Sir Keir Starmer has so far failed to keep his promise to hold a national inquiry into grooming gangs, it has emerged, The Prime Minister announced on June 14 that he was accepting the recommendation of a report by Baroness Louise Casey which said a full inquiry into group-based child sexual abuse was needed.

Home Office minister Jess Phillips admitted the Government has not yet appointed a chair to lead the investigation. In practice, no progress can be made until this happens. Ms Phillips told MPs the appointment process was in its "final stages" and a panel of survivors and victims would be part of the final approval after Sir Keir Starmer committed to a fresh national inquiry in June.

But the admission provoked a furious response from Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp - who pointed out that other people had been calling for a full national inquiry months before the Prime Minister agreed to hold one.

He said: "What the Prime Minister claimed was a far right bandwagon in January had become government policy in June.

"Yet three months later almost no progress has been made. Survivors have heard nothing. No chair has been appointed. There are no terms of reference. There is no news on towns like Oldham or Bradford.

"Nothing of substance at all. This is just not good enough."

Ms Phillips said she and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had met prospective candidates for the position over the summer.

She told the Commons: "The chair must have credibility and experience to command the confidence of victims and survivors as well as the wider public. And meaningful engagement with victims and survivors is paramount.

"To support this, a dedicated panel of victims and survivors has been established which will contribute to that chair selection process. This is a critical milestone, and once an appointment is confirmed, the House will be updated at the earliest opportunity."

Ministers have faced pressure after the wait for recommendations to be implemented from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) hit the headlines in January. An inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal by Baroness Louise Casey found there were 700 recorded offences of group-based child sexual exploitation in just one year, with children as young as 10 targeted.

Billionaire X owner Elon Musk was among the critics of the UK's handling of child grooming scandals.

The inquiry made 20 recommendations in 2022 after a seven-year investigation found institutional failings and tens of thousands of victims across England and Wales.

The probe led by Professor Alexis Jay also described child sexual abuse as an "epidemic" across the two nations.

In January, the Government committed to at least five local inquiries into grooming gangs and for police forces to reopen cold case investigations, and launched the rapid audit by Baroness Casey who published her findings in June.

Ms Phillips told MPs that 1,273 cases have been identified for formal review and a new national policing operation has found 216 "highest priority" cases that involve an allegation of rape "which are being accelerated as a matter of urgency".