Two-tier standards shames government

Following the guilty plea by Southport child killer Axel Rudakubana the government was out of the blocks quicker than Usain Bolt to order an inquiry.

And yet it refuses to hold an inquiry about the decades-long systematic rape and abuse of young girls by men with mainly Pakistani heritage.

There are grave suspicions that authorities covered up the scandal so as not to inflame community tensions – and because they were scared of being called racist.

The ‘local’ inquiries the government has backed instead will not be able to compel people to give evidence and are therefore worthless.

What has the government to hide?

Why so keen for an inquiry into the knife murder of three young girls, but not into the rape scandal?

I spend a lot of time in Pakistan and have done for many years; I support the Starfish Asia charity which helps educate children in underprivileged areas.

The right-thinking people there who I know would not object to an inquiry that would help explain the mass rape of children and perhaps lead to policies to prevent it.

So we are not having an inquiry for something we need, but we are having one for something we don’t.

What more do we need to learn about the knife attack? We all know that knives can be bought very easily and carried into spaces without detection.

I would support the installation of metal detectors in all schools and community style centres. One life saved would make it worth it.

ends