From QAnon to Rotherham: Why the Establishment Always Looks the Other Way
The US and UK right are in a strange and sordid mess when it comes to child sexual abuse.
In Britain, the very people who fume about asylum seekers living near schools—in case they might be paedophiles—are now outraged about new online safety laws designed to stop child grooming.
Across the Atlantic, Donald Trump, who launched his political career claiming a shadowy elite of child abusers controlled America, is now neck-deep in scandal over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. He’s even floated the idea of pardoning Epstein’s co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell. And if reports are to be believed, he’s also considering a pardon for Sean Combs.
Why Reform UK Wants to Scrap Online Safety Laws
Reform UK’s opposition to the new Online Safety Act isn’t about free speech.
Farage’s party—like much of the global far right—relies heavily on social media to spread disinformation and stoke outrage. It’s their most powerful campaign tool.
Farage and Trump aren’t traditional politicians. They’re digital content creators, more akin to TikTok influencers or the women who show their bits on OnlyFans. The social media platforms and forums which are most effective in spreading their message are those with the biggest problems with grooming and the circulation of child pornography.
Tighter laws to protect children online mean tighter restrictions on the algorithms and echo chambers that push far-right content to millions.
A Much Older, Dirtier Story
While the political right obsesses over recent cases involving Muslim grooming gangs, the history of child sexual abuse in Britain goes back much further—and deeper.
Pakistani taxi drivers aren’t the start of this story. They’re just the latest chapter in a long, ugly book.
Consider the list:
- Vice Squad detectives in the Met
- Prison officers in youth detention
- Nightclub bouncers, DJs, football coaches
- Teachers, scoutmasters, priests, and care home staff
- Elite private schools, sports teams, and children’s homes
Chief Constable Simon Bailey, the UK’s former lead on child abuse investigations, put it bluntly:
“We are now having to come to terms, as a society, and we are going to have to recognise and accept, that during the 1970s and 1980s in particular, there was widespread sexual abuse of children taking place.”
The establishment didn’t just ignore it—they enabled it.
Savile, Epstein, and the Elite Protection Racket
The Jimmy Savile scandal wasn’t just about the scale of the abuse. It was about how deeply he was embedded in the establishment: the BBC, Thatcher’s government, and even the Royal Family.
Years later, that same Royal Family would be dragged into another scandal, when Prince Andrew paid damages to a young woman who alleged he abused her as part of Epstein’s grooming network.
The Epstein case followed a similar pattern: a well-connected abuser shielded by powerful friends. And now, a right-wing president appears ready to pardon Epstein’s accomplice—possibly to cover up his own links to the scandal.
And it doesn’t stop there. R. Kelly. Harvey Weinstein. Sean Combs. Not all of them targeted children, but all were serial abusers who used their wealth and elite status to avoid consequences.
The pattern is clear: wherever men can abuse with impunity, some will.
Who Are the Real Grooming Gangs?
The 2014 Jay Report revealed that the biggest recent rise in child sexual offences hasn’t come from street gangs—it’s come from industrial-scale online grooming.
But the political narrative remains fixated on brown men in taxis.
It’s easier for the establishment to keep the focus on Muslim grooming gangs than to turn the spotlight on themselves—on the celebrities, politicians, police officers, and donors who’ve abused children for decades.
If everyone responsible for covering up or enabling abuse were brought to justice, the US would see televangelists, Republican donors, and Trump’s billionaire friends in court. In the UK, it would include the same public school, City of London, and gentlemen’s club crowd who bankroll Brexit and Reform UK.
Trump, Farage, and the Protected Class
Farage isn’t some outsider crusading against the elite—he is the elite: a public school boy with inherited wealth, a background in the City, and deep ties to the Conservative Party. A member of elite London Gentlemen’s clubs
Trump is more of a gatecrasher. A vulgar rich kid who spent his life trying to buy his way into the establishment—and once inside, abused the privilege it gave him.
Both knew that if they played the game right, the establishment would protect them. “Grab ‘em by the pussy,” said Trump. And they did nothing.
It’s Not a Conspiracy. It’s a System.
This isn’t just about a few Labour councillors turning a blind eye in Rotherham. It’s about an entire system that protects powerful men who abuse women and children, decade after decade.
It’s why the right is so obsessed with rewriting the narrative: keep the spotlight on brown men, and no one looks too closely at what’s happening higher up the social order.
This isn’t a conspiracy theory—it’s an endemic problem, rooted in power and privilege.
And while the likes of Trump and Farage posture as defenders of children, the real work is being done by police forces still investigating grooming gangs. South Yorkshire Police have arrested three former officers who had sex with grooming gang victims in Rotherham. Greater Manchester Police have arrested three more.
The real question isn’t how did we let this happen? We know the answer.
The question is how much longer are we going to keep looking the other way?
While Farage rabble-rouses against foreigners generally I wasn’t aware of him campaigning specifically on the issue of grooming gangs: I thought “Tommy Robinson” was the UK far-right figure more associated with that.
Farage has been very active about grooming gangs, and it is the issue that is most heavily promoted to right wingers on social media. Someone is spending an awful lot of money creating and marketing on-line content