Sir Keir Starmer could be summoned to give evidence to grooming gangs inquiry

Sir Keir Starmer may be required to give evidence at the grooming gangs inquiry, with hearings due to begin in December.

The former prime minister has been granted core participant status for the public inquiry into grooming gangs. This means he will have specific rights within the inquiry, and may appear alongside other individuals or organisations relevant to the investigation.

While many core participants are asked or compelled to give evidence, it is unclear if he will be required to do so.

After initially refusing calls to launch an inquiry, Sir Keir agreed last year, while still in Number 10, to hold public hearings. The government had faced a barrage of criticism over its handling of the issue, particularly around the issues of transparency and scope.

The investigation will examine specific cities and towns across Britain over allegations that authorities responded inadequately to local claims of child sexual exploitation by various grooming gangs.

London, Oldham, Bradford and Keighley will be among the first towns and cities the inquiry will focus on. Gangs which operated in Birmingham and Wales will also be examined.

The inquiry follows Baroness Louise Casey's 2025 damning report, which concluded that authorities had failed to protect children, track crime data accurately, and confront group-based child sexual exploitation.

The government accepted the recommendations from the inquiry, but continued to face criticism as many of the same issues had been raised in previous reports.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk then raised international attention on the issue when he used his X social media platform to attack Sir Keir over the long-running scandal.

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The hearings programme of the inquiry is made up of three phases, with the first taking place in December and January. This is set to examine the ways in which local services failed victims and survivors.

It will also look at whether the findings of past investigations and recommendations were implemented successfully to bring about meaningful change.

Further hearings will be held in March and April next year.

During his bid to become a Labour MP, the man who replaced Sir Keir as prime minister, Andy Burnham, insisted he "acted immediately" on grooming gangs while he was mayor of Greater Manchester and criticised others for manipulating the facts.

Former children's commissioner for England, Baroness Anne Longfield, is leading the £65 million three-year inquiry, which has the legal powers to compel witnesses to give evidence and require organisations to hand over documents.

Any evidence of crimes uncovered will be referred to Operation Beaconport, the national police operation launched to review hundreds of previously closed investigations.

(c) Sky News 2026: Sir Keir Starmer could be summoned to give evidence to grooming gangs inquiry