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A Labour MP has been criticised for accusing the Tories of not investigating grooming gangs in the UK despite rejecting calls for an inquiry himself. Shaun Davies, who represents Telford, said Amber Rudd and Rishi Sunak "refused to provide a statutory inquiry", despite signing a letter in 2016 asking the former Home Secretary

responded furiously and called out Mr Davies' "outrageous statement". She warned that he would be "exposed soon enough". The Tory leader wrote on X: "This Labour MP will be exposed soon enough. He sat in the chamber trembling, made this outrageous statement and ran off. He was, of course, the council leader in Telford who actively and has the cheek to smear Amber Rudd and ."

Conservative MP for Meriden and Solihull East, Saqib Bhatti, also posted:"Jaw-dropping by Shaun Davies, Labour MP for Telford to the house over such a serious issue in a statement where Labour denied brushing the issue under the carpet and denying victims justice."

As leader of Telford and Wrekin Council back in 2016, Mr Davies wrote to Ms Rudd and then Prime Minister Theresa May, refuting the need for an inquiry into child sexual abuse in the town.

later revealed that the letter, signed by Mr Davies and nine other officials, stated: "We do not feel at this time that a further inquiry is necessary."

The letter continued: "We have had three inquiries into this issue in 2016 and understand that the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse chaired by Professor Alexis Jay OBE will assess the extent to which we have learned lessons.

"We are not sticking our heads in the sand or sweeping it under the carpet. We feel that good progress has been made in tackling this issue in Telford in recent years."

A local investigation began three years after this, led by Tom Crowther KC, and unveiled the harrowing extent of sexual exploitation across generations in Telford, overlooked by those in power.

It was revealed that more than 1,000 children suffered abuse whilst authorities failed to act.

Mr Davies, who became Telford's Labour MP in July and resigned as council leader, sent the letter on September 22, 2016.

Along with other Telford councillors, the local police and crime commissioner, the director of children and adult services, and the chair of the local Safeguarding Children Board were involved in this matter.

Despite prior assumptions that Telford would feature, the final exposition of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), or Jay Inquiry, did not mention the town.

The council, Telford and Wrekin, continued to resist calls for a local probe until a Sunday Mirror investigation in 2018 led to a reversal of stance.

After the Crowther inquiry reported back in 2022, Mr Davies expressed his remorse to victims on behalf of the council.

He described the report as "harrowing" and said: "I had no sense of the scale over the three or four decades that the report's covered."

The Express has contacted Mr Davies for comment.