Home Office Minister Jess Phillips has admitted there has been a cover-up of the grooming gangs scandal but dismissed calls for a full national inquiry.
Responding to Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp in the House of Commons, the Safeguarding Minister said: “I don’t need to read out the things that were found in other local inquiries to know because I speak to the victims.
“I spoke to some of the victims of grooming gangs this morning. I’ll speak to some more tomorrow. I have spoken to them from Oxford, from Birmingham, from Rochdale, from Rotherham, from Oldham.
“I know exactly the issue of the cover-up, as does everyone already, because of the many local inquiries that told us that this happened, and the national inquiry that has told us that there were cover-ups.
“What we must focus on is to make sure – like what happened in Telford – that there is a local process of accountability that actually changes things on the ground. That is what I’ll do.”
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Jess Phillips admits Home Office will need to set up EVEN MORE grooming gang inquiries
Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips has said she expects the total number of local grooming gang inquiries to be more than the five first promised in January.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Phillips said: “I expect to actually go further.”
A “framework” for how these inquiries will take place will be published next month, the Labour frontbencher confirmed.
READ IN FULL: Foreign Secretary David Lammy reacts to PM’s meeting with Palestinian leader
“This visit marks a significant step in strengthening our relationship with the Palestinian Authority – a key partner for peace in the Middle East – at a critical moment.
“The UK is clear that there can be no role for Hamas in the future of Gaza and we are committed to working with the Palestinian Authority as the only legitimate governing entity in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
“We will not give up on the two-state solution, with a Palestinian state and Israel living side-by-side in peace, dignity and security. I reaffirm the UK’s commitment to recognising a Palestinian state as a contribution to that process, at a time that has the greatest impact.”
Keir Starmer pledges £101m in support for Palestine as UK doubles-down on ‘two-state solution’ promise
Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to provide Palestine with £101million in support.
Following the Prime Minister’s meeting with Palestinian Authority leader Mohammad Mustafa, No10 confirmed the funding would be directed at humanitarian relief, support for Palestinian economic development, and strengthening Palestinian Authority governance and reform.
The Prime Minister and his Foreign Secretary David Lammy also plan to sign a landmark Memorandum of Understanding enshrining their commitment to advancing Palestinian statehood as part of a two-state solution.
Keir Starmer sends congratulations to Liverpool on title win before taking swipe at Arsenal’s rivals
Sir Keir Stamer has congratulated Liverpool FC after the Reds secured their 20th league title.
Speaking to GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope on Monday, the lifelong Gooner sent his best wishes to Liverpool “even as an Arsenal fan”.
Responding to Chris, Starmer said: “I will congratulate Liverpool. Even as an Arsenal fan, I have to say Liverpool had a fantastic season.
“Congratulations to Liverpool – it was really good as last time they won they were not able to celebrate because of Covid.”
PICTURED: Keir Starmer sits down with Palestinian leader at No10
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer with the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Mohammad Mustafa
PA
‘That’s not enough!’ Chris Philp clashes with Jess Phillips over grooming gangs scandal
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has demanded more action to address calls for a grooming gangs inquiry after Jess Phillips doubled-down on Labour’s local commitment.
After painfully detailing the horrific stories from numerous grooming gangs victims, Philp said: “Not a single person, not one, has ever been held to account for these cover-ups.
“That is why we need a national, statutory inquiry that will compel production of evidence.
“Even last year, authorities in Manchester were still covering up, leading to the chairs of the local Manchester inquiry to resign.
“Five local inquiries, which can’t compel the production of evidence, just won’t do.”
WATCH NOW: Jess Phillips ADMITS ‘grooming gangs cover-up’ but dismisses calls for national inquiry
Kemi Badenoch claims ‘trans people can use disabled toilets’ after being ‘vindicated’ by Supreme Court ruling
Trans people can use disabled toilets following the Supreme Court’s ruling on sex and gender, Kemi Badenoch has claimed.
The Tory leader, who argued she felt “very vindicated” by the ruling on the Equality Act, said “almost all businesses” have a disabled lavatories and because they are usually unisex they can be used by trans people.
Speaking to ITV this morning, Badenoch said: “Most, if not all, organisations have a way of dealing with this. Not having gender-neutral loos is one of the easiest things that you can do.
“Almost all businesses I see have disabled loos, they are unisex, different from gender neutral. Trans people can use those.
“But if you are providing a single-sex space, it has to be a single-sex space and the Supreme Court has said, as I always had, that sex is biological, it is not something that you just act, it is biological.”
