Nigel Farage has proposed ripping up the parliamentary rulebook, setting out a brand-new approach to address the grooming gangs issue.
The Reform UK chief demanded that former MPs who presided over areas which were afflicted by the rape gangs should be questioned by Parliament, speaking to People’s Channel star Martin Daubney.
Declaring “they must have known what was going on”, he added: “Two months ago, I went to Washington to testify before the House judicial committee about the situation with free speech in Britain.
“I put my hand on the Bible and thought, Wow, I’m in a court of law now. Not being an American citizen means I couldn’t perjure myself, but I’m in a court of law.
“I thought, why doesn’t the British Parliament, why don’t our committees have these powers?”
Recalling a conversation with former Tory minister Ranil Jayawardena, who informed Mr Farage that individuals had been summoned to select committees before Parliament.
“In 2011, the Public Accounts Committee were looking at wasteful money in public finances, actually got people to swear oaths before that committee,” the Westminster mischief-maker told GB News.
“Now, 15 years have gone by. We’ve forgotten about all of this. Parliament has forgotten the powers that it has.”
Parliament has the ability to subpoena an individual to appear – and even “imprisonment in theory”, Mr Farage explained.
“And it does, as it did in 2011, have the ability to make people come under oath before committee in Parliament give their statements, which, if they lie, could be open to perjury as well,” he added.
“Parliament has incredible powers, but we’ve lived through 25 years of Parliament’s authority being given to quangos, been given to courts, being given to judges, and it’s time to claim it back.”
He further lambasted the mass rape gangs for “sullying our reputation around the world”, dubbing them a “stain on our country”.
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“Do you know up to a quarter of a million young girls have been abused by these gangs over the last few decades?
“The numbers are almost incomprehensible, and I want Parliament to grip this and restore public trust.”
“The Palace of Westminster, the mother of Parliament, it is one of the most incredible buildings in the world. I want that to be turned into a court. It has the ability to do this. It’s done it through history.”
He demanded that he wanted the “full glare of media publicity” throughout the process.
Nigel Farage demanded that MPs take over the National Inquiry
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PA
“I want social workers, I want police officers, I want councillors, I want former MPs in those areas who must have known what was going on, simply must have known what was going on to appear before that court and I think it could be done quickly.”
He further announced that the Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle told him that he wants Parliament “in control of the national debate”.
“He wants me to go back to get a more extended paper written on the powers of Parliament and how relevant they are today,” the Reform leader told Martin.
Earlier on Monday, Mr Farage called on MPs to take over the “failing” National Inquiry, operating it as a select committee investigation or a Parliament-wide commission.
He was joined by rape gang survivor Ellie Reynolds, who put Labour on blast for its handling of the matter.
