Include Bradford in grooming gang inquiry or we'll do our own, new Reform leader says

The former children’s commissioner, who hails from Ilkley, is chairing the Government’s £65m three-year statutory probe into child sexual exploitation (CSE).

Before Parliament’s summer recess, the inquiry is set to announce four areas to focus on, as well as Oldham.

Bradford politicians have long been calling for an independent investigation into grooming gangs in the district, particularly Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore.

Now Coun Stephen Place, the new Reform leader of Bradford Council after the local elections, said he had formally written to Baroness Longfield to “ensure that the Bradford and wider district, to include Keighley, is fully included within the national enquiry into CSE and gang-related grooming”.

“This was one of my first acts as leader of the council,” he said.

“If Bradford district is not included, then we will undertake all steps necessary to begin the process of an independent inquiry.

“For two decades, despite numerous calls for an enquiry or even an acknowledgement that the problem exists there has been no meaningful attempts to act on this matter. We will continue to update the public.”

Solicitors Switalskis previously told The Yorkshire Post that victims from different parts of the country “report being trafficked” to the city.

Since 2016, police investigations in the region have resulted in over 200 offenders sentenced to more than 2,200 years.

Mr Moore had written to Coun Place, alongside grooming gangs survivor Fiona Goddard and Switalskis’ leading child abuse solicitor David Greenwood, calling on him to back Bradford’s inclusion.

The letter said: “The Bradford district once again faces a defining moment, one that will determine whether those in positions of leadership are prepared to confront past failings openly and ensure that victims and survivors are finally given the justice they deserve.”

Ms Goddard, who was abused as a teenager in the city, said: “Many grooming gang cases across the UK have links to Bradford, with children trafficked here from across the country.

“So by not having this area as a main focus in the national inquiry, we don’t just fail the victims here but survivors of grooming across the country.”

Speaking to the Home Affairs Committee about Bradford this week, Baroness Longfield said: “We have obviously read, seen and been very aware of that. In six weeks time we will be able to continue that discussion.

“The Bradford case is obviously strongly made by victims and survivors over time, in the Casey Audit, in IICSA (the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse), in [West Yorkshire Police’s child sexual exploitation] Operation Dalesway.

“We’re well aware of the case that’s been made and it’s a strong case.”