National grooming gangs inquiry welcomed in Rotherham

Prime Minister Kier Starmer has acted on advice from Baroness Louise Casey that a national inquiry would be more appropriate than the five local investigations the Government had intended.

They would have been focused on towns and cities where similar problems had been identified.

It was Casey who conducted a corporate governance investigation at Rotherham Council, following the report by Professor Alexis Jay, which exposed the extent of child sexual exploitation.

The consequences of that are still being felt, with the National Crime Agency still conducting work on Operation Stovewood, an investigation into historic child sexual exploitation offences, dating from late 1990s to the early years of this century.

Casey’s new report is due to be published on Monday, June 16, but the Prime Minister has already announced a national inquiry will follow.

Rotherham MP Sarah Champion has welcomed that decision, stating she was “hugely relieved” by the decision.

“Victims and survivors deserve justice, abusers need to be in jail and the public needs to know the truth so we can trust our services again,” she said.

Jayne Senior, a former manager at the Risky Business youth project, which worked with girls and young women at risk of sexual exploitation in the 1990s, and a whistle-blower who helped to expose the scandal, said: “Nobody in a high professional position has ever been held to account.”

She also praised the thoroughness of Baroness Casey’s previous work in Rotherham, stating: “She absolutely left no stone unturned. She examined thousands of records.”

Critics of the authorities maintain concerns that senior figures have never been held to account for their actions as grooming gangs operated unchecked in Rotherham over an extended period.

It has been estimated that as many as 1,400 girls were exploited and abused before the scandal was stopped.

Families faced frustration as their children were exploited, with the authorities failing to recognise them as victims.

There have also been suggestions of a reluctance to challenge perpetrators because of a fear of being accused of racism.

Since the scandal, there have been major changes in the way Rotherham Council, South Yorkshire Police and other bodies work together on child protection cases.