Tories back Badenoch’s ‘risky’ call for grooming gangs inquiry

Keir Starmer accuses opposition leader of spending a lot of time on social media over Christmas'

When Kemi Badenoch used prime minister's questions this week to echo Elon Musk's demands for a new inquiry into sexual grooming gangs, the MPs behind her were trying to interpret the intentions of their fledgling leader. Was it a long-held view? A short-term move to wrong-foot Labour or appeal to Reform voters? A sign she was adopting a more radical politics?

There was one point, however, that seemed to unite those with differing theories about their leader's motives. Her decision to warn Keir Starmer that refusing a fresh inquiry could prompt speculation about a cover-up" was the kind of political gamble they had expected her to be willing to take.