Rachel Reeves insisted “people’s hurt feelings” are not the most important thing as she faced fury over Labour’s handling of the grooming gangs scandal.
The Chancellor refused to apologise for ministers’ comments during a national row, when people calling for a national inquiry into the rape and sexual abuse of teenage girls were dismissed as right-wing.
It comes after Sir Keir Starmer revealed he will u-turn on the scandal, and order a national inquiry.
A report by Baroness Louise Casey will, it is understood, recommend that a new national inquiry should look at the race of the perpetrators of the scandal, amid widespread fears it was mainly carried out by groups of Pakistani men.
It is also expected to warn that white British girls who were exploited in towns across the country were “institutionally ignored for fear of racism”.
Ministers claimed it was only the right-wing who were calling for a national inquiry.
Television presenter Trevor Phillips asked: “When it’s published, will there be some sort of apology to all of those who were criticised by ministers as talking ‘total nonsense’, and misinformation, those who were more or less accused of racism for raising this issue?”
Ms Reeves began to respond with: “The most important thing…”
Before Mr Phillips interjected, saying: “What I’ve asked you is the most important thing. There were many people who were criticised in that way.”
The Chancellor hit back: “Trevor, what is the most important thing… it’s not people’s hurt feelings about how they’ve been spoken about.
“The most important thing here is the victims of these evil crimes.”
Mr Phillips, who has been highly critical of Labour’s record on grooming gangs, blasted: “The reason it matters is because those people who raise this issue on behalf of victims who cannot often speak for themselves, were accused by Government ministers of, quote, total nonsense, misinformation and racism.
“So actually, surely that’s important as well?”
But the Chancellor insisted: “I think the most important thing are the victims themselves, and we have been busy as a Government, this last year, implementing the 200 or so recommendations of the previous inquiry.
“The Prime Minister is always focused, whether it’s on this or other issues, on what practical things can be done to make sure that justice is always dealt with.”
After resisting pressure for months to implement a full probe, the Prime Minister said he had read “every single word” of an independent report into child sexual exploitation by Baroness Louise Casey and would accept her recommendation for the investigation.
Earlier this year, the Government dismissed calls for a public inquiry, saying its focus was on putting in place the outstanding recommendations already made in a seven-year national inquiry by Professor Alexis Jay.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the move as a “welcome U-turn”, while Kemi Badenoch called on him to apologise for “six wasted months”.
“Just like he dismissed concerns about the winter fuel payment and then had to U-turn, just like he needed the Supreme Court to tell him what a woman is, he had to be led by the nose to make the correct decision here,” she said.
“I’ve been repeatedly calling for a full national inquiry since January. It’s about time he recognised he made a mistake and apologised for six wasted months.”
Speaking to reporters travelling with him on his visit to Canada, the Prime Minister said: “I have never said we should not look again at any issue. I have wanted to be assured that on the question of any inquiry. That’s why I asked Louise Casey who I hugely respect to do an audit.
“Her position when she started the audit was that there was not a real need for a national inquiry over and above what was going on.
“She has looked at the material she has looked at and she has come to the view that there should be a national inquiry on the basis of what she has seen.
“I have read every single word of her report and I am going to accept her recommendation. That is the right thing to do on the basis of what she has put in her audit.”
The findings of Baroness Casey’s review will be set out in Parliament next week.
The inquiry will be able to compel witnesses to give evidence, and it is understood that it will be national in scope, co-ordinating a series of targeted local investigations.
Prof Jay’s 2022 report concluded there had been institutional failings across the country and tens of thousands of victims in England and Wales.
A national row over grooming gangs was ignited in January after tech billionaire Elon Musk used his X social media platform to launch a barrage of attacks on Sir Keir and safeguarding minister Jess Phillips.
It followed the Government’s decision to decline a request from Oldham Council for a Whitehall-led inquiry into child sexual abuse in the town.
The Government later commissioned a “rapid” audit by Lady Casey into the nature and scale of group-based child sexual abuse, which had been due to take three months but was delayed.
