UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing strong criticism after a letter he wrote to survivors of child sexual abuse referred to perpetrators of grooming gang crimes as “Asian men.” Critics say the phrasing downplays the predominantly Pakistani and Bangladeshi Muslim backgrounds of those convicted in such cases.
The letter, dated 24 October 2025 and sent from 10 Downing Street, thanked four survivors – Fiona, Elizabeth, Jessica, and Ellie-Ann for serving on the expert panel of the national inquiry into grooming gangs. In it, Starmer acknowledged that “in some areas these crimes were disproportionately committed by Asian men,” promising that the inquiry would “look explicitly at that.”
We condemn this allegation @Keir_Starmer
They are not Asian men. Grooming Gangs are predominantly Pakistani men and rest are Bangladeshi men.
Both are islamic nations and those men are Muslims.@elonmusk condemn this bro. pic.twitter.com/EdoCFsljkz
— Tathvam-asi (@ssaratht) October 26, 2025
The statement drew immediate backlash online, with many accusing the Prime Minister of using vague racial terminology to avoid identifying the cultural and religious aspects of the scandal.
National Inquiry in Crisis
Starmer’s comments come as his government faces growing mistrust from victims of grooming gang crimes. Four survivors recently resigned from the advisory panel overseeing the national inquiry, accusing the government of diluting the probe to avoid focusing solely on gangs largely made up of Pakistani-origin men. They alleged that officials were trying to broaden the inquiry to include other forms of sexual abuse, which they see as an attempt to water down its purpose.
The national inquiry was established in June after years of pressure over the government’s handling of grooming gang scandals, which have haunted Britain for more than two decades. Thousands of girls, some as young as 11, were sexually exploited across towns such as Rotherham, Rochdale, and Telford, mostly by Pakistani-origin men targeting white working-class girls. The survivors’ distrust has deepened after two candidates approached to lead the inquiry, a senior police officer and a social worker were rejected over alleged conflicts of interest linked to previous institutional cover-ups.
A Long and Troubled History
Reports of Pakistani taxi drivers grooming girls in Rotherham first emerged in 2001, but convictions began only after 2010. In one of the most notorious cases last month, seven Pakistani men were convicted in Rochdale for a five-year campaign of rape against two girls that began when they were just 13. The court heard that one of the victims had been “passed around for sex” by more than 200 offenders.
Despite hundreds of victims coming forward nationwide, only 68 perpetrators have been convicted so far. The majority are of Pakistani origin, with a few from Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Police and social workers were long accused of ignoring the abuse out of fear of being called racist or upsetting Labour’s voter base in Pakistani-dominated constituencies.
Chief Inspector Alan Edwards told The Times in 2001, “Everyone’s been too scared to address the ethnicity factor.” Labour’s hesitation has since been interpreted as political self-preservation, especially given its dependence on British-Pakistani communities for electoral support.
Starmer, alongside Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, has pledged that the inquiry will “keep survivors at its heart” and hold accountable both perpetrators and institutions that failed to act. But critics say his latest letter shows that the government still lacks the political will to confront the uncomfortable truths behind the grooming gang scandal.
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