Robert Jenrick came under fire over the Tory’s record in government during an intense interview with BBC presenter John Kay.
The shadow justice secretary, who held a number of ministerial roles during the Conservative’s long spell in charge, was questioned over why the issue of grooming gangs has suddenly become so important to him after Elon Musk waded in on the matter.
“Did you do enough?” Kay asked pointedly.
Jenrick’s responded that “of course we need to do more”, adding that if a “single young girl is being subjected to this horrific, medieval torture and rape on the streets of our country today, then clearly we all need to do more.”
But irritated by the non-answer, Kay pressed on: “So if that is what has been happening in this country for decades, as you say, did you in government do enough?”
Sticking to his line, Jenrick replied, “I think we have to do more, of course. I’ve said that, I’ve been very clear about that.”
Kay wasn’t giving up, he added: “You’re not answering the question. You’re saying what we need to do in the future. I’m asking about your record as Conservatives in government. Did you do enough?”
Clearly under pressure, Jenrick admitted, “I’m saying clearly that more needed to be done … that’s why we need to have a full national inquiry. But a number of significant steps were taken.”
Watch the clip in full below:
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