>> good afternoon britain. it's 12:00 on monday the 6th of january. i'm tom harwood and i'm emily carver. more horrific developments from the ongoing grooming gangs rape gangs scandal as new reports reveal that civil servants delayed attempts to secure compensation for victims. >> sir keir starmer, however, says that there are too many people jumping on the bandwagon of the far right. aspects of the scandal and misinformation, he says, is inflicting more damage on the victims. >> the victims here suffered terrible abuse, unthinkable.

unspeakable. genuinely sickening abuse. and then they weren't listened to. >> well, the scandal has also divided the reform party, as elon musk calls for nigel farage to be replaced as that party's leader. will the musk comments split their supporters in two.7 >> split their supporters in two? >> and today, the petition, with now over 3 million signatures calling for a general election, remember, is being debated in parliament today. we're going to speak to the man who launched the petition here in the studio. i can't get over these comments from keir starmer. what on earth is he talking about? he is saying that politicians who are now calling for a national inquiry into grooming gangs, rape gangs, whatever you want to call them, are just jumping on the bandwagon of the far right. does he not understand that by saying that he is therefore calling a lot of people in this country who want such an inquiry

also jumping on the bandwagon of the far right? what is that about? >> it was the new executive elected in one of those areas that had had one of the most heinous level of rape gangs activity in the last 20 years, that called on the minister to establish an inquiry. then the minister sends them a letter saying, we're not going to do that. you can do your own local one. that's what started this, not the far right. it was the elected council. i mean, how much, how much clearer does it have to be? >> i just if you're calling kemi badenoch a reform, mps and ergo supporters of those politicians, or at least the call for the national inquiry. far right, where do you go from that? he also spoke about the truth and misinformation and misleading comments on twitter and the like, as if he is now the arbiter of what is and isn't the truth. you know, transparency, open debate is necessary when it comes to these issues. >> and i think it's particularly

galling to talk about something like the truth when the truth had been covered up for so long, when whenever someone said that there is a particular problem in some of the pakistani communities in certain towns across england, anyone who was said who tried to speak that truth was told to shut up. your racist, you're wrong. that's not the problem. it's all white people ignoring the very specific community problem that has now been established again and again and again in over 50 towns in this country. >> yeah. let us know what you make of it all. gbnews.com/yoursay do you think that was quite the misstep from keir starmer there to essentially suggest that anyone calling for a public inquiry is now some kind of far right bigot of sorts? let us know. gbnews.com/yoursay. we are going to be speaking to charlie peters with the very latest as well. >> yes, that's all to come after your latest news headlines with sophia hill.

>> thank you, tom and emily, a very good afternoon. it's just gone 12:00. and here are your latest headlines from the gb newsroom. the prime minister has defended his position as director of public prosecutions, saying child sexual exploitation is utterly sickening and it was something that he had tackled head on in that role. the prime minister has also hit back at musk over his comments on twitter that claimed safeguarding ministerjess phillips is an evil witch and deserved to be in jail. sir keir starmer went on to accuse opposition politicians of amplifying what the far right is saying on child sexual abuse, after failing to act for 14 long years. >> victims here suffered terrible abuse, unthinkable. unspeakable. genuinely sickening abuse. and then they weren't listened to. and that has to be taken seriously. >> commenting on the criticism of jess phillips, the home secretary, yvette cooper has said jess phillips, minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, has

dedicated her career to tackling sexual violence and abuse and to being a voice for victims and survivors of the most terrible crimes, including child sexual abuse. she has worked with whistleblowers and campaigned tirelessly for justice for those let down by endemic institutional failure. meanwhile, also this morning, sir keir starmer has pledged to reduce nhs waiting lists, saying we need nhs reform from top to bottom and that he would fight for the nhs day and night. the prime minister has called for more convenience for patients, and said that no institution is more important to the security of the country than the nhs. >> let me be crystal clear that money will be used not as it has beenin money will be used not as it has been in the past, as to sort of paper over the cracks. that's the definition of the sticking plaster politics that we were elected to change. now this is the year we roll up our sleeves and reform the nhs. a new era of convenience in care, faster treatment at your fingertips,

patients in control at nhs fit for the future. >> and today, as justin welby's final day as the archbishop of canterbury, as he prepares to step down over failures in handung step down over failures in handling a church of england abuse scandal. almost two months after announcing his resignation, he will officially quit the role at midnight tonight. it follows an independent review that concluded john smith, a barrister and christian camp leader, might have been brought to justice if archbishop welby had reported him to the police in 2013. the archbishop has made few public appearances since mid—november, and did not give the traditional christmas day sermon from canterbury cathedral. and weather warnings across the country persisted this morning as many commuters suffered travel disruptions from severe weather. major roads were closed, railway lines blocked and manchester airport's runways were closed early on this morning because of snow, but have since reopened. travel disruptions are due to flooding and thawing snow and heavy rain. as it stands, there are 60 flood warnings in place and 260 flood

alerts. this comes after most of the uk saw heavy snow or icy rainfall over the weekend, and we even reached the coldest night of the winter so far at —13.3 degrees. and it's the start of ceremony season. as the golden globes took place last night. british stars hugh grant and cynthia erivo were among the top nominees, but hollywood stars demi moore and sebastian stan took home the win for best actress and actor in the musical or comedy category. the hit musical wicked and limited series baby reindeer were also among key winners of the night, with fans also praising nikki glaser for her masterclass hosting performance. those are the latest gb news headlines for now. i'll be back in half an houn now. i'll be back in half an hour, but now it's time for emily and tom. >> good afternoon britain. it's seven minutes past midday now. our politicians calling for an

inquiry into grooming gangs, simply jumping on a bandwagon of the far right. well, that's the claim made by the prime minister when he spoke to reporters earlier today. >> it's quite an extraordinary claim. he also appeared to accuse elon musk of spreading lies, claiming that many of those calling for an inquiry are not interested in the victims, only themselves. >> it is something about the nature of our politics, because once we lose the anchor, that truth matters in the robust debate we must have, then we're on a very slippery slope. and when politicians and i mean politicians who sat in government for many years are casual about honesty, decency, truth and the rule of law, calling for inquiries because they want to jump on a bandwagon of the far right, then that affects politics, because a robust debate can only be based on the true facts. and that's

why this isn't this is actually an important point about our politics, not about what anybody may or may not say on twitter. that actually isn't the main issue. the main issue is what are politicians here doing to stand up for the things that matter to our democracy and the way that we have robust debate? that's why i want to call this out. >> well, what do you make of that? gb news national reporter charlie peters joins us live from greater manchester now. charlie, just to start with, what did you make of those comments from the prime minister, essentially suggesting that politicians who are calling for a national inquiry that politicians who are calling for a national in