Child abuse solicitor urges Home Office to conduct grooming gang review into Bradford

Mr Greenwood said: “The grooming gang scandal in Bradford is likely to be one of the most significant crises of its kind in the UK, potentially eclipsing the horrors uncovered in Rotherham.

“As someone who has worked with hundreds of survivors across South and West Yorkshire, it is clear to me that Bradford faces a reckoning.

“Bradford Council must act with urgency to commission a thorough, independent review into the widespread child sexual exploitation that has devastated lives and communities.

“Without a comprehensive investigation, justice will remain out of reach for survivors, and those responsible will evade accountability.”

Mr Moore is concerned that Bradford Council’s rejection of an inquiry into child sexual abuse could block the district from forming part of the Government’s grooming gang audit.

Ms Cooper has said one of the locations would be Oldham, but the other four are yet to be decided.

The Tory MP said: “The Home Secretary must include Bradford in this review – but more importantly, this review must have real teeth.

“That means statutory powers to compel witnesses, expose safeguarding failures, and ensure those responsible are held to account.”

While one of the five survivors, Fiona Goddard, added: “The number and nature of child sexual exploitation cases with connections to Bradford has become so concerning that an independent inquiry into any failings of the council is essential if we are to have trust in the council but importantly understand the child exploitation landscape in Bradford.”

Phillipa Hubbard, of the Bradford District Safeguarding Children Partnership, previously ruled out an inquiry.

“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.