Just hours before Bradford Council was due to hold an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday, 24 June, to urge the chair of the inquiry, Ann Longfield CBE, to include the district in the national review, the Government confirmed that Bradford and Keighley would, in fact, be included.
Bradford and Keighley will join Oldham and London as the first locations to face dedicated local investigations under the £65 million inquiry.
The statutory investigation will have powers to compel individuals and organisations to give evidence and explain what they “did or did not do” to protect children from sexual abuse.
Initial hearings will examine the actions of government departments, police forces, the Crown Prosecution Service, local authorities and the NHS.
The inquiry will investigate how organised grooming gangs operated and whether institutions failed to protect vulnerable children. Any evidence of previously unprosecuted offences will be referred to Operation Beaconport, the national police operation established last year to review hundreds of closed child sexual exploitation investigations.
The announcement comes after months of growing political pressure for Bradford to be included in the inquiry. The issue had prompted the Conservative Group on Bradford Council to call an extraordinary meeting, scheduled for 4pm today, at which councillors were due to debate a motion urging the Council Leader to write to Baroness Longfield reaffirming the district’s request to be included.
The new inquiry follows the seven-year Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), which concluded in 2022 after costing around £200 million and examining institutional failures to protect children across England and Wales.
Welcoming today’s announcement, Bradford Council Leader Councillor Stephen Place said the decision marked an “important and welcome step.”
He said: “We have been clear that Bradford and Keighley should be included as a local area for investigation, and we welcome the decision to include the district in this process.
“Child sexual exploitation and abuse are abhorrent crimes that have devastated lives and have no place in our society. We know that organised grooming gangs operated in our district and that abuse continues to take place, and that there have been previous investigations, prosecutions and serious questions raised about the response of institutions.
“This investigation must help establish the facts, ensure accountability where appropriate, confirm whether warning signs were missed and strengthen confidence that everything possible is being done to protect children in the future.
“To victims and survivors, I want to assure you that we are here to listen. We recognise the courage it takes to come forward, and the Council stands ready to assist the inquiry and Baroness Longfield in any way we can.”
Keighley MP Robbie Moore, who has campaigned for several years for what he described as a “Rotherham-style inquiry” into child sexual exploitation in the district, called the announcement one of the most significant moments of his political career.
He said: “Securing a full independent inquiry is without doubt one of the most important issues I have campaigned on. After years of determined effort, this announcement represents a major step towards securing the answers that victims, survivors and their families have long been denied.
“Today is a watershed moment for Keighley and the wider Bradford District and, above all, for the many victims and survivors whose bravery carried us to this point. This heinous crime has haunted our community for decades and, after years of tireless campaigning and lobbying, their voices are finally being heard.”
Mr Moore paid tribute to survivor Fiona Goddard and other campaigners, saying their determination had made the inquiry possible.
He added: “Whilst no inquiry can undo the pain and suffering they have endured, it can help ensure the truth is uncovered and that those who were failed finally receive the answers they have spent years fighting for.
“This inquiry must seek the truth – however horrific it may be – and bring justice to those who have been failed for far too long. I will not stop until we achieve this.”
Leader of the Bradford Labour Group, Councillor Imran Khan, also welcomed the announcement, saying child sexual exploitation remained “an absolutely abhorrent crime” with lifelong consequences for victims and survivors.
He said the inquiry had the district’s full support but urged politicians to avoid using the issue for political purposes.
“I call on politicians of all parties to put the needs of survivors first and to follow the advice of independent experts by not politicising this heart-wrenching issue,” he said.
“Victims and survivors must be front and centre. Their different views and experiences must be heard in line with their own wishes, and their feelings prioritised throughout what will be an incredibly difficult process.
“The independent inquiry now needs to be allowed to get on and do its work, with everyone supporting it in every way possible and, above all else, putting victims and survivors first.”
Councillor Rebecca Poulsen, Leader of the Conservative Group on Bradford Council, said the decision was the result of years of campaigning by survivors.
“My Conservative Group colleagues and I are delighted that Baroness Longfield has announced that Bradford and Keighley are to have a specific local investigation as part of the Statutory National Inquiry into Grooming Gangs,” she said.
“This is testimony to the years of campaigning by victims and survivors, including incredibly brave people like Fiona Goddard, who waived her right to anonymity so she could share her experiences in the hope of preventing others from suffering.
“This heinous crime has blighted the lives of so many across Bradford and Keighley and, after years of calls for an inquiry being dismissed, delayed or rejected, their courage and determination have finally ensured their voices will be heard.”
Today’s announcement is expected to replace the need for Bradford Council’s proposed request to formally seek inclusion in the inquiry, with councillors now likely to focus on how the authority will support the investigation as it gets under way.