Ex-senior aide to Wes Streeting handed suspended sentence for double indecent exposure
Samuel Gould has been handed a suspended prison sentence
X/LUTHFARAHMAN
Samuel Gould, a fomer senior aide to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, has been handed a suspended prison sentence after admitting to two counts of indecent exposure.
Gould, 33, was slapped with 22 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for two years at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court.
Back in March, after he pleaded guilty to the charges, Streeting said he was “horrified” by the news – which saw Gould admit to intentionally exposing his genitals “intending that someone would see them and be caused alarm or distress”.
“I am shocked and horrified by this news and my heart goes out to the victims of these totally abhorrent acts,” the Health Secretary said.
“No one should have to endure this behaviour and I am grateful to the police for taking swift action.
“A disciplinary process has been underway since I was made aware of his arrest at the weekend and, following his guilty plea, I am calling for him to resign as a Redbridge Councillor immediately.
“He has abused my trust, the trust of my team and the trust of my constituents and must now accept the consequences of his actions.”
Downing Street slaps aside public sector pay demands despite strike threats
Downing Street has slapped aside demands to hike public sector pay by as much as four per cent – despite the threat of industrial action if demands are not met.
Public sector pay review bodies are recommending pay rises of four per cent for teachers and three per cent for NHS workers, The Times revealed – and it is expected that Labour will accept the recommendations in full.
However, the Government has only budgeted for a 2.8 per cent rise for public sector workers.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “There’ll be no additional funding for pay if recommended awards exceed what departments can afford.”
Keir Starmer admits ‘it’s going to be tough’ as Nigel Farage maintains assault on Runcorn & Helsby
Sir Keir Starmer has admitted that the Runcorn & Helsby by-election will be ‘tough’ for Labour
PA
Sir Keir Starmer has admitted that the Runcorn & Helsby by-election will be “tough” for Labour – as Nigel Farage’s Reform UK sets its sights on the disgraced MP Mike Amesbury’s former seat.
Speaking to broadcasters on Monday, the Prime Minister acknowledged that the elections would be “a challenge”.
He warned: “It’s going to be tough. Most governments after a general election face a tough set of local elections at the first opportunity afterwards, and of course, we’ve had to take tough but right decisions.”
But he claimed that “record investment put into the NHS” and the rise in the minimum wage meant Labour had “a positive story to tell”.
And in yet another repeat of Labour’s attack line against Reform, the PM claimed Nigel Farage wants to charge people to use the NHS, said the party voted against workers’ rights and held a “pro-Putin foreign policy”.
Labour freezes prescription charges in bid to ease rampant cost-of-living crisis
Prescription charges in England will be frozen for the first time in three years, the Prime Minister has said.
Prices will stay at £9.90 per item while three-month and annual pre-payment certificates will also be frozen for 2025/26.
A three-month prescription pre-payment certificate will stay at £32.05, while a 12-month one will remain at £114.50.
Labour claims the move will save patients about £18 million next year – while those already exempt from paying prescriptions will continue to be so.
Sir Keir Starmer, speaking at a health centre in Rossendale, Lancashire, said: “Today we are freezing prescription charges so that means they won’t go over £10. That is really significant, because very many people have to pay for prescriptions.
“There’s a sort of cost-of-living crisis that is still very challenging for people, so this is an important measure in that.
“It’s not the only measure of course – we are taking steps on school uniforms to limit the cost of school uniforms, we’re driving up the minimum wage, we’ve got breakfast clubs coming on stream, that’s something we announced last week, which will save families about £450.
“Each of these, in their incremental way, will ease the pressure that people feel because of the cost-of-living crisis.”
Downing Street confirms £101MILLION splurge on Palestine
Sir Keir Starmer will announce a £101million-valued support package for Palestine at a landmark meeting alongside Foreign Secretary and Mohammad Mustafa, the Prime Minister of the State of Palestine.
“The meeting today is with the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, obviously discussing the UK’s steadfast support to the Palestinian Authority and its own reform agenda, as well as obviously our support of the Palestinian people at a critical moment,” No10 said this afternoon.
Downing Street also hailed the visit as a move to “reaffirm the UK’s commitment to recognising a Palestinian state in the future”.
‘We need SERIOUS solutions’ – ex-Communities Minister issues dire warning after ‘sectarian’ local election campaigns exposed
A former Tory Communities Minister has called for “serious solutions” to a growing integration crisis in Britain after a damning report revealed the scale of single-issue religious campaigning ahead of the local elections.
