Sunak announces grooming gang crackdown as Tories accused of ‘dog whistle’ politics

Government wants ethnicity data to be used by new police taskforce

Rishi Sunak has pledged that “political correctness” will not get in the way of a crackdown on grooming gangs, as ministers promised tougher sentences and a new police taskforce to protect children from sexual abuse.

It comes as Labour accused home secretary Suella Braverman of “dog whistle” politics after she singled out British Pakistani men and claimed Labour councils had “turned a blind eye” to signs of abuse over fears of being labelled racist.

The new taskforce, led by police and supported by the National Crime Agency, will be made up of officers with “extensive experience” of grooming gang probes, the government said.