Posted July 23, 2026
Lib Dem councillors have blocked an amendment calling for a rape gang inquiry, claiming the phrase itself is a political term used to attack people.
Lib Dems block rape gang inquiry amendment (Image: Lib Dems block rape gang inquiry amendment)
A row has erupted at Wiltshire Council after Liberal Democrat councillors blocked an amendment calling for a national inquiry into rape gangs. The Lib Dems argued the phrase itself was politically loaded, and had it stripped from a motion on violence against women and girls.
Reform UK had backed the original Lib Dem motion, but tried to amend it to include a formal call on the Government to launch an inquiry into rape gangs. A cross-party group of councillors voted the amendment down on Tuesday.
Reform’s group leader on Wiltshire Council, Ed Rimmer, told the Daily Express that Lib Dems had informed him the term was “a political term used by your party to attack people”.
He said: “The Lib Dems didn’t just vote against an inquiry into rape gangs – they told me the phrase itself is ‘a political term used by your party to attack people’. Say that to a survivor’s face.”
Mr Rimmer added: “This is a party so terrified of the truth it won’t even say the words. Reform UK will keep saying them, loudly, until every victim gets the inquiry they deserve.”
Rimmer: Say that to a survivor’s face (Image: Ed Rimmer)
A Liberal Democrat spokesperson defended the party’s stance, insisting it took the issue seriously.
They said: “Liberal Democrats are clear that all victims of violence against women and girls need to know that the Government has their back, will do everything in its power to tackle this epidemic and make good on its commitment to halving violence against women and girls in the next decade.”
The original motion, put forward by Wiltshire’s Liberal Democrats, recognised the “emergency” of all forms of violence against women and girls.
It passed without the rape gangs reference after Reform’s amendment was defeated.
While victims suffer from Labour’s policies – Streeting and Mahmood are cracking jokes
ANALYSIS – STEPH SPYRO: Thousands of prisoners could be released under Labour’s plans, but Andy Burnham has left the door open for a rethink.
PC Andrew Harper’s killers could be released from prison early under a Labour plan. (Image: Thames Valley Police/PA Wire)
There are few issues more likely to anger victims than seeing criminals released early from prison.
Yet as thousands of offenders prepare to walk free under Labour’s plans to ease the prison overcrowding crisis, members of Andy Burnham’s Cabinet have been caught joking about exactly that. Many victims of serious crimes whose perpetrators are roaming free could view this as the biggest slap in the face.
Among the criminals who could walk free under Labour are the two killers of police officer Andrew Harper. His mother has said it feels like an “insult” that two of her son’s killers may be eligible for early release from prison.
PC Harper was 28 years old when he sustained fatal injuries while responding to a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in August 2019.
He died after getting caught in a strap attached to the back of a car and being dragged down a country road as three teenage suspects fled the scene.
Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, who were passengers in the car and both 17 years old at the time, were handed 13 years in custody for manslaughter after a trial at the Old Bailey in 2020.
Both men may be eligible for release from prison halfway through their sentences, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has confirmed.
They are far from the only serious offenders who could be released from prison sooner than expected.
Other killers, rapists and sex offenders could also soon be released, with thousands of victims set to be told their attackers will be let out sooner than expected.
Almost 2,500 rapists and paedophiles are to be freed early from jail in September as part of Labour’s plans to tackle the prison overcrowding crisis.
The Government insists it has little choice.
England and Wales’ prisons are bursting at the seams. In 2024/25, almost three-quarters of prisons (72%) in England and Wales were overcrowded, a nine percentage point increase on the previous year.
MPs warned last year that failed efforts to increase prison capacity had resulted in endemic overcrowding amid safety risks, increasing violence and hampered rehabilitation efforts.
But victims may well ask why they should pay the price for political failures stretching back years.
And while they are distraught, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood are cracking jokes on the issue.
New Justice Secretary Alex Norris has already come under pressure to rethink the policy, while Downing Street has stopped short of fully backing the release of rapists and child groomers. Asked whether the Government could exempt the worst offenders, the Prime Minister’s spokesman insisted ministers were focused on keeping the public safe.
That leaves the door open to a rethink.
For the families waiting anxiously to discover whether the people who destroyed their lives could soon walk free, it cannot come soon enough.
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