PoliticsHome revealed that independent candidates in the North West are pushing to end “free mixing” between men and women – with one, 18-year-old Maheen Kamran, saying: “Muslim women aren’t really comfortable with being involved with Muslim men.
“I’m sure we can have segregated areas, segregated gyms, where Muslim women don’t have to sacrifice their health.”
One Labour MP also warned the outlet that efforts to combat Reform UK risked opening the door to “extremist” gains elsewhere.
“People in the party are putting their focus on Reform, which I get, but also at the expense of this threat,” they said, adding: “These are real extremists.”
As a result, ex-Tory Minister Simon Clarke has warned: “We need serious solutions to the lack of integration that is making parts of the UK unrecognisable.
“Elections to Lancashire Council are now dominated not by local services or council tax, but by Palestine and ending ‘free mixing’ between men and women.”
Keir Starmer refuses to deny GB News viewers won’t have to live next door to illegal migrants in Serco rentals
Sir Keir Starmer has refused to deny that GB News viewers will have to live next to illegal migrants
POOL
Sir Keir Starmer has refused to deny that GB News viewers will have to live next to illegal migrants following the damning news that private accommodation will be rented out to asylum seekers.
Pressed on whether viewers of Britain’s News Channel would have to live next to the migrants following a grim milestone day of Channel crossings, the Prime Minister said: “This is a serious problem.
“The last Government lost control of our borders,” he said – and pledged that Labour would tackle people-smuggling gangs through its Border Security Bill.
The Prime Minister also vowed that Labour was processing a “record backlog” of asylum claims, and said that 24,000 people had been removed from Britain since the General Election.
“If they’ve no right to be here, they shouldn’t be housed here at all. They should be processed and removed,” he said.
“While people are waiting for their claims to be processed, we’ve got to find somewhere to put them.”
RECAP: Keir Starmer to cut legal migration in bid to stop surging Reform UK – as Channel crossings SOAR to 10,000 in spring sun
As GB News’ Home and Security Editor Mark White reveals that 10,000 migrants have now crossed the Channel, Sir Keir Starmer will lay out a new plan to cut legal migration following Thursday’s local elections – where Labour is bracing for a Reform UK surge across the country.
A new “white paper” will look to close a loophole which sees foreign students come to the UK on graduate visas before taking up low-paid jobs in the “gig economy” or care sector. It is expected to be published before May 19.
A Home Office source said: “We’ve made a really strong commitment that the Home Secretary wants to reduce net migration. We will use the immigration white paper as a tool for that.”
Labour power-brokers have identified cutting migration as a way to cut the flow of support to Nigel Farage’s party – but Reform is projected to secure hundreds of council seats, multiple mayoralties and could win the Runcorn & Helsby by-election.
One Labour peer, Lord Glasman, has warned that Starmer’s party would “get its head kicked in” by the surging Reform.
And a senior trade union figure told The Telegraph that a “sizeable” chunk of its members would vote for Farage’s candidates on May 1.
But despite the Prime Minister’s long-held pledges to slash legal and illegal migration, the South Coast has overseen the arrival of even more small boat migrants today.
GB News can reveal that the number of illegal migrants to have arrived in Britain in 2025 alone has now crossed the 10,000 mark during a period of hot spring weather.
And more are expected to join – from Tuesday to Friday this week in both Dover and Calais, temperatures will reach the mid-twenties, making illegal crossings easier and more attractive for prospective asylum seekers.
Starmer, Sturgeon and Swinney all told to apologise to women over trans ‘mess’ – ‘It’s not some airy-fairy guidance, it’s the highest court in Britain!’
Sir Keir Starmer, ex-Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and current FM John Swinney have all been told to apologise to women following the Supreme Court’s gender ruling on April 16.
SNP MSP Michelle Thomson told the BBC: “In reality, let’s be clear: Keir Starmer should also be apologising, Nicola Sturgeon should also be apologising because people expect Government to make clear policies that can be translated into law, and this has been quite a mess for some time, and has only been cleared up as a result of the ruling by the Supreme Court.”
She told Swinney to “exhibit very clear leadership” on the issue and “come out really strongly” to warn organisations of the consequences of not following the Supreme Court’s ruling on single-sex spaces.
“This is the Supreme Court that has made a ruling. It’s not some airy-fairy guidance. It’s the highest court across the UK,” Thomson vowed.
“I think he [Swinney] needs to be very clear that where it is possible immediately and now they must adhere to the law.”
