Has the government given up on the grooming gang inquiries?

Sean O’Grady looks at the allegations that the home secretary wants to abandon the local investigations she promised would take place

There is confusion about the government’s attitude to the local inquiries into the notorious activities of grooming gangs that sexually abused girls over many years. Many of the cases have involved men of Pakistani origin or heritage, with the victims young white girls.

Often the crimes took place in towns in the north of England, though there were also notable examples in Telford and Oxford. Because of the extreme and sadistic sexual violence employed by these groups, they are also described as “rape gangs”.

The matter has for a long time been fiercely controversial, with allegations that the authorities ignored the plight of the victims, and that the police, social workers and politicians were complicit. In recent days, the government has been accused of dropping the local inquiries that were promised by the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, in January. Some people are outraged; others are asking for a national inquiry...

Has the government dropped the inquiries?

It seems not, but it certainly allowed that impression to be formed. Under intense attack from the opposition and persistent questioning by the media, Cooper has insisted that the local inquiries into grooming gangs in five towns are still going ahead.

Why are people saying they’ve been dropped?

A number of factors. Earlier this month, the lawyer charged with helping set up the local inquiries, Tom Crowther KC (who chaired the 2022 inquiry into the Telford gangs), told a Commons select committee that he had been given little information about the role, and had needed to ask a civil servant “Do you still want me?”

It didn’t help that only one location out of the five – Oldham – was identified in January, and that none have been earmarked since for the “rapid” review, suggesting a certain lack of urgency. Seizing on the issue, the shadow Home Office minister, Katie Lam, demanded answers.

Unfortunately, when the safeguarding minister, Jess Phillips, made her “update” statement to the Commons, she didn’t say much about the local inquiries, and just confirmed that the £5m was still available. She also made her statement on the final day of the parliamentary session before the Easter recess, which made critics suspicious that the government was trying to sneak bad news out.

What Phillips said on 8 April was: “We will set out the process through which local authorities can access the £5m national fund to support locally led work on grooming gangs. Following feedback from local authorities, the fund will adopt a flexible approach to support both full independent local inquiries and more bespoke work, including local victims’ panels or locally led audits into the handling of historic cases.”

What’s wrong with that?

It gave the strong impression that the government was trying to downplay the local inquiries for political purposes. Trevor Philips, former chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, put the charge against ministers forcefully, saying that they were reluctant to push ahead “because of the demographic of people involved... largely Pakistani Muslim background, and also in Labour-held seats and councils who would be offended by it”.

What’s the government’s defence?

Aside from denying that they are being complacent, ministers have put forward a case that is rather bureaucratic, and comes late in the day, when the misunderstandings have (arguably) gained traction. They say they are awaiting a different inquiry, that being an audit by Louise Casey, the former victims’ commissioner. This is due next month and will “uncover the true scale of grooming gangs in the UK today, including looking at ethnicity”, according to the Home Office.

What then?

Once again, it’s not that clear. Some councils, such as Bradford, have rejected any further inquiries anyway. Keir Starmer, on the other hand, has opened up the possibility of funding for more than five local inquiries. But he and his colleagues say their emphasis is on implementing the recommendations made by previous inquiries – for example, creating a new criminal offence of obstructing an individual from making a report; making reporting of child abuse mandatory; and making “grooming” an aggravating factor in sentencing for rape.

Do we need a national inquiry?

We’ve had one lengthy one already – set up by Theresa May, and chaired by Alexis Jay – which reported in 2022. There have also been trials, along with various local investigations, such as in Derby, Rotherham and Telford, and considerable media interest (indeed, The Times broke the scandal in 2011).

The problem is that the Jay inquiry was national but very broad indeed, taking in so-called VIP abuse as well, while the local investigations have been piecemeal and lacked authority. Even if another five, or more, local inquiries took place, there would be areas left uncovered.

A more powerful argument is that the survivors and victims’ families want an investigation, and that they won’t feel that justice has fully been done and the truth made known unless an inquiry takes place that carries full judicial powers.

Grooming – and the sexual abuse of children in a broader sense – has never been confined to men of Pakistani heritage, but as a specific phenomenon, the gangs have aroused intense interest and debate. The topic is also being exploited, obviously, by racists and Islamophobes.

The clamour for a further national inquiry will not die down, and it feels inevitable that one will need to take place in order to restore some truth and perspective to the discussion. Meanwhile, in the local elections, the Conservatives and Reform are making the most of it.