MBE for youth worker who blew whistle on Rotherham child sex scandal

The actions of Jayne Senior, who repeatedly raised concerns, led eventually to a report which shocked the nation by laying bare the abuse to which 1,400 children were subjected over more than 15 years, ignored by police and social services.

Speaking after a Buckingham Palace investiture ceremony, Mrs Senior said: “It’s quite a bitter-sweet award. Yes I’m proud but I should never have had to do this and be here in the first place.

“So for me it’s about accepting it for all those courageous children that went through what they went through, and whose voices were ignored, but not any more. This has had a ripple effect across the UK now, and no more can we ever ignore this.”

Mrs Senior worked for the Risky Business youth project in Rotherham during the period in which girls there were being groomed, raped, trafficked, and forced into prostitution on a huge scale. Risky Business tried repeatedly to alert authorities but was largely ignored and eventually closed down.

Earlier this year, a gang led by three brothers was jailed for a total of more than 100 years for crimes against children in the town. Mrs Senior, who has published a book about her battle to expose the truth about Rotherham, said her family had kept her going.