Former child abuse inquiry chairwoman urges Government to act over 2022 report

The former head of a national inquiry into child sexual abuse has warned against “politicising” the issue, as she urged the Government to act on the “full implementation” of reforms set out in her 2022 report.

Professor Alexis Jay distanced herself from calls in Westminster for a new independent review and said instead the introduction of measures which she recommended two years ago was “critical”.

Labour is now under pressure to launch a fresh probe into child sexual abuse from Reform UK and the Conservatives. The latter refused a request for a public inquiry into events in Oldham while in government.

Prof Jay said: “Our mission is not to call for new inquiries but to advocate for the full implementation of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse’s recommendations. A child protection authority is critical to this process.”

Campaign group Act on IICSA, which is chaired by Prof Jay, said in an accompanying statement: “We urge the Government to provide a clear timeline to deliver on these commitments.

“Politicising the issue of sexual violence fails to acknowledge its lifelong impact and hinders the implementation of vital and urgent overhaul to our systems required.”

The Government said it was working “at pace” to deliver the reforms set out in the 2022 review, which found abuse was “endemic” across society in England and Wales.

It comes as the Prime Minister is expected to respond on Monday to Elon Musk’s flurry of attacks on his record in tackling historical grooming gang cases as director of public prosecutions (DPP).

Sir Keir Starmer has so far resisted speaking about the slew of online posts by the tech billionaire, who is a close ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, which included calling him “complicit in the rape of Britain”.

As DPP, Sir Keir brought in a national network of specialist prosecutors for child abuse and sexual exploitation to oversee convictions against grooming gangs, and changed guidance to focus on the credibility of allegations rather than whether victims would make good witnesses.

Mr Musk also posted on X, which he owns, suggesting safeguarding minister Jess Phillips “deserves to be in prison” for denying requests for the Home Office to lead a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham, Greater Manchester, and called her a “rape genocide apologist”.

Earlier on Monday he suggested the Prime Minister was “complicit in the crimes” of child sex offenders, and in a separate post added: “Prison for Starmer.”

He also accused former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown of having “committed an unforgivable crime against the British people” and “sold those little girls for votes”, over his handling of grooming gangs while in office.

Health minister Karin Smyth said Mr Musk’s attacks on the Prime Minister were “wrong” and “most people in this country know that” as she spoke to broadcasters on Monday.

“It would be more helpful if Mr Musk wanted to use his platform to support victims,” she told Times Radio.

Asked whether she was worried about Ms Phillips’ safety, the minister said: “She’s a strong person. She will continue this work and we want to make sure that this work happens. That’s the critical thing here.”

Sir Keir is “not after praise” and “it’s not about him, it’s about the victims”, she told Sky News.

Asked when the recommendations would be implemented, Ms Smyth told LBC: “I’m afraid I can’t give you a date on that. We’re working at pace across Government… to implement those (reforms).”

The minister said the UK “will work with America” as “our international interests are best served by working together”, despite the interventions from a key member of Mr Trump’s inner circle.

Members of Sir Keir’s Cabinet also defended their colleagues over the weekend, and Health Secretary Wes Streeting condemned Mr Musk’s attacks on Ms Phillips as a “disgraceful smear”.

She and the Prime Minister have an “actual record of banging up rapists, paedophiles and sex offenders, so they don’t need lectures from anyone else”, he said.

Social media platforms can help to clamp down on those grooming children online if Mr Musk wants to “roll his sleeves up and actually do something about tackling violence against women and girls”, he said.

The Tesla and Space X boss took aim at Ms Phillips after she wrote to Oldham council saying it must follow other towns, such as Rotherham in South Yorkshire and Telford in Shropshire, and commission its own inquiry into historical abuse of children.

Sir Keir’s Government is against launching another nationwide probe and has said it is working to implement recommendations from Prof Jay’s inquiry, which concluded in 2022.

That review looked into abuse by organised groups following multiple convictions of sexual offences against children across the UK between 2010-2014, including in Rotherham, Cornwall, Derbyshire, Rochdale in Greater Manchester, and Bristol.