Kemi Badenoch has been accused of hitting “a new low” after the Tories tried to raise funds on the back of the child grooming scandal.
An email in the name of the Conservative leader was sent to the party’s supporters urging them sign a petition backing her calls for a national inquiry into the issue.
It comes after a huge political row erupted over the Labour government’s refusal to sanction a new probe.
The email was sent before MPs vote on a Tory amendment to the government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill calling for the public inquiry.
It says: “We need a clear and focused statutory national public inquiry into the rape gangs to get to the truth about the extent of the abuse and the cover-ups.
“There are fewer than 24 hours until parliament votes. Sign our petition calling for a national inquiry into grooming gangs today.”
The email’s recipients are then invited to click on links to sign the petition, share it on social media and donate to the Tory Party.
A Labour spokesperson said: “Kemi Badenoch has stooped to a new low, fundraising for the Conservative Party by playing politics with the safety of vulnerable children.
“This shows breathtaking disrespect to brave victims who are being used as a political football by the Conservatives.
“The Tories failed to implement the Jay recommendations to protect vulnerable children. Any money raised by the Conservatives must be donated to victims of child sexual abuse: this attempt to fill their party bank account off the back of such a sensitive subject is a disgrace.
“This Labour government is taking action with landmark reforms to safeguarding and children’s social care. No more empty words or ‘lessons learned’, but real action to keep children safe.”
A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “This is the latest desperate attempt by the Labour Party to distract from the simple fact that in refusing a national inquiry, they are denying the victims of child rape gangs the truth and justice they deserve.
“So long as the Labour government continue to resist calls for a national inquiry, their pathetic attempts to take a moral high ground will ring hollow. Labour should spend less time making a fuss about emails, and get on with delivering what this country deserves.”
Keir Starmer slammed Badenoch at PMQs for never mentioning the grooming scandal during the years when she was a government minister.
He said she had only “jumped on the bandwagon” after the issue was highlighted by X owner Elon Musk.
Labour has insisted that a new inquiry into the targeting of vulnerable girls by rape gangs in dozens of towns across England is not necessary.
Starmer has said the government is focused on implementing the recommendations of Professor Alexis Jay’s seven-year inquiry into child sex abuse, which reported in 2022.