Bradford safeguarding officials reject MP's call for inquiry to 'shed light' on grooming gangs
A new inquiry into grooming gangs in Bradford “is unlikely to provide us with any new learning”, the district’s safeguarding partnership said, despite continued calls from a local MP.
Robbie Moore, the Tory MP for Keighley and Ilkley, has claimed solicitors believe that the scale of child abuse could in the area could “dwarf” that uncovered in Rotherham, where the Jay Report found 1,400 children were sexually abused between 1997 and 2013.
Since getting elected in 2019, Mr Moore has repeatedly called for an inquiry covering the Bradford district, however the safeguarding partnership once again ruled it out, saying it would “cost a huge amount of money”.
“There’s never been a light that has been shone on this issue across the Bradford district, despite many of the previous reports referencing girls being trafficked through the Bradford district, despite the number of convictions which have happened through Keighley and the Bradford district,” Mr Moore said.
“So I’ve been calling for an inquiry, since being elected in 2019, for an equivalent sort of inquiry like Rotherham across the Bradford district, and I’ve been unsuccessful.”
In Keighley, 12 men were jailed for a combined total of 130 years in 2016 for running a child sex ring. The judge said in his 40 years of practice he had never seen defendants so “insolent and disrespectful”.
A national row has erupted around grooming gangs, after Elon Musk sent online abuse towards the Prime Minister over it.
Since then the Conservatives have called for a national inquiry, while Sir Keir Starmer has said his Government will instead work to implement the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), something the previous Tory administration had not done.
While Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips said inquiries into grooming were more effective at a local level.
“The real frustration I’ve had is constantly, since 2019, I’ve been told when you’re campaigning for a local inquiry, it’s not a local problem it’s a national problem,” Mr Moore said.
“Then you campaign at a national level, you’re told it’s a local problem.
“The scale of the issue has not been identified across Bradford.”
Phillipa Hubbard, of the Bradford District Safeguarding Children Partnership, said that IICSA, “which Bradford contributed, has made it very clear that this is a national issue”.
“Like many local authorities up and down the country, we know that agencies in our district have made mistakes in the past,” she explained, referencing a review carried out in the area in 2021.
“But the view of our partnership remains that a public inquiry would cost a huge amount of money, use precious officer time, and is unlikely to provide us with any new learning that would better protect children from being abused,” she added.
Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, also refused to call for an inquiry, instead saying: “Victims tell us they want action now and support for their recovery, which is what we are delivering.”
Rotherham MP Sarah Champion, who has campaigned around this issue for years, told The Yorkshire Post she understood calls for a local inquiry in Bradford, however she thought a national probe would delay action.
“To be quite honest, as a politician, calling for a inquiry is a really good way of being seen to be doing something,” Ms Champion said, speaking about the national discourse.
“But why do you want that research and what do you want it on?”
She added: “I say with the deepest respect to all those calling for a national inquiry, rather than that, put all of your energy into getting the IICSA recommendations adopted.”
When contacted by The Yorkshire Post, West Yorkshire Police said that between 2015 and 2024, 201 defendants have been sentenced to a total of 2,223 years and 10 months for child exploitation. This relates to 20 investigations across Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees and Leeds.
Assistant Chief Constable Patrick Twiggs said: “Since the publication of the Jay report in 2014, West Yorkshire Police has taken a proactive stance in exploring previous incidents and disclosures relating to non-recent child sexual exploitation and abuse.
“This work has been underway over the past decade, resulting in hundreds of perpetrators now serving lengthy prison sentences totalling thousands of years. Many investigations are still underway, with trials scheduled throughout 2025 and 2026.
“Alongside our complex investigative work, we’ve shaped our policing response through working with survivors, charities, and safeguarding partners. We also work closely with the national Hydrant Programme to continually review and develop our approach, ensuring victims and survivors are at the forefront of everything we do.”
If you are concerned about child exploitation, you can learn more and report to West Yorkshire Police directly, here: Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) | West Yorkshire Police. If you have been affected but have not yet made a report, you can find out more about support When You Are Ready, here: When You Are Ready.