Leeds's Anna Hall made Groomed: A National Scandal for Channel 4 because she is 'sick of these women being let down'

However, in her eyes, returning to confront that particular form of child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Groomed: A National Scandal - her fourth Channel 4 film on the topic, which aired last Thursday – was an absolute necessity.

Over recent years, a number of horrendous gang-related CSE cases have been uncovered in Yorkshire and beyond – the most infamous perhaps being the estimated 1,400 children abused in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013, as outlined by Professor Alexis Jay in her public inquiry report 11 years ago, but others have followed since in locations such as Huddersfield and Dewsbury.

While the documentary charts the decades-long scandal, Hall’s film shows how these patterns of trafficking, false imprisonment and rape of girls might still be happening today

And she wants to put the survivors at the centre of demanding justice.

Hall, speaking to The Yorkshire Post, says: “We've had apology after apology after apology.

“We've had report after report after report. We've had inquiry after inquiry. And now what we want is action.”

In the documentary, Hall hears from five women – having waived their lifelong right to anonymity – who share their testimony of being groomed, sexually assaulted and raped by potentially hundreds of men collectively in areas including West Yorkshire and Manchester.

One woman tells of how she was sexually abused from the age of 11, being taken out of a children’s home and exploited for days on end – a grooming tactic evidenced in numerous public inquiry documents and court reports over the years.

Hall’s previous films on the subject for Channel 4 include Edge of the City (2004), The Hunt for Britain’s Sex Gangs (2011) and Britain’s Sex Gangs (2013).

These documentaries by Hall, who runs Leeds-based Candour Productions, have been controversial in the past.

They have caught the attention of far-right figures as well as people concerned about racism because, although it is stressed white offenders have been involved in the type of grooming interrogated in her films, most of the culprits in the cases she has explored are British-Pakistani men.

Is she ready for people to seize on the film for that reason? Hall says: “I think we as a society need to be more grown up than that, and that's why I've made this film, because I am really sick of this issue being used as a political football, and I'm sick of these women being let down and other survivors being let down.”

Why does she think that, despite past scandals and evidence to suggest that such crimes are still happening, authorities have struggled to tackle it? “I think it's overwhelming.

“There is so much of this going on and it's a shame to say ‘Is it about resources?’

“But, have we got the proper resources?”

An independent child protection agency would also prevent organisations “marking their own homework,” she says.

Indeed, chief among Hall and other campaigners’ hopes is the urgent implementation of an independent Child Protection Authority for England, which was one of 20 recommendations outlined by Prof Jay in her report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), published in October 2022.

“People are asking me about whether I think there should be another national inquiry, and my answer to that is no, I don't.

“We can't delay it any longer.

“We've had a massive inquiry with 20 recommendations that will help change the course of child protection.

“So Jess Phillips’ announcement to set up a child protection agency, which is one of the IICSA recommendations, is absolutely 100 per cent what should happen, and then all the other 19 recommendations would follow suit.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “This government is taking decisive action to finally tackle grooming gangs – strengthening the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce, giving victims more powers to have their cases reviewed and making it a criminal offence to cover up any report of child sexual abuse.

“We have also commissioned a rapid national audit, led by Baroness Casey, to uncover the true scale of grooming gangs in the UK today, including looking at ethnicity.

“And we are providing £5m to help support local areas so we can deliver the meaningful change victims deserve.”

Assistant Chief Constable Damien Miller, of West Yorkshire Police, said: “West Yorkshire Police has received a civil legal claim in relation to specific allegations made and we are therefore limited in what we can say while these proceedings are ongoing.

“Tackling the sexual abuse and exploitation of children and young victims in West Yorkshire remains a force

priority.

“Protecting children and putting the victim at the heart of everything we do is our primary focus, and we have significantly invested in and improved our safeguarding capability since the early 2010’s.

“Each district has its own dedicated inter-disciplinary child safeguarding team. These teams manage investigations and work closely with multi-agency partners in child protection, including the NHS,

local authorities, charities, and schools.

“This multi-agency approach allows not only for the most effective investigation but ensures appropriate safeguarding measures are considered for any child deemed to be at risk.

“The force’s specialist non-recent child sexual exploitation and abuse teams also continue to bring a number of complex sexual abuse cases to court.

“Within Kirklees District alone, the well-publicised Operation Tendersea and Tourway investigations resulted in combined jail terms totalling more than 900 years being handed to 70 men convicted of sexual offending committed between 1995 and 2013.

“We continue to urge victims of this dreadful offending to come forward and want to reassure them their voices will be heard.”

Assistant Chief Constable Steph Parker, Greater Manchester Police’s lead for vulnerability and public protection, said: “We’ve fully accepted and apologised for the extent of our past failings in tackling this horrific abuse. We badly let down vulnerable young girls when they needed us the most.

“It is vital this never happens again. That’s why we have been committed to co-operating with all local inquiries and implementing the lessons from them. These are lessons which have long since been learnt, and are now very much established in our current practices in GM.

“This was recognised in December by HMICFRS who found us to be good and adequate in all areas of protecting children. This is the priority for the GMP of today.

“This includes our multi-agency teams that protect vulnerable young people and identify offenders across every town and city in GM, and how we work with hospitality to help them spot the signs of exploitation so that we act before children come to harm.

“Our specialist unit investigating non-recent CSE was launched in March 2021 and currently has 95 specialist staff working on investigations with survivors at a pace they are comfortable with when they are ready. These victim-centred investigations have resulted in 86 arrests and 71 years’ worth of convictions, with further suspects currently being put before the courts and one offender awaiting sentencing in May as part of Operation Green Jacket.

“No abuser is immune from justice and time is no barrier. The GMP of today is absolutely committed to ensuring victims are listened to and supported, regardless of who’s committed these offences and how long ago it occurred.

“The worst elements in society have always looked to exploit children and vulnerable people for their own criminal and sexual gain and, sadly, this does continue. However, our knowledge of this offending is lightyears ahead of where we were even a decade ago, meaning we can identify risks and tackle offending a lot more quickly and effectively – protecting victims and pursuing perpetrators.

“We are recognised as modern leaders in UK policing at protecting children, with our work around Operation Makesafe ensuring that we’re preventing young and vulnerable children from coming to harm. We have made big strides to build confidence with recent and non-recent survivors of sexual abuse, but we know we have some way to go.

“Across GM we arrested 3,000 suspected sex offenders in 2024 and we safeguarded thousands of vulnerable people. Our specialist officers and dedicated teams continue to work tirelessly across GM to keep children and young people safe and bring offenders to justice.”

Groomed: A National Scandal is available now on Channel 4 on demand.