Labour has come under fire after refusing to hold a public inquiry into historic sexual abuse by grooming gangs in Oldham.

Jenrick stirring the pot Iam. I’m not a fan.

Wyllow3

I thought it was about time we cut through any potential racist parts of the narrative to see what the Muslim Council of Britain have had to say (Jan 4th) Its a page long report.

mcb.org.uk/mcb-we-need-truth-and-action-against-child-sexual-abuse-gangs-not-a-racist-witch-hunt/

It includes, at the end, details of enquires carried out in 2014

We know there are those who would weaponise our pain for their own ends or political gain; who speak out with new-found interest, not to tackle the horrendous crimes that stole so much from us, but to further their own agenda. They should hang their heads in shame

Thank you Wyllow3

Jenrick used inflammatory language this morning.

I thought it was about time we cut through any potential racist parts of the narrative to see what the Muslim Council of Britain have had to say (Jan 4th) Its a page long report.

mcb.org.uk/mcb-we-need-truth-and-action-against-child-sexual-abuse-gangs-not-a-racist-witch-hunt/

It includes, at the end, details of enquires carried out in 2014

"‘We stand by Jess’: Telford survivors criticise Musk’s attack on Phillips
Exclusive: Victims of male violence sign letter praising minister for devoting life to ‘fighting for women and girls’"

www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jan/07/jess-phillips-telford-survivors-musk-attack-letter-women-girls

"Three of the letter’s signatories – Holly Archer, Joanne Phillips and Scarlett Jones – are survivors of the grooming scandal in Telford. All three use pseudonyms. The other four signatories – Julie Devey, Carole Gould, Emma Ambler and Nour Norris – have lost a female relative to gender-based violence or have suffered domestic abuse."

"In their response to Musk, coordinated by the campaign group Killed Women, the women said that those who “weaponise our pain for their own ends or political gain” should “hang their heads in shame”.

“We write as victims of extreme male violence,” the letter said. “What connects us all beyond our shared trauma is the support and kindness we have received from Jess Phillips over many years, personally and as activists fighting for change.

We know there are those who would weaponise our pain for their own ends or political gain; who speak out with new-found interest, not to tackle the horrendous crimes that stole so much from us, but to further their own agenda. They should hang their heads in shame

Grantanow

Calls for yet another public enquiry are simply Reform weaponizng the issue and the Tories running to catch up. Implementing previous recommendations is the answer (which the Tories failed to do while in office). Ignore Musk who is ill-informed.

Sadly Musk isn't the only one who is ill informed.

Yvette Cooper's announcement yesterday, that the government would be reviving the mandatory reporting policy, which was dropped by its Conservative predecessors on the eve of the 2024 election is, as far as I can see, exactly the right move.

With no intention to diminish the awful events so often being referred to on here, reviving mandatory reporting will mean that NO organisation, group, or person in a position of power could decided they or their organisation should sweep such events under the corporate or financial carpet.

I would like to see this extended to all predatory acts disclosed, no matter what the age of the victim, being compulsorily reported to the police where the accused is in a position of power.

By all means love0c outline your ideas on how to "put it right".

Fire away.

love0c

If I was in power and I knew wrong had been done, I would be putting all my energies into putting it right. Not crying 'it's all your fault'!

What Dickens said. The huge complexity of systems trying to deal with all manners of abuse. Systems that didn't work for the victims.

They are putting energies into putting it right by long overdue implementations of the 2022 report at last.

You don't put it right by fixating on hundreds of different workers in different agencies. Systems that didnt work: already revealed in the 2022 report

They are putting energies into putting it right by long overdue implementations of the 2022 report at last.

If I was in power and I knew wrong had been done, I would be putting all my energies into putting it right. Not crying 'it's all your fault'!

Jane43

petra

Weaty

Where are all the parents of these young girls? No mention of their
responsibility. Do they not talk to their
children or wonder where they are?

I’ll keep this short otherwise I might do damage because I’m f-%#@£g angry at your comment😡
Do yourself a favour and watch Three Girls then you’ll know how those parents suffered.
Not that you’ll care.

Thank you for making this comment, everybody should watch Three Girls and then they will understand the appalling circumstances these girls were in, to keep them quiet the girls and their families were threatened with rape, arson and murder.

Weaty not all families are like The Waltons you know.

Where are all the parents, etc...

... was a comment borne out of ignorance of the facts as anyone who's watched "Three Girls" will know.

It fits with the victim-blaming that was part of the whole problem during the investigations.

Ill-informed comments on any aspects of child sexual abuse will do damned-all to help the victims.

Neither will politicisation of the abuse.

Maybe there should be a public inquiry, but it should not be orchestrated by Elon Musk who is clearly pursuing an agenda which must, by now, be obvious, even to his admirers.

The remit has got to be, surely, to uncover how it happened, why it was allowed to be shoved under the radar and ultimately what the heck can be done to prevent it.

Young girls - and boys - will always be vulnerable, and potential victims of men from all social backgrounds who have an abusive or misogynistic nature, and cultures where women have a low-status.

