00:00Good morning to you. There is a lot to get through.
00:03Can I just ask, to begin with, and I don't know how across this you are,
00:09and to be fair, we haven't got a lot of details here,
00:12but in an hour, Michael Gove's going to be in the studio talking to Charlie Peters
00:16about claims he has that the Conservatives actually,
00:21when in government, sat on a grooming gang's report,
00:26didn't want it to be released.
00:27Now, if that proves to be the case, that's going to be hugely damaging for you, isn't it?
00:34Well, look, I can't comment on something I'm just learning about for the very first time
00:38when you were telling me I had not got any indication of what Michael may or may not be saying in his interview.
00:45But what is quite clear is that this national inquiry,
00:48which, you know, Kemi, as leader of the opposition, has been calling for for some time now,
00:52is long overdue, though there has been quite clear evidence of cover-up in communities
00:57up and down this country, and that's dreadful for pernicious reasons.
01:01And people who have been found guilty or are going to be found guilty of these most heinous crimes
01:05should feel the full force of the law.
01:08That's only right and proper, and we owe it to the victims of these crimes
01:12to do what we can to ensure those people who are guilty of them face the consequences.
01:17But as I said, I don't know what Michael is going to be saying in his interview upcoming.
01:21You mentioned it there. It was the very first I knew about it.
01:24But Kemi Bainock, as you've just referenced there, been very vocal on this issue.
01:29Is it wrong then for your party to paint yourself as victors here with this national inquiry that you've been calling for
01:35when you didn't do so for the 14 years that you were in power,
01:38and now reports from Michael Gove that you actually stalled a report?
01:42Let me be absolutely clear. There's no victors in this.
01:44There are only victims and those who are accused of carrying out some of these crimes.
01:50And nobody is, you know, doing a victory lap over the decision that was taken this week.
01:55We said it was belated. We've been calling for it for some time.
01:58We want this national inquiry to get up and running so that the victims of these crimes can get justice.
02:04And that must happen.
02:06How do you, I was just saying to our viewers and this is,
02:09how do you continue this process without making it political?
02:15Because, as you say, that doesn't do anybody any favours, actually, does it?
02:18And it actually detracts from what really matters here.
02:23Well, of course, we need to seek to take the politics out of this.
02:26But the evidence that we've seen thus far is that in towns and cities controlled by Labour politicians,
02:34there has been evidence of cover-up to the highest level.
02:39And that is why this national inquiry is so important,
02:43because there is a link between party politics, communities,
02:47the people who've committed these crimes or have been accused of committing these crimes.
02:51Then I think that that needs to be exposed.
02:53So it's difficult to take the politics out of it when we're examining whether or not,
02:56as a result of politics, these cover-ups have actually been happening.
03:00But in terms of the inquiry getting underway, carrying out their work,
03:05no, we should seek to take the politics out of that as much as possible.
03:09And remember that at the heart of this entire thing are some of the most vulnerable people in society,
03:15women and girls, who have been treated and have suffered the most awful abuse.
03:20And they are the ones that should be the forefront of our thoughts moving forward,
03:23not political point scoring.
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