Government approach to grooming gang inquiries is shameful – Sir Trevor Phillips

Sir Trevor Phillips has described the Government’s approach to grooming gang probes as “utterly shameful” after ministers were accused of watering down plans for local inquiries on the issue.

The former chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission said the reason ministers are not pursuing the local reviews in five towns is “obviously political” because of the “demographic of people involved”.

The radio presenter told Times Radio: “I think what the Government is doing on that question is utterly, utterly shameful.

“It’s so obvious they’re not doing this because of the demographic of people involved… largely Pakistani Muslim background, and also in Labour-held seats and councils who would be offended by it.

“That’s clearly the reason that they’re not pursuing this. And it is utterly shameful given what has been done to these children by these men.”

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had announced in January that “victim-centred, locally-led inquiries” would take place in five areas including Oldham, Greater Manchester.

But safeguarding minister Jess Phillips faced a backlash in the Commons on Tuesday for not providing an update on local reviews into grooming the Government had previously promised.

The truth is that we are listening to victims and authorities around the country about the need to give them the right tools to tackle it (grooming), this very pernicious problem, in their own areas

Instead, Ms Phillips told MPs local authorities will be able to access a £5 million fund to support locally-led work on grooming gangs.

“Following feedback from local authorities, the fund will adopt a flexible approach to support both full independent local inquiries and more bespoke work, including local victims’ panels or locally-led audits into the handling of historic cases,” the minister said.

After the statement, Conservative frontbencher Katie Lam said local inquiries are not good enough and now the Government is “watering them down even further”.

Asked if it was true to suggest ministers were watering down their plans after the lack of update on the plans, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told Times Radio on Wednesday: “No, it’s not the truth.

“The truth is that we are listening to victims and authorities around the country about the need to give them the right tools to tackle it, this very pernicious problem, in their own areas.

“We believe that decisions are best made by those with skin in the game in their own communities, people who live in those communities, who understand what is happening there.”

The move comes after the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) led by Prof Alexis Jay found institutional failings and tens of thousands of victims across England and Wales.

The seven-year probe made 20 recommendations in the final report published in 2022, as it described child sexual abuse as an “epidemic” across the two nations.

The Government had knocked back calls for a national review in favour of locally-led inquiries, saying it was focused on implementing recommendations from Prof Jay’s report.

On Tuesday, Ms Phillips also announced a child protection authority will be created to address one of the central recommendations of IICSA, as well as doubling funding for national services which support adult survivors of child sexual abuse.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “It is wholly wrong to claim the Government is cancelling local child sexual abuse inquiries, we will pursue justice for victims without fear or favour, and claims we would not do so to avoid offending any group are false.

“This Government is taking decisive action to finally tackle grooming gangs, strengthening the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce, giving victims more powers to have their cases reviewed and making it a criminal offence to cover up any report of child sexual abuse.

“We have also commissioned a rapid national audit, led by Baroness Casey, to uncover the true scale of grooming gangs in the UK today, including looking at ethnicity.

“And we are providing £5 million to help support local inquiries so we can deliver the meaningful change victims deserve.”