Child Rape Gangs

Baroness Stedman-Scott Excerpts

Wednesday 30th April 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

The noble Baroness raises a very interesting point, which was debated in your Lordships’ House on Friday, when I was the Minister responding. The Select Committee chaired by the noble Lord, Lord Norton of Louth, on the role of public inquiries provides a potential framework for moving forward: its report recommends having a Select Committee that operates across both Houses to monitor the implementation of public inquiries. That is incredibly important work. If the recommendations of the Lakanal House coroners’ inquest inquiry had been followed, we would never have got to Grenfell.

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

My Lords, I am sure that everyone will be grateful to the Minister for her conciliatory points on the issue around the abusers and the disregard of them in the community—I thank her for that. I am also sure that everybody in this House also acknowledges that different Administrations have not done enough to resolve this issue.

My right honourable friend in the other place, Katie Lam MP, made a Statement a couple of weeks ago and gave the most powerful speech about the issue, and I urge all noble Lords to watch it on YouTube. It was harrowing. I will not repeat everything, but I have to tell you that at one point, a young girl had four men inside her. This is a disgraceful issue that we must all work together to deal with. Can the Minister honestly say that His Majesty’s Government can look these girls in the face and tell them that they do not deserve a national inquiry?

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

My Lords, I think the noble Baroness has put her finger on exactly what we should be discussing: the impact of everything on the victims. We are talking about young women, and young boys in some cases, who have experienced the most heartbreaking and horrendous abuse. There is a responsibility on all Members of your Lordships’ House to put everything in place to make sure that this never, ever happens again. Those are easy words for someone standing at the Dispatch Box to say: we now have to deliver.

With regard to the noble Baroness’s point about a public inquiry, we have had one and we now need to deliver on it.