12 hours ago
Bradford grooming cover-up left 8,000 children at risk of abuse, say campaigners
A cover-up of grooming gangs put up to 8,000 children at risk in Bradford, campaigners have claimed.
Baroness Casey, whose damning audit of grooming cases was published on Monday, said she would be 'surprised' if Bradford was not one of the first areas to be part of a national inquiry into local obstruction and failings that have denied victims justice.
A dossier, drawn up by a leading child abuse lawyer and MP, claims that at least 7,975 children in Bradford were at risk of sexual exploitation between 1996 and 2025, putting it on a par with similar scandals in Rochdale, Rotherham and Oldham.
It outlines years of alleged systematic failures by Bradford council and partner agencies to protect vulnerable children from Asian grooming gangs operating in the city.
It also contains disturbing first-hand accounts from survivors, police records and court proceedings.
In the dossier, women who were victims of Asian grooming gangs in the city have named more than 60 other girls who were also abused by them.
More than 70 men have been convicted or are being prosecuted for child sexual exploitation, rape or abuse.
Bradford council has, until now, resisted demands from victims and campaigners for a full local inquiry into the scandal, arguing that it has already conducted serious case reviews.
David Greenwood, the lawyer who compiled the dossier and played a key role in exposing abuse in Rotherham, said: 'I believe Bradford council is obstructing an independent insight into the scale and nature of sexual offending against children in what is termed grooming gang abuse.
'The council repeatedly quotes small-scale isolated case reviews as support for its view that a deeper inquiry is not required. Its arguments are disingenuous and contrary to the evidence.'
Robbie Moore, the Tory MP for Bradford and a member of the home affairs select committee, said victims were frustrated that councils like the one in his city were using serious case reviews as an excuse for claiming that there was 'nothing more to see here'.
He said: 'There is an overwhelming case for a full inquiry across the Bradford district, yet we have shockingly never had one.
'If Bradford's political leadership will not act, then the Government must.'
Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, confirmed on Monday that the Government would back Baroness Casey's proposals for a national inquiry, where an independent commission will identify areas for local investigations with powers to compel witnesses to attend.
It will focus on areas where there have been 'failures or obstruction by statutory services' to block inquiries into child sex grooming gangs.
Speaking at the home affairs committee, Baroness Casey said: 'I would say if you were Bradford, if you were anywhere, in my report that we published yesterday, if you're any of the areas that are visible and identifiable, just be ready and be open to the fact that you may be the subject of one of the national inquiries.
'I'd be surprised if some of the areas, including Bradford, would not be subject to be part of the national inquiry. And it's absolutely right that I think MPs, victims, other people, are able to say, we want this to happen here.'
Among those calling for an inquiry in Bradford is Fiona Goddard who was abused and exploited by an Asian grooming gang when she was living in a children's home in Bradford from the age of 14.
Her groomers plied her with drugs and gifts. A court heard that she was 'in effect used as a prostitute' by another of her abusers. She has previously recounted how she was driven to suicidal thoughts and self-harm as a teenager.
In February 2019, nine men were convicted of 22 offences against Ms Goddard and jailed.
On Tuesday, appearing alongside Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, at a press conference on grooming gangs, she said: 'I fully believe that Bradford needs to be part of that, because the figures that you have seen in places in their previous inquiries are completely outnumbered by the scale of it in Bradford, and it would be so important to look at a place with such levels to be able to gain inside knowledge.'
Ms Goddard has provided names of 14 other girls groomed by gang members. Another woman has named 61 girls who were victims.
Since 2015, some 37 people have been convicted of child abuse or sexual exploitation, with a similar number on trial or on bail.
Baroness Casey urged the Government not to drag its feet. She suggested it was 'not unreasonable' to expect ministers to adopt her 12 key recommendations, which include setting up a national inquiry, within six months.
