Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch (R) hosts a press conference following the announcement on a national inquiry into grooming gangs, on June 17, 2025 in London, England.

Kemi Badenoch has been called out for “politicising” the grooming gangs after holding a new press conference on the scandal.

The Conservative leader and the shadow home secretary Chris Philp sat on a panel with some of the victims’ family members on Tuesday.

The meeting was a response to Labour’s sudden decision to call a national inquiry on grooming gangs.

The move stunned Westminster as the government previously accused any politicians who called for another probe of “jumping on the far-right bandwagon”.

But Keir Starmer claimed to have changed his mind over the weekend after an independent report from Baroness Louise Casey on child sexual exploitation recommended another inquiry.

The Conservatives have subsequently seen this as a victory on their campaigning, and called on Starmer to apologise for his past remarks – while somehow still promising to support the government with the new probe.

Then today, Badenoch suggested grooming gangs should not be a politicised issue at her press conference.

“I do think we should take the politics out of it,” she........

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