UK Home Secretary Vows to Proceed with Local Reviews of Grooming Gangs

Yvette Cooper attributed the accusations to “party political misinformation” as she stated that the reviews were moving forward.

The “victim-centred, locally-led inquiries” in places like Oldham, Greater Manchester, were initially announced in January as part of efforts to address grooming gangs and child sexual abuse.

When questioned if all local investigations would proceed, Cooper reassured on LBC: “Yes, we’re still going ahead. The framework is currently being developed.

“There has unfortunately been a lot of, I believe, party political misinformation about this. What we should be doing is collaborating to support victims and survivors of these odious crimes.”

Doubts about the investigations surfaced when safeguarding minister Jess Phillips did not provide an update on them in the Commons, during her briefing to MPs on the government’s recent actions to combat child grooming on Tuesday.

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Phillips informed MPs that local authorities can access a £5 million fund to aid locally-led efforts on grooming gangs.

She mentioned that in response to input from local authorities, the fund will offer a flexible approach to support independent local inquiries as well as victims’ panels or locally-led audits on the handling of historical cases.

In response to the statement, Conservative spokesperson Katie Lam criticized that local inquiries were inadequate and that the government is now “further diluting them.”

Sir Trevor Phillips, the former chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, also criticized the government’s approach as “deeply shameful.”

However, Cooper stated: “We are also implementing more robust measures.

“We are bolstering laws against these gangs and increasing police investigations, which is crucial, because, frankly, these offenders should be apprehended, and without proper police investigations, this won’t happen.

“This is the most effective way to bring perpetrators to justice and ensure community safety.”

This action follows the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, led by Professor Alexis Jay, which uncovered systemic deficiencies and tens of thousands of victims across England and Wales.

The seven-year investigation made 20 recommendations in the final report published in 2022, characterizing child sexual abuse as an “epidemic” across both nations.

The government had rejected calls for a national review in favor of locally-led inquiries, emphasizing the implementation of recommendations from Jay’s report.