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- Open conspiracy: in the UK, a new round of scandal surrounding a network of pedophile gangs
Open conspiracy: in the UK, a new round of scandal surrounding a network of pedophile gangs
In Britain, the scandal surrounding a network of pedophile gangs consisting mainly of Pakistanis has developed. More importantly, the public has become aware of the deliberate inaction of the authorities in investigating the crimes. The scandal directly affects the ruling British elites and especially the failing Labor Party. The situation is already out of control and threatens unprecedented consequences in modern British history. "Izvestia" tells the details.
Death laughs
According to the British media, since the early 2000s in the country operated a network of organized criminal groups - mainly made up of natives of Pakistan. Some of them have already been convicted, but are currently seeking parole. Some, such as Kari Abdullah Rauf, who is known as the leader of the Rochdel gang, should have been deported 10 years ago, but the man remains in the country. Several have served minimum sentences and have already been released.
However, quite a few members of the vast group will likely never be found and punished - as investigative journalism has shown, British police have refused to take statements from victims for years. In addition, the official authorities until recently did not recognize the existence of a network of groups and refused to combine dozens of cases into one. There are excerpts from the investigation documents with gruesome details of crimes committed against minors: rape in a particularly perverted form, forced prostitution. We are talking about approximately 2 thousand victims in several cities in the UK.
In 2013, the police conducted an operation that identified 1,100 victims in Rotherham alone (a suburb of Sheffield), arrested 209 people, but 160 criminal cases are either closed or still pending in the courts.
This is how brooding makes us cowards
A story stretching back almost three decades has been given a boost thanks to Ilon Musk. On the first day of the coming year, the billionaire accused the UK government of criminal inaction. The reason for his anger was information that Jess Phillips, the kingdom's deputy Home Secretary, had ignored repeated requests for her department to investigate child abuse in Oldham. When she did respond, the minister dismissed the request in the official language, leaving the problem to the local authorities. In other words, the government de facto refused to publicize the problem and in the end simply distanced itself from it.
Notably, Phillips, who calls herself a feminist, oversees domestic and child abuse issues at the Home Office (another name for the Home Office).
Commenting on the news, Musk wrote that Phillips should be in jail and that Prime Minister Keir Starmer "participated in the rape of Britain."
Ilon Musk
The relationship between the billionaire and the leader of the ruling party has long left much to be desired, states the British author of the Telegram channel Westminster Vasily Egorov.
- This is a rather long history, which began in the 90s. It reached its peak in the early 2010s, and it took place in several cities at once: Rotheram, Manchester, Rochdale, Newcastle, Brentford. Without the advancement that Musk's remarks gave, the story might well have drowned in the typical British debate. At the same time, the Musk-Starmer conflict has been dragging on for quite some time. One can recall the attack in Southport, which the billionaire also commented on," the Izvestia interlocutor points out.
The ministry's statement that followed soon after did not satisfy many people either. "No child should be sexually abused or exploited. All those responsible for the welfare of children must learn from past mistakes and do everything possible to prevent future failures," Yvette Cooper said.
Days after the scandal became international in scope, the Conservatives tabled an amendment to the bill in the House of Commons for a national inquiry. It was rejected, however, by a margin of 256 votes - with most of Labor voting against it. Prime Minister Keir Starmer cited the fact that all the necessary data had already been gathered and "we just need to get on with it". And although the Conservatives' initiative can easily be seen as an attempt to "ride" the agenda (they are doing slightly better than Labor in terms of ratings), the public refusal to investigate has caused serious reputational damage to the ruling party. A separate stream of criticism was also received by Starmer, who from 2008 to 2013 was the head of the Crown Prosecution Service (the main state body for supervision and prosecution of criminal cases in England and Wales, subordinate to the attorney general) and who failed, as is now alleged, to take the necessary steps to dismantle the gangster network.
Two more days passed and as a result of an operation ("bait-and-switch") carried out by a group of civil activists, former Labor Party MP Ivor Caplin was arrested in Brighton. According to the British press, he is accused of sexual relations with a minor. It is noteworthy that Caplin was one of those who until a few days ago commented on Musk's statements in harsh terms. In addition, he became a former Labor MP in May 2024 after being suspended in connection with some "serious allegations".
At the same time, the ruling party itself is not unanimous on the decision taken by the House of Commons. For example, Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester (an agglomeration that includes several other cities besides Manchester proper), the region most affected by criminals, was in favor of the investigation.
The failure of the opponents was expectedly commented on by the Conservatives. Even Liz Truss spoke out. The worst British Prime Minister in history (according to polls) recalled that Phillips was the one who "justified the masked Islamist thugs".
However, experts point out that the Labor government has committed criminal inaction just like their Conservative predecessors who have made the Cabinet for the past 13 years. What is happening is a long-standing and painful issue due to a complex of reasons, explains Elena Kharitonova, a senior researcher at the IMEMO RAS Center for European Studies.
- On the one hand, the story of the gangs is not new and has been discussed for a long time. The main issue is that for many years the police kept silent about the scale of what was going on and did not take all the necessary measures, fearing accusations of racism. On the other hand, the migration-related storyline has not lost its relevance and remains a painful topic for British society. We see a lot of dissatisfaction with the policies of past governments, including in the field of migration. This is overlaid with socio-economic problems. Hence the low level of trust in the two main parties. The third point is the internal political struggle. Labor has a majority, but its rating, as expected, went down sharply after the elections. It is clear that the amendment proposed by the Conservatives, which could hardly be adopted, is an element of the political game against the opponents," emphasizes Kharitonova.
In the "noughties" there was a consensus within the British ruling class that the ethnic origin of criminals could not be discussed, adds Vasily Egorov.
- I suppose the Conservatives thought the problem was solved, because many criminals were punished. But again, even in 2025, we see how the topic of ethnic crime is afraid to raise the level of public discussion, especially when it comes to small towns. Besides, judging by those gruesome details of what happened, one can conclude that the political class decided not to disclose details to the general public," the expert pointed out.
England raised you
While the ratings of the two main British parties are at the same low level (26.1% for the Conservatives, 26.6% for Labor), alternative (and still recently recognized as outsiders) political forces are surging ahead. Starmer's predecessor as Labor leader (and holder of an anti-record approval rate) Jeremy Corbyn is forming a new party on the left. On the right, Nigel Farage's Reform Party continues its dynamic rise. With 21% of the vote behind it, it is the highest ever for this political force. Other sources put it at the top of the list.
According to the YouGov research company, 76% of the kingdom's population support demands to investigate child abuse, including 84% of Conservative supporters, 65% of Labor supporters and 91% of Reform Party voters.
London, UK
At the same time, the general trend shows an ever-increasing distrust of the political class and state institutions - just as it was and is in the United States. And these kinds of scandals only reinforce these trends.
At the same time, judging by recent events, anti-immigrant and anti-Islamic sentiments are growing in Great Britain, on the one hand supported by the British right, but also largely caused by the policies of Labor and the Conservatives. Clear studies on this topic are unlikely to be released in the near future, but public discontent, previously expressed on social networks (which the government is actively fighting against), at some point began to take to the streets.
