Sir Keir Starmer may be required to give evidence at the grooming gangs inquiry, with hearings due to begin in December.

The former prime minister has been granted core participant status for the public inquiry into grooming gangs. This means he will have specific rights within the inquiry, and may appear alongside other individuals or organisations relevant to the investigation.

While many core participants are asked or compelled to give evidence, it is unclear if he will be required to do so.

After initially refusing calls to launch an inquiry, Sir Keir agreed last year, while still in Number 10, to hold public hearings. The government had faced a barrage of criticism over its handling of the issue, particularly around the issues of transparency and scope.

The investigation will examine specific cities and towns across Britain over allegations that authorities responded inadequately to local claims of child sexual exploitation by various grooming gangs.

London, Oldham, Bradford and Keighley will be among the first towns and cities the inquiry will focus on. Gangs which operated in Birmingham and Wales will also be examined.

The inquiry follows Baroness Louise Casey’s 2025 damning report, which concluded that authorities had failed to protect children, track crime data accurately, and confront group-based child sexual exploitation.

The government accepted the recommendations from the inquiry, but continued to face criticism as many of the same issues had been raised in previous reports.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk then raised international attention on the issue when he used his X social media platform to attack Sir Keir over the long-running scandal.