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Politics latest: Grooming gangs findings to be unveiled - as Starmer attends day two of G7 summit

Baroness Louise Casey's findings on grooming gangs are set to be announced on Monday, after Sir Keir Starmer committed to a statutory inquiry.

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G7 summit 'all about the Donald' as Canada tries to avoid friction in the Rockies

Analysis by James Matthews, US correspondent

The fresh air of Canada's Rocky Mountains clears the head. It'll need to.

Here, the village of Kananaskis (population circa 130) finds itself, temporarily, the diplo-centre of the world - hosting diplomacy of the difficult kind.

If this isn't quite a crisis meeting, it's a meeting amidst crisis. The Israel-Iran conflict is front and centre of the G7 agenda and key players have come here talking de-escalation.

If they're speaking with a single voice at the start, don't hold your breath for a single strategy by the end.

The G7 starring Donald Trump is a different movie - this isn't a gathering built necessarily on the shared understanding and common purpose that has, generally, defined the annual team meeting of the world's leading democracies.

Here, an abrasive US president will schmooze leaders he's screwing on trade, undermining on defence priorities and, generally, putting at a distance.

Ukraine's Volodymyr ZelenAG百家乐在线官网y and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa - both veterans of the Oval Office hair dryer treatment - are the special guests filed under specially awkward.

Cost of rural crime in Wales at its highest in more than a decade

By Tomos Evans, Wales reporter

The cost of rural crime in Wales is at its highest in more than a decade, a new report has revealed.

Last year, rural crime cost an estimated 拢2.8m in Wales, according to insurance provider NFU Mutual.

That's an 18% increase on the previous year, with Wales the only UK nation to have seen a rise.

For farmers like Caryl Davies, that makes their work harder.

The 21-year-old farms on a beef and sheep farm in Pembrokeshire.

She told Sky News that having the quad bike stolen from her family farm last August had made them feel "really unsafe at home".

Ex-prosecutor has 'pragmatic doubts' about new grooming gangs national inquiry

A former prosecutor said he has "pragmatic doubts" about a new grooming gangs national inquiry. 

Nazir Afzal, who was chief crown prosecutor for the North West from 2011 to 2015, told the BBC that national inquiries were costly and lengthy, and could not bring people the accountability they wanted. 

He said: 鈥淧eople want accountability. I鈥檓 not sure people鈥檚 expectations will be realised. 

"Only criminal investigations can bring real accountability. That鈥檚 what needs to happen. Not just for those who offended, but also those who stood by and didn鈥檛 do what they were meant to do.

"Unfortunately my experience with national inquiries is that they take forever and don鈥檛 deliver accountability."

He suggested placing a time limit on the inquiry.

Idea of statutory inquiry 'filled me with doom' - but now 'I'm glad its getting done', says MP

Sarah Champion, the MP for Rotherham, has told Sky News that she was initially opposed to a statutory inquiry into grooming gangs - but changed her mind.

Asked if the decision to hold this national inquiry is a U-turn from the prime minister, she said: "I don't really care, if I'm honest.

"I'm just glad that it's getting done."

Champion went on to explain why she was reluctant to back a national inquiry initially.

She said: "When the calls came for a national inquiry I was quite reluctant myself, because 10 years ago I worked with Tom Watson and Zac Goldsmith and we got the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.

"That lasted seven years and cost nearly 拢200m. 

"So the thought of doing another one when the recommendations from the last one still haven't gone through filled me with doom.

"But then I thought actually, the specific model of Pakistani men grooming girls and some boys in this country, it keeps on coming up.

"People don't think that justice has been done in a fair way.

"I think unless we get to the bottom of this, it's always going to be a sore that we need to address."

Grooming gangs scandal timeline: What happened, what inquiries there were and how Starmer was involved

By Alix Culbertson, political reporter

Sir Keir Starmer has announced he is U-turning and will order a full public inquiry into grooming gangs.

The scandal hit the headlines again in January after Elon Musk attacked Sir Keir Starmer and minister Jess Phillips for failing children.

The tech billionaire accused Starmer of being "complicit" in the failure of authorities to protect victims and prosecute abusers while the prime minister was director of public prosecutions from 2008-2013.

Starmer hit back at Musk, saying his record shows how he tackled the issue head-on.

