Top Tories rejected calls for Government-led inquiry into grooming gangs Senior Tories including former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and former Home Secretary Amber Rudd rejected calls for a public inquiry into the abuse scandal exposed by the Sunday Mirror in Telford.
Former Home Secretary Amber Rudd first rejected calls for an independent public inquiry in 2016, telling local Tory MP Lucy Allan that: “It is for the authorities in Telford to decide whether a further review is necessary.” Following an 18-month investigation, we revealed in March 2018 that up to a thousand girls had been abused in Telford over four decades, and that the scandal was linked to five deaths.
Within days, Rishi Sunak, then Minister for Local Government, met with Ms Allan, who wanted an independent inquiry and thought one commissioned by the council would not be seen as “impartial”.
Labour’s Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, has rejected calls from Oldham council for a public inquiry into child exploitation in the town.
The experience of the Jay review in Rotherham shows that a review led by the right individual and given the right terms of reference can be genuinely independent, even when initiated by the Council itself.
