Grooming gangs timeline: What happened, what inquiries there were and how Starmer was involved
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The grooming gangs scandal is back in the headlines after Elon Musk attacked Sir Keir Starmer and minister Jess Phillips for failing children. The tech billionaire has accused Sir Keir of being "complicit" in the failure of authorities to protect victims and prosecute abusers while the PM was director of public prosecutions from 2008-2013.
Sir Keir has hit back at Musk, saying his record shows how he tackled the issue head-on. Politics latest: Former child abuse inquiry chair says new inquiry not needed. The row started after it was revealed last week safeguarding minister Jess Phillips rejected calls from Oldham Council for a government inquiry into historical grooming gangs in the town, with Ms Phillips saying the council should lead an inquiry instead.
She has since hit back after Mr Musk's subsequent attacks on her. Sky News looks at a timeline of the grooming gangs scandal, inquiries and Sir Keir's role. How did the grooming gangs scandal unfold and what prosecutions have there been?. 2001: Names of taxi drivers who allegedly picked up girls from care homes in Rotherham to abuse them are passed to the police and council from 2001. The first convictions were not until 2010, with the latest in 2024 - a total of 61.
2004: A Channel 4 documentary about claims young white girls in Bradford were being groomed for sex by Asian abusers is delayed as police forces warn it could inflame racial tensions. It was finally shown three months later. 2010: 11 men, predominantly of an Asian background, are convicted of offences connected with the sexual exploitation of children in Derbyshire.
