Grooming gangs review to be unveiled as PM's inquiry plan gets mixed reaction
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is to address Parliament over the review, which prompted the Prime Minister to implement a full probe after months of resistance.
The rapid national audit looking at the scale of grooming gangs across the country was first announced in January as part of a series of measures to tackle the issue.
Earlier this year, the Government dismissed calls for a public inquiry, saying its focus was on putting in place the outstanding recommendations made in a seven-year national inquiry by Professor Alexis Jay.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), led by Prof Jay, found institutional failings and tens of thousands of victims across England and Wales.
On Monday, a No 10 spokesman did not say how much the inquiry would cost and the timeframe, saying the Home Secretary would set out details in the afternoon.
The spokesman said: 'It will be a full statutory inquiry. What this inquiry will do is build on the work carried out by Alexis Jay and her independent inquiry to child sexual abuse, but look specifically at how young girls were failed so badly by different agencies on a local level, strengthening the commitment we made at the start of this year to carry out locally led inquiries.'
The Home Office has also said the National Crime Agency (NCA) will carry out a nationwide operation targeting people who have sexually exploited children, and follow up on more than 800 cold cases.
According to the Home Office, the NCA will work in partnership with police forces to investigate cases that 'were not progressed through the criminal justice system' in the past.
Meanwhile, the Times reported the review by Baroness Casey is expected to explicitly link the grooming gang issue to men of Pakistani origin and say that people were ignored for the fear of racism.
The BBC also understands one of the review's recommendations is expected to order police forces in England to improve their data collection on ethnicity around child sexual abuse and exploitation cases.
The MP for Rotherham said she was initially reluctant about another 'grooming gangs' inquiry but supported it after listening to the public.
Sarah Champion told the Today Programme on BBC Radio 4: 'The thought of having another filled me with horror, and I was reluctant, but when I realised the overwhelming public concern, there's a real sense justice has not been handed out fairly and there has been a cover-up and intense frustration that there are still victims and survivors who haven't received justice.'
She added that the biggest failing was that 'no-one has joined the dots up' when it came to grooming gangs of a Pakistani heritage.
'Are there any links between those different groups and gangs? Personally, I think it's highly likely that there will be,' she said.
However Nazir Afzal, who was chief crown prosecutor for the North West from 2011 to 2015, told the Today programme he had 'pragmatic doubts' about the new national inquiry.
'Only criminal investigations can bring real accountability. That's what needs to happen. Not just for those who offended, but also those who stood by and didn't do what they were meant to do,' he said.
'Unfortunately my experience with national inquiries is that they take forever and don't deliver accountability.'
The Casey review comes after a row on the issue was ignited earlier this year, when Sir Keir became embroiled in a row with tech billionaire Elon Musk over calls for a national investigation.
In January, the Prime Minister hit out at politicians 'calling for inquiries because they want to jump on the bandwagon of the far right' but, on Sunday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said Sir Keir had been focused on 'victims' rather than 'grandstanding'.
A children's charity has said that the Government must not wait until the end of the inquiry to implement the recommendations from existing reports such as IICSA.
Lynn Perry, chief executive of Barnardo's, said: 'Children and survivors of abuse have already been waiting many years for action, so it's vital the Government doesn't wait for the outcome of this new inquiry to implement recommendations from previous ones.
'That includes upskilling social workers and other professionals to spot the signs of abuse, as well as investing in vital support services to help children experiencing life-changing consequences of abuse and to keep them safe from further harm.'
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Louise Casey to appear before MPs after major review of child grooming failures
Baroness Louise Casey will appear before the Commons Home Affairs Committee on Tuesday morning, after the Government set out plans to launch a new nationwide inquiry into grooming gangs following her rapid review of the scandal. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper claimed officials have dodged the issue of ethnicity among the groups of sex offenders for fear of being called racist, even though available data showed suspects were disproportionately likely to be Asian men. Speaking in the Commons on Monday as the review was published, the Home Secretary said 'much more robust national data is needed' on the ethnicity of offenders, adding that the authorities 'cannot and must not shy away from these findings'. Doing so would allow 'the criminality and depravity of a minority of men to be used to marginalise whole communities', she added. Lady Casey's report found that: 'The appalling lack of data on ethnicity in crime recording alone is a major failing over the last decade or more. Questions about ethnicity have been asked but dodged for years.' It added: 'We found that the ethnicity of perpetrators is shied away from and is still not recorded for two-thirds of perpetrators, so we are unable to provide any accurate assessment from the nationally collected data.' Multiple convictions of men from Asian ethnic backgrounds should have 'warranted closer examination', it said, adding: 'Instead of examination, we have seen obfuscation. In a vacuum, incomplete and unreliable data is used to suit the ends of those presenting it.' Former Tory government adviser Dominic Cummings meanwhile claimed in an interview with Sky News that officials from the Department for Education were supportive of Rotherham Council's suggestion of going to court in 2011 to prevent the Times' initial reporting of the scandal in Rotherham. Lord Michael Gove, then the education