EQUALITIES Minister Jacqui Smith has denied a suggestion that the government has delayed action on a promised nation inquiry into grooming gangs to avoid criticism in the run-up to the next general election.

Asked if the government is dragging its heels, Baroness Smith told GB News: “It isn’t, and we’re working hard on making sure that that inquiry is set up and works…identifying the nature of people who were responsible for this absolute abomination, including religious and ethnic backgrounds.

“The government has been very, very clear about that, and of course, has also asked the police to look at cold cases relating to grooming gangs, which has led actually to some further action and investigations and potential prosecutions.

“The last Tory government had a considerable amount of time to put in place the recommendations of the child safeguarding review. They failed to do that. So they’re coming slightly late in opposition to this but this government is determined to take action.”

Asked if the government was trying to push the issue beyond the next general election, she said: “No, that’s completely wrong. And what’s more, we’ve taken action on a range of other recommendations from the child safeguarding inquiry that the Tories chose to sit on for years when they were actually in government.

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“There’s no point now being outraged in opposition for Kemi Badenoch, she could have acted when she was in government. She didn’t.”

On the government’s plan to boost the number of apprenticeships for young people, she said: “What we’ve seen, for example, over the last 10 years is a reduction of 40% in the numbers of young people starting apprenticeships.

“Apprenticeships are a really good way of getting yourself into a skilled job. And the important thing here, Eamonn, is that we provide the right choices for young people.

“For some people, it will be right to go to university. For others, especially where we want to rebuild the economy, renew our country, get more people into construction, into advanced manufacturing, into some of the work that the increase that we’re making in defence spending will be, will be bringing apprenticeships are a really good way of doing that.

“The Prime Minister is off to McLaren today. He can congratulate them on their double win in the F1 championships, but he’s also going to be looking at the way there that they’re using apprenticeships.”