-grooming-gangs-inquiry/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch expressed her approval of the broadened scope of the national inquiry into child sexual exploitation (CSE) to include Birmingham and Wales. She emphasized the urgency of obtaining justice for victims and stated that her party is closely monitoring the situation. Badenoch anticipates the inquiry will commence swiftly following her party's conference in Birmingham this weekend.\n\nRecent statistics from Birmingham Children’s Trust revealed that police are currently investigating 98 CSE cases in the city. Former safeguarding minister and local MP Jess Phillips suggested the actual number of crimes could be significantly higher. From January to June of this year, 99 CSE crimes were recorded, with over 140 children identified as at risk or experiencing CSE, according to the trust.\n\nBadenoch claimed that Labour had \"u-turned\" to permit the inquiry, contrary to previous Conservative governments that oversaw the Jay inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham. She acknowledged that despite efforts, more needed to be done. Badenoch expressed her satisfaction with the progress made, but emphasized that responsibility now lies with the current government to continue the work.\n\nIn response to the inquiry's delayed launch in June 2025, despite months of pressure, the government defended its decision, claiming they had never dismissed the victims' concerns. Recently, it was brought to light that West Midlands Police had only started routinely recording the ethnicity of CSE offenders within the past year. Badenoch stressed the importance of capturing this information, as she believes it has contributed to perpetrators exploiting closed communities to conceal their crimes. She questioned why it took the police so long to implement this practice.",
  "summary": "Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch has said she welcomes the inclusion of Birmingham in a national inquiry into child sexual exploitation, and hopes it moves quickly to get justice for victims.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}