Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips has been forced to apologise to MPs after Labour broke its promise to publish its plans for inquiries into Britain's rape gangs scandal.

In late April, Phillips had vowed: "The framework for what local authorities will be tasked with will be released later in May, as will Baroness Casey's review, which I have committed to publishing.

"All those things will be dependent on each other. I cannot stand here and say exactly what that will look like, because I do not know what Baroness Casey will say about any particular area and what I might need to focus on.

"I will go on the basis of facts - something that does not happen very often in this debate, I have to say.

Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips has been forced to apologise to MPs after Labour broke its promise to publish its rape gang plans

"I will follow the facts; wherever they tell me that there are victims who need help, that is where I will go."

But today - June 2 - she apologised for an apparent delay in publishing the plan, and told MPs that Baroness Casey had requested a "short extension" to her audit.

The peer's review is expected "very shortly", Phillips said.

"I do apologise for the month's wait," she jabbed. "I waited 14 years for anyone to do anything.

"Baroness Casey has requested a short extension to her work from the Home Secretary and the Home Secretary has informed the Home Affairs scrutiny committee of this and we expect it very shortly.

"And when we have the report, the Government will respond to it, and lay out its plans with all the evidence in hand."

Labour's handling of Britain's rape gangs scandal was then likened to "cover-ups" in the Catholic and Anglican churches in a furious Tory attack.

Conservative MP Graham Stuart said: "Senior figures in the Catholic Church and the Church of England were found to have conspired to cover up child abuse by priests.

"Senior figures in the Labour Party are now opposing local inquiries in places like Bradford, London and Wales, and ministers here oppose a national rape inquiry.

"We've also heard from a former member of this House, Simon Danczuk, Labour MP, that he was told not to raise this issue of the ethnicity of some of the perpetrators.

Labour's handling of Britain's rape gangs scandal was likened to 'cover-ups' in the Catholic and Anglican churches by Tory MP Graham Stuart

"When will Labour put aside its electoral interests and stand on the side of the abused?"

Labour MPs then shouted "shame on you" at Stuart before Jess Phillips issued a reply.

"I think that the idea that I have ever, or in fact the Prime Minister of this country has ever put anything other than the interests of the victims of grooming gangs at the heart of everything that we have ever worked for, is frankly for the birds," Phillips spat.

She said the number of arrests had increased, and added: "We will continue to pursue these violent, abusive, vicious, abusers through the courts, through justice and I will continue to take my counsel not from him, but from the victims."