Conservatives on Bradford Council have welcomed the announcement of a new Statutory National Inquiry into grooming gangs.
On Sunday Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a national inquiry would go ahead – having previously claimed such a review was not needed.
It came after the publication of the Casey report into grooming gangs.
The report looked at, among other things local data in West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. It found that in these areas the suspects of child sexual offences were “disproportionately likely to be Asian Men.”
The Conservative & Queensbury Independent Group on Bradford Council have made numerous calls for Bradford Council and West Yorkshire Mayor to back a new national inquiry.
But Council bosses and Mayor Tracy Brabin have both argued that it would be more productive to follow yet to be implemented recommendations of previous reviews, rather than begin a new review.
After the announcement of the national inquiry, Cllr Rebecca Poulsen, Group Leader of the Conservative and Queensbury Independents said “My colleagues and I strongly welcome the Statutory National Inquiry that victims and others have been campaigning for, and we await the details from the rapid review by Baroness Casey that has led to the Prime Minister u-turning over having a statutory inquiry into this abhorrent crime.
“It is shameful that after decades many victims and their supporters have been ignored, vilified and in some cases even subjected to legal action.
“This appalling crime is still happening across the country, despite some positive work being carried out.
“Some victims have bravely shared their dreadful experiences in order to show this is such a huge issue that it needs an inquiry with full statutory powers to compel witnesses to give evidence under oath.
“It is not just the perpetrators who must be held to account but those who turned their backs on the innocent victims and even blamed them for causing the abuse.
“All victims who have stood up and been so strong in sharing their dreadful experience should be so proud of what they have achieved. I would like to pay tribute to the enormous bravery they have shown.”
One finding of the review was that there had been a lack of examination into the background of offenders.
It said: “Child sexual exploitation is horrendous whoever commits it, but there have been enough convictions across the country of groups of men from Asian ethnic backgrounds to have warranted closer examination.
“Instead of examination we have seen obfuscation.”
Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council, said: “We’re very clear that grooming children for sexual exploitation is an appalling crime that blights victims’ lives.
“In Bradford we take this extremely seriously so I welcome the renewed focus on this nationally.
“We work hard with the police to identify historic victims of CSE to get them justice and provide support. So far this has resulted in 52 perpetrators receiving prison sentences totalling 570 years.
“Baroness Casey is a fearless advocate for victims and we were pleased to participate in her national audit which has been published today.
“We provided her with the 74 reports and independent investigations that have already been published on CSE in Bradford. These include statistical data on perpetrators and victims. We will examine the audit and its recommendations and will support the work of the national inquiry in any way we can.
“In the meantime our primary focus remains on our young people and keeping them safe.”
