Rotherham MP Sarah Champion urges Home Secretary to expand local inquires nationwide


As part of today's announcement, Yvette Cooper revealed that five new local inquiries will be launched and funded by the government, as part of a pilot led by Baroness Louise Casey.
Police forces will also be encouraged to open cold cases as part of the £10m plan.
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Hide AdMs Champion has previously called for a national inquiry to address the scale of the problem and reiterated this call in the House of Commons today, asking whether the inquiries could be expanded to cover the whole of the UK, in line with her five-point plan.
Rotherham is one of the areas at the heart of the conversation on grooming gangs, after a 2014 report by Professor Alexis Jay revealed that more than 1,400 children in the town were sexually exploited between 1997 and 2013.
Ms Champion also highlighted that previous reviews into grooming gangs in other parts of the country lacked legal powers to compel witnesses, and asked the Home Secretary to provide assurances that the findings of the new inquiries will be transparent.
"Is it possible this can be UK wide, as I don't believe this is only happening in England and in Wales," she added.
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Hide AdDuring the debate, Conservative MP Chris Philip said plans for local inquiries were 'totally inadequate,' and called for a full national inquiry.
"Not a single person has been convicted for covering up or ignoring these crimes. In my view, the criminal offence of misconduct in public office might apply. This is wholly inadequate when we know up to 50 towns are affected. How are the other 40 plus towns supposed to get answers to the questions they have?
"What the Home Secretary has announced today is totally inadequate. It will only cover a fraction of the towns affected, and it appears that these inquiries will not have the legal powers that they need."
The government has also committed to an "Easter 2025" deadline to outline a timetable for acting on the recommendations from a 2022 inquiry into child sexual exploitation.
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