Home Office Minister Jess Phillips has confirmed that local inquiries into grooming gangs will likely extend beyond the five towns already announced, amid continued pressure on the Government to tackle the long-standing issue of group-based child sexual exploitation.
Speaking during an urgent question session in the House of Commons, Ms Phillips stated she was prepared to take action against any local authority found to be reluctant in undertaking inquiries where evidence of abuse exists. “I’m going to go on the basis of facts, and I’m going to follow them wherever they tell me. Wherever they tell me there are victims that need help, that is where I will go,” she said.
The Government has been under increasing scrutiny over its handling of grooming gangs, particularly in light of past failures in areas like Rotherham, Rochdale, and Telford. Since January, ministers have made a series of announcements aimed at improving local accountability and ensuring justice for survivors.
Baroness Louise Casey is currently leading a national audit into group-based child sexual exploitation, tasked with assessing the scale and nature of such abuse, and building a profile of the offenders involved.
So far, the Government has pledged support for five local inquiries, including funding for Oldham Council, but has not yet named the other four areas. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has insisted these inquiries will go ahead despite growing calls — from across the political spectrum — for a full nationwide public inquiry.
Chairwoman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, Dame Karen Bradley, questioned when the locations of the remaining four local inquiries would be made public. She pressed Ms Phillips on how the Government plans to compel councils that are hesitant to participate.
Ms Phillips responded: “Whilst we have committed to five, I expect to actually go further,” adding that a framework outlining the responsibilities of local authorities, alongside Baroness Casey’s review, will be published in May.
Conservative MP for Keighley and Ilkley, Robbie Moore, raised concerns that Bradford Council was “deliberately unwilling” to commission an inquiry, despite overwhelming victim-led support. Ms Phillips replied with a firm assurance: “If places are found to have problems, I want him to know that he has my guarantee I will pursue them.”
Earlier in the debate, the minister reflected on her meetings with victims from towns including Oxford, Birmingham, Rochdale, Rotherham and Oldham. “I know exactly the issue of the cover up,” she said. “What we must focus on is making sure, like happened in Telford, that there is a local process of accountability that actually changes things on the ground.”
However, the Conservative Party’s Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Philp, criticised the Government’s efforts, stating: “Five local inquiries, which can’t compel the production of evidence, just won’t do. Fifty towns are affected, not five.”
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He accused those in authority of past cover-ups and called for a stronger, more centralised response. “The last government set up the wider Professor Alexis Jay inquiry and the Grooming Gangs Taskforce, but that is not enough.”
The session turned tense when Reform UK MP Lee Anderson provocatively questioned whether Ms Phillips was “part of the cover-up.” He said: “Thousands of young, white, British working-class girls have been raped, tortured and abused by Pakistani grooming gangs, and yet this minister here refuses to support a full national public inquiry.”
Ms Phillips responded with a sharp rebuke: “I wonder how many victims he has sat and held hands with in court. There is absolutely no way that I would be part of any cover up.”
As the debate intensifies, the Government faces mounting pressure to not only deliver on its local inquiry commitments but also to demonstrate real progress in preventing further abuse, bringing perpetrators to justice, and restoring public trust in safeguarding institutions.
Would you like a timeline graphic summarising key grooming gang inquiries and Government responses since 2018?
