Welsh First Minister faces calls to back grooming gang inquiry
A debate in the Senedd was heated, with the leader of the Welsh Conservatives told to ‘tone it down’ by the Llywydd.
Opposition MSs have called for the Welsh First Minister to back an inquiry into grooming gangs, in a tense exchange in the Senedd.
Darren Millar, the leader of the Welsh Conservatives, repeatedly asked Eluned Morgan if she will support a national or Wales-wide inquiry.
The debate was heated, with Baroness Morgan accused of dodging the question, while Mr Millar was told to “tone it down” by the Llywydd – the Senedd’s presiding officer.
Speaking during First Minister’s Questions on Tuesday, he said: “We know that people up and down Wales are talking about this issue.
“They need assurances that both the Welsh and the UK governments, along with the police and social services, are doing all that they can to prevent young girls in Wales from becoming victims of grooming gangs.
“They want to know that justice will be served against the perpetrators of these crimes, but they can only have those assurances if we know the full extent of the problems that we have here in Wales and the actions which are being taken by everybody to address them.”
Baroness Morgan refused to say whether she supports a new inquiry and was accused of not answering the question by Mr Millar.
She said: “I think it is important when we’re discussing sensitive issues like this that we think first of the victims, and many have endured dreadful abuse.
“It’s really important we stand with them and by them when we seek justice.
“It’s really disappointing that this issue has been politicised to a point where people working for humanitarian organisations and children in school feel threatened, and I really hope we can tone down the rhetoric on this issue.”
Baroness Morgan appeared to be referring to concerns raised by the Welsh Refugee Council (WRC) after a video from 2023 created by a Welsh school was reshared by former Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies on Saturday.
The former Tory leader alleged in a post on X that the video had been used as “propaganda” by Labour ministers, and said it was “highly inappropriate for a political organisation to be going into schools and using children in propaganda like this”.
The video was made as part of a school project and said Wales was a welcoming place for refugees.
The WRC – which has said it was not involved in creating the video – shared but later deleted the video in 2023 following a “hostile backlash”.
Andrea Cleaver, chief executive of WRC, said in a statement this week: “We take any false or defamatory statements seriously and are working closely with the police and relevant authorities to address this matter.”
Baroness Morgan told the Senedd she was “disappointed” in Mr Millar’s questions, with Elin Jones, the Llywydd, suggesting he was “verging on not being totally respectful of the victims”.
Mr Millar had been detailing reports of a victim who was raped “1,000 times”.
The First Minister added: “The Welsh Government fully supported the previous independent inquiry into child sexual abuse and we are, on the back of that, developing a 10-year strategy for preventing and responding to child sexual abuse.
“The author of that report made it very clear that her interest was in making sure that the recommendations of that report were actioned, and I can assure you that several of those recommendations have already been implemented here in Wales.”
Professor Alexis Jay, who led a seven-year probe into child sexual abuse, has previously said victims want action rather than a new national inquiry into grooming gangs.
The UK Government knocked back calls for a national review in favour of locally-led inquiries, saying it is focused on implementing recommendations from Prof Jay’s 2022 report on the issue.
The issue gained international attention after tech billionaire Elon Musk posted a slew of attacks aimed at the Prime Minister over the issue at the start of the year.
