The head of the investigation into grooming gangs has emphasized a commitment to confronting challenging realities. Baroness Ann Longfield stated that the inquiry will thoroughly explore whether factors such as ethnicity, culture, or religion played a role in the criminal behavior. She asserted that there will be no opportunity for organizations to conceal findings, emphasizing a dedication to following the evidence wherever it leads. The inquiry’s scope includes examining the operations of grooming gangs and pinpointing shortcomings within various institutions, such as law enforcement, local authorities, healthcare services, social care services, and schools, related to group-based sexual exploitation of children in England and Wales.
With the authority to compel witnesses to provide testimony and demand organizations to submit documents, the inquiry will refer any evidence of professional misconduct to Operation Beaconport, a national policing initiative established last year to reassess previously closed investigations. In areas where significant failures in addressing child sexual exploitation by grooming gangs have been identified, the inquiry will conduct localized investigations, with Oldham confirmed as one of the initial focus areas.
Lady Longfield, a former children’s commissioner for England, highlighted the historical and ongoing sexual abuse and exploitation of children in England and Wales, underscoring that victims have often faced disbelief, dismissal, or blame when seeking help. She reassured that the inquiry’s findings will be shared progressively rather than in a single report years later, aiming to prevent institutions from concealing information. The inquiry panel includes Zoe Billingham, a former Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, and Eleanor Kelly, a former chief executive of Southwark Council.
Public hearings will be conducted as part of the inquiry, with live-streaming available, and transcripts will be made public following each session. The inquiry has a maximum duration of three years, set to conclude by March 2029, with a budget of £65 million allocated for its operations.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood expressed deep concern over the grooming gangs scandal, labeling it as a dark chapter in the country’s history where vulnerable individuals were subjected to abuse by malevolent child rapists. Mahmood endorsed the inquiry’s focus on investigating the root causes of these crimes and addressing failures within institutions. She affirmed that the inquiry will explicitly scrutinize the role of ethnicity, religion, and culture in both the offenders’ actions and the institutional responses, emphasizing a commitment to holding perpetrators accountable.
The grooming gangs inquiry was established following a recommendation from Baroness Louise Casey’s National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, which exposed systemic failures and institutional inaction that allowed grooming gangs to operate unchecked for an extended period.
