Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi remarked that the responsibility for grooming gangs in the UK should not be attributed to Asia as a whole, but instead to “one rogue nation,” Pakistan. SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk concurred with her, labeling the statement as “true. ”
True
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 8, 2025
Chaturvedi’s statements coincided with the day the UK’s opposition Conservative Party utilized a Parliamentary debate to demand a new national inquiry into the widespread sexual exploitation of primarily white British girls by men, largely of Pakistani descent, in northern English towns spanning several decades.
She took issue with Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s earlier statements, wherein he alleged that during his time as head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) from 2008 to 2013, he had overseen the first prosecution of an Asian grooming gang.
The debate concerning the grooming gangs has intensified the scrutiny on Starmer, who has encountered backlash for dismissing calls for a new inquiry. Rather, he has underscored the necessity of enacting recommendations from a preceding, extensive seven-year inquiry, which featured nearly two dozen suggestions for tackling the problem.
The UK’s attention has also shifted to the Children’s Bill, which is designed to mandate local authorities to keep a register of children who are not attending school, as part of wider initiatives to safeguard at-risk children.
The bill was presented following the heartbreaking case of 10-year-old British-Pakistani girl Sara Sharif, whose death in August 2023 triggered outrage. She had endured severe maltreatment, including fractured bones, burns, and bite marks. Her father, Urfan Sharif, and stepmother, Beinash Batool, were found guilty of her murder and sentenced to life in prison.
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill has now moved on to the subsequent phase of the parliamentary process without requiring a formal vote.
