Councillors have voted against calling for a new national review into grooming gangs – with many pointing out that the findings of the last review have not been acted upon.
During the debate at Bradford City Hall on Tuesday evening one Councillor argued that the punishment for grooming gangs should be life imprisonment.
At the last meeting of Bradford Council the Conservative opposition tabled a motion calling for Councillors to vote for “a Full National Public Inquiry into ‘organised network’ child rape gangs and ensure Bradford is part of this Inquiry.”
But other parties in the Council put forward their own amended motions, with Labour arguing several reviews have already taken place – with the last national review by Alexis Jay leading to over 20 recommendations that have yet to be acted on.
The motion led to a fierce debate in the Council Chamber, with Conservatives accusing other parties of wanting to cover up grooming, and the Tories accused of exploiting the issue for political gain.
Conservative leader on Bradford Council Rebecca Poulsen put forward the motion, saying:
“I hope today we can all come together to send a strong message to victims and survivors of CSE that we will support them and add our voices to the call for a full inquiry into CSE that covers the Bradford District.
“The way these victims have historically been treated by the people who should have protected them is shocking.
“They were the ones blamed, arrested, and called prostitutes. What these children were subject to and continue to be subject to is despicable and appalling and must be stopped.”
She referred to former Keighley Labour MP Ann Cryer, who was one of the first politicians to raise the issue.
Cllr Poulsen said: “When Ann took up (victims) cases she was vilified, ridiculed and called a racist, liar and fantasist.
“This was the MP who had evidence of these crimes, and it is a damming indictment of society and the attitude of the police and social services at the time that she was seen as the problem – not the perpetrators.”
Councillor Ros Brown (Green, Ilkley) said: “The previous inquiry told us what needs to happen – we need to act on the information given to that enquiry.
“The Conservatives are diminishing the work done by Alexis Jay that was carried out over eight years. It is disappointing they are so dismissive of the survivor led work as their Government failed to act on any of the recommendations.”
Bradford Council Leader Susan Hinchcliffe said: “This is the most terrible crime – I’m sure we’ve all read the reviews on how different agencies failed young people. We have to make sure people who carry out these crimes face the full force of the law.”
She said while grooming was an appalling crime, child sexual abuse also involves child on child abuse – which accounts for half of child abuse – and abuse within families.
Cllr Hinchcliffe said: “I don’t want to minimise gang-based grooming but I want to emphasise abuse can happen to any child and by any perpetrator.
“We don’t want to tell people that this is only carried out by gangs from a certain background.
“Years ago we as a society didn’t treat grooming seriously enough. It is treated seriously now.
“If you are one of these criminals – you will be prosecuted, no matter how long ago the crime was committed.”
Referring to the calls for a local enquiry, she said: “Officers are welcome to come at any time to see how children are supported now.
“The Conservatives are calling for an enquiry when they never bothered to implement the actions of the first one.”
Councillor Paul Sullivan (Cons, Bingley Rural) is a former police officer who worked in Keighley. He said: “Child rape gangs are still operating in 50 towns and cities, including Bradford.
“Who tried to prevent the exposure of these horrors?”
He accused Labour and the Greens of thinking Ann Cryer should have “shut her mouth.”
Councillor Falak Ahmed (Cons, Bingley Rural) said: “The narrative is these gangs have been allowed to continue operating out of fear of causing racial tension. People were too focused on political correctness.
“Pakistani men account for 14 per cent of all abuse of children – this is a statistic that shocks me as a mother and someone from the Pakistani community.”
She said there had been a “culture of silence” among some in her community over the issue, but acknowledged grooming was “the actions of a very few individuals.” She added: “They don’t represent us.”
Former Lord Mayor Gerry Barker (Cons, Wharfedale) is a retired police officer. He said: “It is painful for me to know that police forces are one of the organisations who let down young girls and their families.
“It was not the vast swathe of individual officers who took it on themselves to victim blame. It was the senior ranks who were influenced by the political correctness of the left.”
Councillor Talat Sajawal, Leader of the Bradford Independent Group, said: “I join everyone across this chamber to call out this vile crime. The punishment for this crime should be life imprisonment.
“But it is not right to vilify a whole community based on the actions of a few. This isn’t about politics, and bringing it into it is disrespectful to the victims. The Conservative motion is a political one designed to agitate the Far Right.”
Referring to the Jay report, he said: “The Conservatives did nothing about the recommendations in that report, today they want us to believe they are so concerned about the issue.”
Councillor Brendan Stubbs, Leader of the Liberal Democrats in Bradford, said the party would support calls for a national review, adding: “For many victims they haven’t had the answers they require. People have been allowed to get away with covering this up.”
Councillor Ishtiaq Ahmed (Bradford Independent Group) described grooming as a “repulsive crime” adding: “But the Conservative motion is jumping on the bandwagon. It is about politics, not helping victims.”
Hitting back at the Conservatives, Cllr Hinchcliffe said: “No-one in this chamber cares about the perpetrators. In my eight years in this position no one has ever asked me to try and stop perpetrators from being prosecuted.”
In response to claims the Labour group had played a part in covering up crimes, she pointed out that many of the high profile grooming cases happened at a time when Bradford Council was Conservative controlled.
Councillor Matt Edwards, leader of the Green party, said he feared the Conservatives would use comments made in the meeting and take them out of context. He added: “Cllr Sullivan, you didn’t even wait to do that accusing us of wanting Ann Cryer to shut up. All Councillors condemn CSE – it is an abhorrent crime.”
When it came to the vote, the Conservative motion was defeated by the Labour motion.