The row started after it was revealed that safeguarding minister Jess Phillips had rejected calls from Oldham Council for a government inquiry into historical grooming gangs in the town, with Phillips saying the council should lead an inquiry instead.

She also hit back after Musk's subsequent attacks on her.

Sky News looks at a timeline of the grooming gangs scandal, inquiries and Starmer's role.

Starmer was 'dragged kicking and screaming' into launching grooming gangs inquiry - Philp

Now joining Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast is shadow home secretary Chris Philp.

He is asked about the government's decision to launch a statutory inquiry into grooming gangs - after they initially resisted the idea.

Philp claims Sir Keir Starmer was forced into this action.

He says: "Keir Starmer has at last agreed, but he had to be dragged here kicking and screaming. 

"He's not doing this because he wants to or because he believes in it. He's doing this because he was forced to.

"Forced partly by the Casey report and partly by the vote that we have scheduled in parliament on Wednesday."

But Wilfred points out that this action wasn't taken by the Conservatives, who were in government for 14 years.

Philp insists that the Tories made progress, adding that after the election last year "Oldham Council said we can't investigate this ourselves".

He says: "We need a national inquiry, including into the cover up. 

"Now the Labour government contemptuously dismissed that request by Oldham Council and that became public in January. 

"And that is when the campaign really began."

Politics at Sam and Anne's: Can Starmer contain Trump on Iran?

馃憠馃憟&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;

Sky News' Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy serve up their essential guide to the day in British politics.

The prime minister is in Canada at the G7 as conflict escalates in the Middle East. Can Sir Keir Starmer contain any further flare-ups between Donald Trump and other allies and attempt to bring some calm to the region?

The prime minister is also set to authorise a national inquiry into grooming gangs, six months after he said people calling for one were "jumping on the bandwagon".

It comes after a national inquiry was recommended by Baroness Louise Casey in her 200-page report, which is due to be published today. How will Starmer respond to the rapid review?

First UK fatalities of Air India flight confirmed

The first British fatalities of the Air India crash have been confirmed, Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said.

Upwards of 50 British nationals were on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner when it crashed minutes after taking off from Ahmedabad last Thursday.

One British man is known to have survived the impact.

Lammy said: "The first British fatalities in the devastating Ahmedabad plane crash have now officially been confirmed. 

"My profound condolences to all in this moment of shared grief. 

"We're working tirelessly on the ground to support British nationals and their families."

Does Labour regret initially rejecting statutory inquiry into grooming gangs scandal?

Emma Reynolds is now asked about the decision to hold a national statutory inquiry on grooming gangs - which had previously been refused by the government.

Do ministers reject pushing back so strongly in the past?

"Our priority since we've been in government is to deliver justice as quickly as possible to the victims of grooming gangs," she says.

"That's why in January the home secretary ordered every police force in the country to review investigations into grooming gangs."

Because of this, she says, 800 cases have now been re-opened.

"Baroness Casey, when she first looked at this, when we asked her to do this rapid review that the report of which will be published later today, didn't think we needed an additional national inquiry in addition to the local inquiries that we're supporting the establishment of," she adds.

However, the baroness has "since found that there are gaps and that there is a role for national inquiry in coordinating those local inquiries and compelling people to give evidence".

"But the priority, as I said, is of the government is to take concrete action to have a proper plan and to make sure that those recommendations from Alexis Jay aren't just sat in a report on a shelf somewhere, like they were left to do when the last government was in power," Reynolds explains.

"She reported in 2022, and none of those 20 recommendations were taken forward by the last government."

UK 'hasn't been involved in any Israeli action', says minister

Emma Reynolds, the economic secretary to the Treasury, is now joining Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast.

He asks about the conflict between Israel and Iran, and whether there is any space for UK diplomacy.

Reynolds says the government's priority "is to de-escalate the situation".

"We're urging both sides to step back because the escalation of the situation is in nobody's interest," she adds.

But could the UK deploy assets to intercept missiles?

"We haven't been involved in any of the Israeli action," Reynolds says.

"The priority now for us... is to urge both sides to show restraint."

Asked if the UK is available to Israel, the minister refused to say.

She adds that there should be a "diplomatic solution" to this conflict.