Britain’s Labour government came under pressure to act after Elon Musk reignited a decade-old scandal involving child sexual abuse mainly by men of Pakistani heritage.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced plans for a nationwide review of grooming gang evidence and five government-backed local inquiries. She stopped short of launching a statutory national inquiry, as called for by the Conservatives and some Labour MPs, but this marks a clear shift in the government's position.

The UK government on Thursday announced a "rapid" national review of the extent of sexual exploitation of children by grooming gangs and several new local inquiries into cases of abuse.The issue was at the centre of a political firestorm earlier this month when a war of words broke out between US tech billionaire Elon Musk and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Nigel Farage has renewed calls for a national inquiry into grooming gangs, criticising the Jay Review as inadequate. Speaking at Reform UK’s North West conference, he claimed a targeted investigation was needed into what he described as “deeply racist” crimes.