Liz Truss pledges to hold police to account over 'repulsive' grooming gangs in 'places like Telford'

The Tory leadership hopeful was speaking on GB News in front of a live audience in Leigh, as part of a People's Forum event.

During the Q&A session in the Red Wall town, Ms Truss was asked by a member of the audience what she would do, if she becomes Prime Minister, to "confront and bring to justice the perpetrators of the grooming gangs."

The question-in-full was: "In this current climate, what are you prepared to do to confront and bring to justice the perpetrators of the grooming gangs, because it seems at the moment that we live in a society where the police will happily turn up on your doorstep if you have the audacity to insult someone on Twitter and slap you in handcuffs, but if you're part of a grooming gang they turn the other cheek, and that simply cannot be right.

"We do not have a two tier policing or legal system so what are you going to do as prime minister to enforce the law, which is already on the statutes, and bring criminals to justice no matter who they are?" the man continued.

After stating that police should be "on the streets dealing with crime" and pledging to introduce police "league tables" as one way of addressing issues like this, Ms Truss commented on grooming gangs specifically.

She said: "On these child grooming gangs, it is absolutely repulsive what has gone on in places like Rotherham, in places like Telford.

"Of course, those criminals need to be brought to justice but, more than that, I want the people held to account."

"The council officers, the councillors and the police who didn't do anything about it, and even not just turned a blind eye but actually condoned this behaviour," she continued.

"They need to be held to account because, until those people understand that their role in this was enabling those appalling crimes to be committed, I don't believe we will fully deal with that.

"I will make sure that those people are gone after by the relevant authorities".