Baroness Casey's findings on grooming gangs set to be announced
Baroness Louise Casey's findings on grooming gangs are set to be announced on Monday, after Sir Keir Starmer committed to a statutory inquiry.
The Home Secretary is set to address Parliament over the review, which prompted the Prime Minister to implement a full probe after months of resistance.
Meanwhile, the Home Office has said that the National Crime Agency (NCA) will carry out a nationwide operation targeting people who have sexually exploited children.
Earlier this year, the Government dismissed calls for a public inquiry, saying its focus was on putting in place the outstanding recommendations already made in a seven-year national inquiry by Professor Alexis Jay.
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said on Sunday that the delivery of the Casey review should not mean agencies and ministers delay on bringing forward changes that have been recommended before.
She told the BBC's Westminster Hour that 'we have had the Jay Inquiry before, there are lots of recommendations already on the table so whilst I welcome this announcement, at the same time it shouldn't be an excuse for the Government or other agencies to delay action in terms of implementing the recommendations of previous inquiries'.
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.
Ms Cooper said that it was 'unforgivable' that 'not enough people' listened to victims in the past, but ministers 'are changing that now'.
She said: 'The vulnerable young girls who suffered unimaginable abuse at the hands of groups of adult men have now grown into brave women who are rightly demanding justice for what they went through when they were just children.
'Not enough people listened to them then. That was wrong and unforgivable. We are changing that now.'
According to the Times, 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 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, the Chancellor said that Sir Keir had been focused on 'victims' rather than 'grandstanding'.
Asked whether the Prime Minister had changed his mind about the idea of a national inquiry, the Chancellor told the Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: 'I think Keir Starmer, our Prime Minister, has always been really focused, as he was when he was director of public prosecutions, on the victims and not grandstanding.
'But actually doing the practical things to ensure that something like this never happens again, but also to ensure that the victims of this horrific abuse over many, many years is got to grips with and that people have answers to their questions.'
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 sich as the Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (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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