Labour’s pivot on grooming gangs may not be enough to silence critics

Yvette Cooper's unveiling of a rapid review of evidence, after week of arguments against new inquiry, has already been called inadequate

When is a U-turn not a U-turn? When it is less a complete volte face and more of a change of direction. The question looms over Keir Starmer, whose announcement of a review into grooming gangs is his second such positional pivot this week alone.

On Tuesday, the Treasury minister, Tulip Siddiq, departed over her links to much-disputed claims of family corruption centred on her aunt, the former president of Bangladesh. Downing Street had insisted for days that the facts must first be established.