Minister for Victims & Violence Against Women and Girls Alex Davies-Jones responds to calls for a national statutory public inquiry into sexual abuse of children by grooming gangs
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00:00Are you comfortable with the breadth of Professor Jay's inquiry?
00:03We had Robert Jenrick on the programme earlier.
00:05He said only six towns were investigated as part of that.
00:10He believes 50 towns, in reality, have problems with child sexual exploitation.
00:15Detective Maggie Oliver told us this is a national problem, and so a full national public
00:20inquiry is what's needed.
00:21Well, the terms of reference for the national inquiry that Alexis Jay undertook was drawn
00:27up by the previous government.
00:28This inquiry took seven years, it cost over £100 million, over 7,000 victims and survivors
00:34gave their brave testimony to that inquiry, and it is on us as government now to listen
00:39to them and to work at pace to look through these recommendations and deliver them.
00:44And if that victims' voice panel that we have set up says to us, after we've implemented
00:50these recommendations, that more work is required, then of course we will do that work.
00:54So you are satisfied, though, that as things stand, the breadth of it is enough?
00:59I think that inquiry was very broad, it was very wide-ranging, and we owe it to those
01:04victims to get on with the job, more action, less words, and deliver on those recommendations.
01:10So just to be clear, you will not be supporting the leader of the opposition's movement tomorrow
01:13to amend the bill?
01:15I will not be.
01:16I want to be working at pace to deliver on those recommendations and work to support
01:19victims.