Those involved in grooming gangs 'cover-up' need to be 'exposed', Andrew Bowie tells GB News

GB News

Shadow Energy Secretary Andrew Bowie has faced a scathing grilling by GB News host Stephen Dixon, following claims that Whitehall officials attempted to "block" journalists from reporting on grooming gangs when in Government.Speaking to the People's Channel, Bowie argued that there was cover-up "to the highest level" in towns and cities controlled by Labour.FULL STORY HERE.

Transcript

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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