4 days ago
Bradford Council has 'nothing to hide' in grooming enquiry
BRADFORD Council has 'nothing to hide' and will fully co-operate with a national review into grooming gangs, councillors have been told.
This week, the Council met for the first time since the announcement of a national review into grooming was announced by Government.
At the meeting, both the Conservative and Labour groups put forward motions supporting the national review.
Before the motions were debated, Bradford Council Leader Susan Hinchcliffe assured councillors that the authority would co-operate fully with the review, and hand over un-redacted documents.
In a question and answer session, Liberal Democrat Leader on the Council, Brendan Stubbs highlighted news articles on reports into grooming incidents in Greater Manchester being heavily redacted – and fears that this could hinder the national review.
Cllr Stubbs said: 'Can you assure us that Bradford Council will only redact what is totally necessary and not hinder victims from getting the justice they deserve?'
Cllr Hinchcliffe said: 'Given our history on this subject we've been very open on it over the years. Anyone coming in can see whatever we've been doing. I sent all reports we've done unredacted to the Home Secretary, so we've got nothing to hide here.'
Presenting the Conservative motion, Conservative Leader Rebecca Poulsen said: 'Sadly for decades the abuse and rape of children, many of whom were in the care of the local authority has gone on, with many who should have been protective turning their backs or being unwilling to prevent the abuse to them.
'Social workers, police, children's home staff, many people who should have believed victims let them down. Many children were blamed and called child prostitutes. It is truly appalling.
"Some stepped up when they saw what was happening like Ann Cryer, the MP for Keighley and Ilkley, but she was vilified and called a racist by the Labour party for raising this.'
She pointed out that current Keighley MP Robbie Moore has called for a national enquiry for years, but that both the Labour leadership in Bradford Council and West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin had said it was not needed.
Referring to the fact that the Council has said it will support the recently announced inquiry, Cllr Poulsen said: 'About time. We welcome your U turn, but you have broken your trust with the victims I have spoken to. I welcome the U turns, but what message does it send to the victims?'
Councillor Rebecca Poulsen (Image: T&A)
She said it was clear that men of Asian ethnicity were 'overrepresented' in grooming cases, according to the review.
Her motion called for Bradford to support the enquiry in any way it could.
Council Leader Susan Hinchcliffe said: 'Child sexual exploitation is a terrible crime and has a long lasting impact on its victims.
'Anyone who has spoken to victims know how appalling and brutal the perpetrators are. The victims should have been protected and loved, not tortured in this way.'
She said it was clear they had been let down, because this was the finding of numerous reviews on this issue that had been published by the Council. Cllr Hinchcliffe added: 'These reviews made for stomach churning reading.'
She told members the way the Council and police dealt with CSE was now vastly different from a few years ago.
Cllr Hinchcliffe said the Conservatives like carrying out reviews but 'then don't do anything with their findings.'
She was referring to the Jay report into grooming, which cost over £184m over seven years. One of the recommendations of that report were implemented by the previous Government.
She said: 'We've apologised for what happened in the past and I have apologised on behalf of people in the chamber now and previously, because it wasn't the people that you see here who were in charge at that time – I think you know full well Cllr Poulsen that we all bear responsibility for the past, and its beholden on all of us to not bring politics into this.
'Never in all the years I have been leader have I been asked by any Councillor to cover up such a crime, all communities condemn this crime.'
Deputy leader Councillor Imran Khan said: 'There is a no more abhorrent crime that we will ever talk about in this Council chamber.
'Every community finds this crime abhorrent.'
Councillor Ralph Berry (Lab, Wibsey) is one of the longest standing councillors in the chamber. He said he was a probation officer in family courts in the past. He said: 'The terminology people would use in the past would turn your stomach.'
He said in the past he had sat in meetings where police spoke about children who are now considered victims 'making choices.' Things were now taken much more seriously by police, he said.