Thousands of officials to be trained to ‘manage the next pandemic’ under new Labour plans
Thousands of public officials will be trained to manage crises like a future pandemic in a new “resilience” drive from Labour.
The UK Resilience Academy will train more than 4,000 people each year, working in both public services and the private sector, to better deal with crises.
Skills being taught including helping businesses keep running in the event of a disaster, crowd management skills, and crisis communications.
The Armed Forces and Civil Service will also be offered the training – which is set to fall under the purview of Pat McFadden’s Cabinet Office.
He said: “Today, we’re making a generational upgrade to crisis training for thousands of workers, and helping decision-makers identify vulnerable groups in a crisis.”
The Cabinet Office chief has also launched a new piece of software which will be used to highlight where vulnerable groups are – including the elderly, and those with power outages and insecure food supplies – during crises.
‘No place in British society!’ Kemi Badenoch demands Irish rap group Kneecap be PROSECUTED over vile ‘kill your local MP’ chant
Kneecap allegedly told concertgoers to ‘kill your local MP’
PA
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has demanded that Irish rap group Kneecap be prosecuted for allegedly calling for the death of Tory MPs.
Footage has recently emerged of the group at a November 2023 gig – which appears to show one member saying: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.”
Badenoch has now vowed that Kneecap’s “anti-British hatred has no place in our society”, and has called for them to face action.
Scotland Yard is looking into the incident, alongside footage from another concert from November 2024 in which a member of the band appeared to shout “up Hamas, up Hezbollah”. Both groups are proscribed terrorist organisations.
Badenoch said it was “good” that police were looking into the allegation, adding: “Kneecap’s glorification of terrorism and anti-British hatred has no place in our society.
“Now footage shows one of them saying: ‘The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP’. After the murder of Sir David Amess, this demands prosecution.”
Amess was stabbed to death by Jihadi Ali Harbi Ali while meeting constituents in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, in 2021.
Badenoch blocked a £14,250 Government grant to Kneecap while she was Business Secretary – but in November last year, the rap trio won a discrimination challenge over the decision to refuse them the funding.
Counter-terrorism police are also assessing footage reportedly from the November 2024 gig in London’s Kentish Town Forum and the November 2023 concert.
‘It’s not about immigration, it’s about who’s going to fix the bins!’ Kemi Badenoch lays out local elections pitch as just three days remain until crunch votes
Kemi Badenoch has vowed that this week’s local elections are not about immigration, but about who is going to fix the roads or collect the bins.
The Tory leader has said her party needs to “fight for every single vote” and “remind people about our record and how well we have done at local government level”.
“This is not a referendum on national issues, but local ones,” she said.
“I’ve been travelling all around the country, and one of the councillors I was with, we were on a doorstep, and he showed a leaflet of Reform, saying ‘we’re going to stop the boats’. That’s not what people are voting on on Thursday,” she told ITV.
“We have said that we are going to tackle immigration, but this week’s elections are about who’s going to fix the roads and pick up the bins.”
‘There’s going to be unrest’ – Labour braces for major NHS and teaching strikes even if it accepts bumper pay rises
Labour has been warned of “unrest” and strikes from millions of public sector workers after it was recommended that they should be offered a four per cent pay rise.
Public sector pay review bodies are recommending pay rises of as much as four per cent for teachers and three per cent for NHS workers, The Times revealed – and it is expected that Labour will accept the recommendations in full.
Despite this, the pay hikes will not be enough to quell strike action.
And an NHS source said: “This will go down really badly… These are people who haven’t had a lot given to them in recent years and we know that nurses are gingering up for some kind of industrial action, unions are very upset and it is going to be unrest all over again.”
Care Minister Stephen Kinnock then said this morning: “We’re all about putting more money into the pockets of working people, but we do also have to ensure that we are balancing the books, and we’ve got to work in terms of public sector pay within fiscal constraints.
“So, of course, we will give these recommendations careful consideration. But I would, of course, also urge our colleagues in the trade union movement to engage constructively with us and recognise the reality of the financial position.”
RECAP: As Starmer looks to close legal migration loophole… Whitehall departments at WAR over ‘Deliveroo visas’
The two Whitehall departments were reportedly locked in a bitter feud over the ‘Deliveroo visa’ pathway
PA
Sir Keir Starmer’s move to close a loophole on graduate visa-holders taking up low-paid jobs in the “gig economy” or care sector comes almost three weeks after reports emerged of a row between the Home Office and Department for Education over exactly that.