secretary, rejected the request for a judicial review on Mr Cummings' advice, the broadcaster reported. Ms Cooper said the Government would take action 'immediately' on all of Lady Casey's recommendations, after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer committed to launching a national inquiry into the abuse. Screen grab of Home Secretary Yvette Cooper making a statement in the House of Commons, London, on Baroness Casey's findings on grooming gangs (House of Commons/UK Parliament) The recommendations included: – Making it mandatory to collect ethnicity and nationality data of all suspects in child sexual abuse cases – A new national inquiry into child sexual abuse with statutory legal powers, which will co-ordinate the efforts of local investigations led by councils and set out 'strict timescales' for them to follow. – A nationwide National Crime Agency operation, targeting people who have sexually exploited children, and following up on an estimated more than 1,000 cold cases where no one was convicted. – A change in the law so that all adult sex with under-16s is considered rape. – A review of criminal records held by victims of child sexual exploitation. In the Commons, Ms Cooper 'unequivocally' apologised for the failings which had led to grooming and child sexual abuse. The Home Secretary also pledged to exclude convicted sex offenders from the asylum system, while the report warned 'a significant proportion' of live investigations into grooming gangs 'appear to involve suspects who are non-UK nationals and/or who are claiming asylum in the UK'. In her report, Lady Casey said it is time to draw a line in the sand and take action over the issue, which she called 'one of the most heinous crimes in our society'. She also urged opposition politicians not to use the scandal as a 'political football', adding there was a chance to 'create a national reset'.
Leader Live
25 minutes ago
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Grooming gangs review to be unveiled as PM's inquiry plan gets mixed reaction
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is to address Parliament over the review, which prompted the Prime Minister to implement a full probe after months of resistance. The rapid national audit looking at the scale of grooming gangs across the country was first announced in January as part of a series of measures to tackle the issue. Earlier this year, the Government dismissed calls for a public inquiry, saying its focus was on putting in place the outstanding recommendations made in a seven-year national inquiry by Professor Alexis Jay. The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), led by Prof Jay, found institutional failings and tens of thousands of victims across England and Wales. On Monday, a No 10 spokesman did not say how much the inquiry would cost and the timeframe, saying the Home Secretary would set out details in the afternoon. The spokesman said: 'It will be a full statutory inquiry. What this inquiry will do is build on the work carried out by Alexis Jay and her independent inquiry to child sexual abuse, but look specifically at how young girls were failed so badly by different agencies on a local level, strengthening the commitment we made at the start of this year to carry out locally led inquiries.' The Home Office has also said the National Crime Agency (NCA) will carry out a nationwide operation targeting people who have sexually exploited children, and follow up on more than 800 cold cases. According to the Home Office, the NCA will work in partnership with police forces to investigate cases that 'were not progressed through the criminal justice system' in the past. Meanwhile, the Times reported the review by Baroness Casey is expected to explicitly link the grooming gang issue to men of Pakistani origin and say that people were ignored for the fear of racism. The BBC also understands one of the review's recommendations is expected to order police forces in England to improve their data collection on ethnicity around child sexual abuse and exploitation cases. The MP for Rotherham said she was initially reluctant about another 'grooming gangs' inquiry but supported it after listening to the public. Sarah Champion told the Today Programme on BBC Radio 4: 'The thought of having another filled me with horror, and I was reluctant, but when I realised the overwhelming public concern, there's a real sense justice has not been handed out fairly and there has been a cover-up and intense frustration that there are still victims and survivors who haven't received justice.' She added that the biggest failing was that 'no-one has joined the dots up' when it came to grooming gangs of a Pakistani heritage. 'Are there any links between those different groups and gangs? Personally, I think it's highly likely that there will be,' she said. However Nazir Afzal, who was chief crown prosecutor for the North West from 2011 to 2015, told the Today programme he had 'pragmatic doubts' about the new national inquiry. 'Only criminal investigations can bring real accountability. That's what needs to happen. Not just for those who offended, but also those who stood by and didn't do what they were meant to do,' he said. 'Unfortunately my experience with national inquiries is that they take forever and don't deliver accountability.' The Casey review comes after a row on the issue was ignited earlier this year, when Sir Keir became embroiled in a row with tech billionaire Elon Musk over calls for a national investigation. In January, the Prime Minister hit out at politicians 'calling for inquiries because they want to jump on the bandwagon of the far right' but, on Sunday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said Sir Keir had been focused on 'victims' rather than 'grandstanding'. A children's charity has said that the Government must not wait until the end of the inquiry to implement the recommendations from existing reports such as IICSA. Lynn Perry, chief executive of Barnardo's, said: 'Children and survivors of abuse have already been waiting many years for action, so it's vital the Government doesn't wait for the outcome of this new inquiry to implement recommendations from previous ones. 'That includes upskilling social workers and other professionals to spot the signs of abuse, as well as investing in vital support services to help children experiencing life-changing consequences of abuse and to keep them safe from further harm.'
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