Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced a three-month inquiry overseen by Baroness Louise Casey into grooming gangs in the UK, following political pressure for a government-led investigation. This comes after the Conservative Party and UK Reform Party criticized Labor’s refusal for a national inquiry linked to concerns over child sexual exploitation. Cooper stated that previous investigations had yielded little action and that the new audit would examine the ethnic demographics of gangs and their victims. She pledged to enhance national support for local investigations and promised a timetable for implementing recommendations from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
Whitehall fixers will carry out a “rapid audit” into the size of grooming gangs across the UK, the Home Secretary announced today.
Yvette Cooper told MPs that she had asked Baroness Louise Casey to oversee a three-month inquiry into the sexual exploitation of children by gangs.
She unveiled the new government action following a bitter political row over Labor’s previous refusal to hold a new national inquiry into the issue.
The Conservative Party and the UK Reform Party had called for a Whitehall-led inquiry after it emerged that ministers had rejected Oldham Council’s request for a national inquiry.
Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk also launched a barrage of attacks on Sir Keir Starmer on social media over the issue.
Mr Cooper has since made two statements in the House of Commons in the past two weeks on the topic of gang raids.
In the latest update this afternoon, she told MPs the government was preparing five more field investigations, establishing a “new framework” for such investigations.
She also promised to set out a “clear timetable” before Easter to bring forward the 20 recommendations of the seven-year Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).
And Ms Cooper told MPs that historic gang exploitation cases where no action had been taken would be re-examined.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told MPs that she had asked Baroness Louise Casey to oversee a three-month inquiry into the sexual exploitation of children by gangs.
The incident follows a bitter political row over the prime minister’s refusal to allow a new government-led inquiry into gang grooming
Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk launched a barrage of attacks on Sir Keir on social media over the issue.
Baroness Casey will complete her work on gang grooming before embarking on a social care review that Labor had previously imposed on her.
The IICSA inquiry, chaired by Professor Alexis Jay, produced its final report in 2022, but its recommendations have not yet been fully implemented.
The Home Secretary said that despite previous investigations into child sexual exploitation, “too little action has been taken and shamefully little progress has been made”.
She said Baroness Casey’s audit would look at the “cultural and social drivers” of the crime.
“It will properly examine ethnic data and the demographics of the gangs involved and their victims, and consider the cultural and social drivers of this type of crime, including between different ethnic groups,” Ms Cooper said. Ta.
“And we will provide recommendations for further analysis, investigation, and action needed to address current and historic failures.”
Ms Cooper added that Baroness Casey intends to complete her work on grooming gangs before starting a review of social care previously imposed on her by Labor.
The Home Secretary promised that the government would “provide stronger national support for the field investigations needed to bring truth and justice to victims and survivors.”
“Last week, the Prime Minister and I met with Telford survivors who were full of praise for the way the site investigation had been carried out after so many years of failure,” she added.
“And that investigation led to concrete changes, including the piloting of CCTV cameras in taxis and the appointment of a child sexual exploitation expert to local secondary schools.”
“And as we have seen, effective local surveys can delve into far more local details and provide more locally relevant answers than long-term national surveys can provide. Masu.
Therefore, Tom Crowther KC, chair of the Telford Inquiry, agreed to work with the Government to develop a new framework for victim-centred, locally-led inquiries where necessary.
“As a first step in working with Oldham Council and up to four other exam areas.
“This includes support for local authorities who wish to explore other ways of supporting victims, such as drawing on the experience of local panels and the Independent Investigative Truth Project.”
The latest uproar over gang grooming comes after it emerged that Labor ignored calls from Oldham Council for a Whitehall-led inquiry, with ministers instead supporting a locally-led inquiry .
A number of Labor MPs have recently broken ranks with Lord Keir, calling for a new national inquiry into the issue.
They include Rotherham MP Sarah Champion, who told Mr Cooper this afternoon that child sex abuse investigations require “the ability to compel witnesses”.
“A big part of what we have to do is to make sure there was no cover-up, and we can only do that on a legal basis,” she added.
Mr Cooper said the Home Office was working with the Cabinet Office, mayors and local councils to develop “new accountability arrangements”.
Asked again about whether he had legal powers to compel witnesses to local inquiries, the Home Secretary added: “There are other ways to do this.”
Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Phillip condemned Labour’s decision to set up a series of on-site inspections as “completely inappropriate”.
Mr Philip said previous reports and reviews of child sexual exploitation and abuse had “not gone far enough”.
He told MPs: “The IICSA report itself was not primarily about these rape gangs, in fact it barely touched on the issue and only singled out six towns.” he said.
“IICSA has only scratched the surface as we now believe up to 50 towns may have been affected.
“The Home Secretary has expressed Government support for just five local investigations.
“Let me tell you this is totally inadequate when we know up to 50 towns are affected.”
Downing Street has insisted that Baroness Casey’s “audit” into gang raids will have no impact on the leadership of the committee on social care reform.
A No10 spokesperson said: “Louise Casey’s track record speaks for itself.”
“She carries out this work in her role as the Government’s lead non-executive director.
“Her work on the Independent Commission into Adult Social Care, which begins in April, will not be affected and her work on the rapid audit into gang grooming will begin immediately.”