The two Whitehall departments were reportedly locked in a bitter feud over the visa pathway, which sees foreign students at UK universities graduate – only to end up working in low-skilled roles in the care sector or for food delivery companies.
The DfE is said to be encouraging universities to lobby against reforms to the graduate visa, which currently allows students to stay in the UK for up to two years after they finish their degree.
But research by the Government’s Migration Advisory Committee has found that over 60 per cent of people on a graduate visa earned less than £30,000 after 12 months on the scheme.
As a result, the Home Office is pushing for a new requirement that students must find a graduate-level job to remain in the UK, according to the Financial Times.
The FT also reports that beneath the Home Office’s attempts to limit the graduate visa route are two sets of data:
- One shows a high number of overseas students moving from university into low-paid work, including social care;
- The other suggests tens of thousands of people have moved from a study visa into the asylum system.
Home Office data released last month showed 40,000 asylum claims in 2024 had come from people who had held a UK visa before – and around 40 per cent of these people had held a study visa.
A DfE spokesman said they “did not recognise” any dispute with the Home Office regarding the migration proposals, while a Government spokesman said: “The Home Office and Department for Education are working closely to take an evidence-based approach, linking migration policy to education and skills, so immigration is no longer used at the expense of homegrown talent.”
Trans children to be tested for autism under new plans to find ‘neurodevelopmental conditions’
Transgender children will be tested for autism under new plans to identify any underlying “neurodevelopmental conditions”.
The NHS has revised its guidance so that every child referred to a gender clinic is “holistically assessed for neurodevelopmental conditions” such as ADHD.
Medics working at gender clinics across London and Manchester will be the first to use the guidance after Baroness Cass approved the plans earlier this year.
Previously, she identified a connection between young girls “struggling with gender identity, suicidal ideation and self-harm” and those with “undiagnosed autism, which is often missed in adolescent girls”.
She found it to be the “common denominator” after research revealed that the chances of being autistic were three to six times more likely for transgender people.
WATCH: Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp speaks to GB News Breakfast
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp also spoke to GB News Breakfast this morning – with GB News’ expectation that migrant crossings will reach 10,000 today in the firing line.
You can watch his interview with Eamonn Holmes and Ellie Costello in full here.
Serco to face ‘dressing down’ by Border Security Minister this week after asylum dispersal fury
Serco, the firm at the centre of a furious row over renting out private accommodation to asylum seekers, is set to be hauled into the Home Office this week for urgent talks with Labour’s Border Security Minister, according to reports.
Representatives from the company will meet Angela Eagle this week following the fiasco, Politico reports.
Thanks to contracts awarded under Boris Johnson’s Government, Serco is offering landlords five-year guaranteed full rent deals at the taxpayer’s expense to house the migrants – sparking fears Britain’s housing shortage could be worsened further.
The list of areas destined to house asylum seekers – mainly the Midlands and North West – was published on Serco’s website out of the blue.
And you can read it, in full, below…
WATCH: Care Minister Stephen Kinnock speaks to GB News Breakfast
Care Minister Stephen Kinnock spoke to GB News Breakfast shortly before 7am this morning – with the NHS, migration and Reform UK all among the top talking points.
You can watch his interview with Eamonn Holmes and Ellie Costello in full here.
Keir Starmer: Labour ‘leading the NHS out of the dark ages’ as health app saves millions of appointments from cancellation
Sir Keir Starmer has claimed that Labour is leading the NHS out of the “dark ages” following new figures which say reforming the NHS app has resulted in 1.5 million fewer appointments being missed.
Ministers set out plans to expand the use of the app earlier this year, as part of the elective reform plan.
The scheme is aimed at delivering two million extra appointments by the end of the year, and giving people more flexibility in how, where, and when they get the care they need.
NHS England data from the app shows it has prevented 1.5 million appointments from being missed since the General Election, saving 5.7 million hours of staff time and £622million.
The Prime Minister – set to address the app’s expansion in the North East later today – said: “Our NHS has been stuck in the dark ages held back by old-fashioned systems where patients are struggling for appointments and unable to access their own data.
“We saw during the pandemic how apps can totally transform everyday access to health services… there’s no excuse for the lack of progress in the NHS we’ve inherited.
“NHS reform has to come through better use of tech. It’s the fuel we need to power change.
“As we deliver our plan for change to end hospital backlogs, I want to see more and more people having the option to use the app, so that everyone benefits from more control and choice over their treatment.”
