Grooming gangs: hopes that cross-party support will lead to national inquiry investigating Bradford
Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore hopes that “cross-party pressure” will finally lead to the national inquiry investigating the grooming gangs scandal in Bradford.
The statutory probe, announced by Sir Keir Starmer earlier in the year after a damning review by Baroness Louise Casey, is currently selecting its chair and drawing up the terms of reference.
It is unknown which parts of the country it will focus on, however Baroness Casey mentioned Bradford as a place which should open itself up to scrutiny.
Child abuse solicitors believe the child sexual exploitation crisis across the Bradford district could dwarf the Rotherham scandal, with victims from across the country frequently brought into the area to be abused.
Since 2016, police investigations in West Yorkshire have resulted in over 200 offenders sentenced to over 2,200 years, and there are currently 50 historic child sexual exploitation investigations ongoing.
While more than 70 defendants are currently charged and standing trial or listed to stand trial at Bradford and Leeds Crown Courts in 2025 and 2026.
West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin revealed that she has written to new Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, and prior to that Yvette Cooper, inviting the inquiry to the region.
She said: “As soon as the Casey report was published, I wrote to the previous and subsequently to the new Home Secretary to confirm our intention to invite the national inquiry to West Yorkshire, with the support of our local authority leaders.
“We continue to speak with victims and survivors across the region to ensure their voices remain front and centre of the inquiry.”
Mr Moore has been leading a campaign for a national investigation into the scandal in Bradford, and has also written to Ms Mahmood alongside victims and legal expert David Greenwood.
The letter states: “We write to you united and urge you to launch this inquiry to both hold local institutions accountable and help deliver justice for survivors who have waited too long to be heard.”
Victim Fiona Goddard, who has bravely waived her right to anonymity, said she hopes the local politicians will “show overwhelming support” to the letter.
Mr Moore said: “In places like Rotherham, Telford and Oldham, it was survivor voices and cross-party pressure, including from elected officials who initially opposed an inquiry, that ultimately tipped the balance.”
It comes as Bradford Council leader Coun Susan Hinchcliffe said she wrote to the Home Secretary earlier in the summer following the publication of the Casey Review, to put Bradford forward.
A council spokesperson said: “We agree with Fiona and the MP that Bradford should participate in any way possible in the national inquiry.
“The leader of the council wrote to the Home Secretary in June expressing this, and all councillors agreed at Full Council in July that this was the right course of action.”
Ms Brabin and her Deputy Mayor for Policing Alison Lowe, as well as Coun Hinchcliffe, had previously opposed having an inquiry in Bradford.
In April, the Mayor told the BBC: “I'm not going to call for an inquiry because we have had several numbers of inquiries across our region.
“The victims I have spoken to, what they want is justice - they don't want talking, they don't want politicians fighting amongst themselves, they want the people who did this put away.”
Earlier in the year, Phillipa Hubbard, of the Bradford District Safeguarding Children Partnership, which has representatives of the council, 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.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The sexual abuse of children by grooming gangs is one of the most horrific crimes imaginable, and every allegation must be thoroughly investigated, no matter where it leads.
“We have committed to a new national inquiry which will undertake specific investigations locally. We are in the process of appointing a chair, and we are consulting victims and survivors as part of this process, to ensure we get it right.”