National Crime Agency to launch operation targeting grooming gangs
The National Crime Agency (NCA) will carry out a nationwide operation to target and jail predators who have sexually exploited children as part of a grooming gang, according to the Home Office.It said the NCA would work with police forces to give victims whose cases were not progressed through the criminal justice system "long-awaited justice" and prevent more children from being hurt by such crimes.It comes ahead of the release of a report by Baroness Louise Casey on Monday on the nature and scale of group-based child sexual abuse.Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced on Saturday there would be a full national statutory inquiry into grooming gangs covering England and Wales.
The NCA operation will aim to imprison more perpetrators of child sexual abuse, protect more victims and improve how local police forces investigate such crimes, the Home Office said.It will also aim to "put an end to the culture of denial in local services and authorities about the prevalence of this crime".The Home Office said police had reopened more than 800 historic cases of group-based child sexual abuse since the home secretary had asked them in January to look again at cases that were "closed too early and victims denied justice"."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," Yvette Cooper said."Not enough people listened to them then," the home secretary added. "That was wrong and unforgivable. We are changing that now."The Home Office said the national inquiry announced by the prime minister on Saturday would be able to "compel" investigations into "historic cases of grooming gang crimes".That would ensure complaints and allegations of "mishandling, wrongdoing and cover-ups by police, agencies and other professionals and elected officials are brought to light and those responsible held accountable", the Home Office added.It said the inquiry would report to a single chairperson and its panel would have the power to call witnesses to hearings.
The grooming gangs issue was thrust into the spotlight at the start of 2025, fuelled partly by tech billionaire Elon Musk, who had criticised Sir Keir for not calling a national inquiry.A row between the two centred on high-profile cases where groups of men, mainly of Pakistani descent, were convicted of sexually abusing and raping predominantly young white girls in towns such as Rotherham and Rochdale.On Saturday, Sir Keir said he had read an independent report into child sexual exploitation by Baroness Casey and would accept her recommendation for an inquiry covering England and Wales.In January, the government stopped short of launching a statutory national inquiry intro grooming gangs despite the idea receiving support from some Labour MPs.Instead, Cooper unveiled plans for five government-backed local inquiries - to be held in Oldham and four other area yet to be named.She also announced a "rapid" three-month audit, led by Baroness Casey, into the data and evidence on the nature and scale of group-based child sexual abuse.That report is expected to be published on Monday and Cooper is set to address the findings of the review in Parliament.For months, the prime minister has faced criticism for not being willing to set up a national inquiry, with the Conservatives claiming they had forced him into a U-turn.Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride told the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that the decision to launch the inquiry should have happened "far, far earlier".Chancellor Rachel Reeves defended the decision to launch a national inquiry, telling the programme on Sunday that ministers "never dismissed the concerns of victims" of grooming gangs.
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Telegraph
26 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Councils ‘covered up grooming gangs scandal'
A new grooming gangs public inquiry will target areas where councils have covered up scandals. Baroness Casey, who led an audit into the scale of grooming, has recommended that a national inquiry should be set up to co-ordinate a series of targeted local investigations. These will be overseen by a new independent commission with full statutory inquiry powers to compel witnesses to attend. The proposed inquiry should be 'time-limited, targeted and proportionate to the number of victims', to avoid long delays. The new commission will draw on criminal investigations, including a new nationwide probe by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and evidence from victims and witnesses. It would have the authority to establish local investigations in areas where statutory services are found to have failed or obstructed justice.. Sir Keir Starmer announced at the weekend that he will accept the recommendations of Lady Casey's 200-page report after previously resisting calls for a national inquiry and accusing proponents of ' jumping on the bandwagon of the far Right '. The Prime Minister said that he had changed his mind after reading Lady Casey's audit into the scale and nature of grooming gangs which will be published on Monday afternoon. Her review is understood to have established an explicit link between grooming gangs and men of Pakistani origin. She will confirm concerns that the victims were let down by councils and police by being ' institutionally ignored for fear of racism '. She will say that there will need to be a process to identify cases and allegations of statutory agencies' failures, with the Government developing criteria to determine the 'types and extent' of failures that could trigger a local hearing. It is understood that the Government received the report 10 days ago and has already started work on setting up the framework for the inquiry. A chairman is expected to be appointed 'within weeks'. Sarah Champion, the MP for Rotherham who has campaigned for justice for victims, welcomed an inquiry into the cover-up of grooming scandals. She said: 'I would say that cover up is a strong word. I would use it to be honest. I have an intense frustration that, not the frontline staff, but further up the management chain, there were people who were actively blocking reports. There are people who, if not held to criminal standards, should be held to a professional standard for their negligence in protecting these children. 'What I saw was those people that would have faced the most criticism have left, taken early retirement, changed to a different job, and some of them are having very successful careers. That's an intense frustration when, because of their negligence, they have let children continue to be exposed, exploited and not secure justice.' Nazir Afzal, the former chief prosecutor for north west England, said he was sceptical about whether a national inquiry could deliver justice but believed the national investigation by the NCA could do so. He added: 'Only criminal investigations can bring real accountability. That's where you can use all the powers police have in terms of investigation and going through all the documents, and then interviewing people under caution. 'That's what needs to happen, and that's what I've always been for, is not just those who offended but also those who stood by and did not do what they were meant to do. That's how you deliver accountability. And unfortunately, my experience of national inquiries is that they take forever and don't deliver accountability.' 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26 minutes ago
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The Sun
27 minutes ago
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Ex-soldier who brutally murdered mum with meat cleaver before dismembering her body could be FREED early from jail
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