Andy Burnham hints at support for national grooming gangs inquiry
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The Greater Manchester mayor pointed to an ongoing review into the scandal in Manchester which he launched after being elected in 2017, but said he would support a national inquiry if the government deemed one necessary. Andy Burnham has said he would support a new national inquiry into grooming gangs if the government launched one after pressure from Elon Musk.
![[Keir Starmer is expected to face questions on Monday about Elon Musk’s attacks on his government over past grooming gang cases]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/06/00/417f892a32454f8eec403d0f48a86e78Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM2MjA4MTY5-2.78595627.jpg)
The Greater Manchester mayor pointed to an ongoing review into the scandal in Manchester which he launched after being elected in 2017. Critics of recent calls for a new national inquiry have said there already has already been one, conducted by Professor Alexis Jay, with none of the 2022 recommendations having been implemented.
And Mr Burnham pointed to Prof Jay’s move to distance herself from calls to set up a new national inquiry, instead calling for Labour to commit to a “clear timeline” for adopting the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).
Her campaign group, Act on IICSA, warned against “politicising” sexual violence and hit out at “misinformation” being spread about the scandal. The IICSA was launched in 2015 and investigated grooming gangs as well as abuse in schools and churches, concluding in 2022 with 20 recommendations to protect children.
It looked into abuse by organised groups following multiple convictions of sexual offences against children across the UK between 2010-2014, including in Rotherham, Cornwall, Derbyshire, Rochdale and Bristol and described the sexual abuse of children as an “epidemic that leaves tens of thousands of victims in its poisonous wake”.
