Whistleblower says Starmer ‘guilty as anyone’ over grooming gang failures

A former detective who uncovered police failings in investigating grooming gangs has said Sir Keir Starmer is “perhaps as guilty as anyone” over the failure to bring about change.

Whistleblower Maggie Oliver, who resigned from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) in 2012, on Friday criticised previous inquiries into the scandal and called for an independent investigation and “criminal accountability” for public officials and police who “turned a blind eye”.

It came after Elon Musk claimed the Prime Minister failed to bring “rape gangs” to justice when he was director of public prosecutions (DPP) between 2008 and 2013.

Ms Oliver said on X that inquiries into what happened have led “absolutely nowhere” and “wasted” millions of pounds, adding that those leading them “have always wanted to cover up the truth”.

She went on: “I firmly believe we need totally independent people who will ensure it’s not just another attempt to delay and hide the truth. Radical change and overhaul of all our public bodies.

“And bring in criminal accountability for all our senior police and public officials who have turned a blind eye.

“Those with vested interests who pop up when this hits the headlines then fade away again when it all dies down will not bring change. They’re in it for themselves I believe.

“Conservatives and Labour are all equally to blame imo (in my opinion), and Keir Starmer as former DPP is perhaps as guilty as anyone I know in where we find ourselves today.

“We all know what’s going on, but I don’t trust a single one of those who to date have been entrusted with keeping our children safe and prosecuting serial rapists. They’ve failed. Repeatedly. Knowingly. Criminally.”

Tesla owner Mr Musk, a key member of incoming US President Donald Trump’s inner circle, also suggested that safeguarding minister Jess Phillips “deserves to be in prison” after she denied requests for the Home Office to lead a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham on Thursday.

Instead Ms Phillips said, in a letter to the local council, Oldham must follow in the footsteps of other towns like Rotherham and Telford and commission its own inquiry into historical abuse of children.

Whistleblower Sara Rowbotham, co-ordinator of the Crisis Intervention Team set up to support young people in Rochdale, expressed frustration at Mr Musk’s posts about the scandal on X, which he owns.

She told The Guardian: “What is (Musk’s) motivation for interfering? It seems very political.

“The person he is trying to go after is Keir Starmer – it is a political swipe that is nothing to do with the women and girls who have been abused time after time.”

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse, which published its final report in 2022, described the sexual abuse of children as an “epidemic that leaves tens of thousands of victims in its poisonous wake”.

Led by Professor Alexis Jay, the inquiry looked into abuse by organised groups following multiple convictions of sexual offences against children across the UK between 2010-2014, including in Rotherham, Cornwall, Derbyshire, Rochdale and Bristol.

In November last year, Professor Jay said she felt “frustrated” that none of the probe’s 20 recommendations had been implemented more than two years after its conclusion.

The Labour Party and Number 10 have been approached for comment.