My own interest in this matter is because my son, as a young teen, was targeted by (as far as we know) a gang or group of paedophiles. Nothing bad happened because both myself and my late ex were 'on the ball' and aware, and prevented it, and it was over very quickly. But it left me shocked, and the awareness that there is an underworld of abusers 'out there' changed my life as a parent. I don't know how close we sailed to the wind, and I've never forgotten that episode.

mum2three

Could we possibly stick to the title of this thread as there is already a thread on Musk.

This whole subject has been swept under the carpet for far too long. Those who were well aware of what was happening should now be made to account for themselves. If those responsible had been brought to justice at the time, that would have been the end of it. As it was, they were given the green light and the practice spread to other towns.
The Labour party has been forced into dealing with this matter simply because of outside pressure.
Just Welby turned a blind eye to child sex abuse and has been forced to resign. Those who did nothing to stop the so-called 'grooming gangs' should be named, shamed and forced to resign from whatever position they hold.
I do hope this is a sign of the wind of change in this country. It's well over-due.

Why are you not trying to call to account the failure of the Conservative Party to act in all this time? When called upon, they said "there's an inquiry". And there was, and it reported in 2022. Most of the difficulties were systemic. What is the point on spending another billion pounds inquiry instead of spending the money on making sure it cant happen another time?

Musk is mentioned in the title of this thread. He is mentioned twice. The OP stands with him, and his attack on the politician Jess Phillips, who some victims state has been helping and supporting them for years.

petra

Weaty

Where are all the parents of these young girls? No mention of their
responsibility. Do they not talk to their
children or wonder where they are?

I’ll keep this short otherwise I might do damage because I’m f-%#@£g angry at your comment😡
Do yourself a favour and watch Three Girls then you’ll know how those parents suffered.
Not that you’ll care.

Thank you for making this comment, everybody should watch Three Girls and then they will understand the appalling circumstances these girls were in, to keep them quiet the girls and their families were threatened with rape, arson and murder.

Weaty not all families are like The Waltons you know.

Calls for yet another public enquiry are simply Reform weaponizng the issue and the Tories running to catch up. Implementing previous recommendations is the answer (which the Tories failed to do while in office). Ignore Musk who is ill-informed.

Could we possibly stick to the title of this thread as there is already a thread on Musk.

This whole subject has been swept under the carpet for far too long. Those who were well aware of what was happening should now be made to account for themselves. If those responsible had been brought to justice at the time, that would have been the end of it. As it was, they were given the green light and the practice spread to other towns.
The Labour party has been forced into dealing with this matter simply because of outside pressure.
Just Welby turned a blind eye to child sex abuse and has been forced to resign. Those who did nothing to stop the so-called 'grooming gangs' should be named, shamed and forced to resign from whatever position they hold.
I do hope this is a sign of the wind of change in this country. It's well over-due.

Here are the details of the measures that Yvette Cooper announced: they are carrying forward some of the 20 recommendations:

Professionals who work with children will face criminal sanctions if they fail to report claims of child sexual abuse under a law to be introduced this year

The home secretary has promised to implement a key demand from Prof Alexis Jay’s child sexual abuse inquiry after Keir Starmer turned down demands from Elon Musk and Kemi Badenoch for a new investigation into paedophile gangs

The introduction of mandatory reporting in England would be included in the crime and policing bill expected to be introduced to parliament in the spring, Cooper told parliament.

The bill will also Introduce a victims and survivors panel to oversee reforms as follows

Make grooming an aggravating factor in child sexual offences

Introduce a victims and survivors panel to oversee reforms

Establish a core dataset for child abuse and protection

Note: Similar plans for a mandatory reporting obligation on professionals were supposed to be introduced last year as part of Rishi Sunak’s criminal justice bill, but campaigners and lawyers heavily criticised them for being “watered down” - they did not include criminal sanctions for professionals who fail to report claims of child sexual abuse.

More details in:

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jan/06/yvette-cooper-says-she-will-force-professionals-to-report-child-sexual-abuse-claims

Former chair of child abuse inquiry, Prof Alexis Jay, says another one would only delay action. Don't think anyone on here wants that to happen.

"We have been unable to find any direct criticism of Starmer personally in any of the reports on the scandal, nor can we identify any suggestions that he himself made any decisions not to prosecute. " BBC verify

Reading about this matter it seems to me that the long investigation threw up failings by various bodies/ institutions and all that’s needed is for the recommendations to be acted on and done in a transparent manner so all can see what is being done.

It's in the Guardian online just now. Going for a read.

Catch the BBC Verify online article just now about this issue. There was another article online earlier, but it has gone from the main news, and it was about a law being introduced by Yvette Cooper. The jist was that it will become an offence not to report suspicions of abuse. Sounded like a response to the recently publicised Church abuses.
Didn't have time for a full read through, as I thought I would be able to see it later. Will watch out for it coming up again.

*Freya the problem with posting about cases is it's important to get the facts correct. The asylum seeker was sentenced according to the law, he was 12 at the time he raped the girl. The judge made it clear he would have received 10 years if he'd been older. His sentence was not more lenient because he was an asylum seeker, which is implied in your post. Disgusting case but not as you posted.

Ah, a nuanced and thoughtful response to a complex and troubling issue.

Casdon

eazybee

All the arguments on here explain why Oldham has called for an enquiry to establish the facts, not more promises to improve the situation.
So many things I have seen and heard today, spoken by identified victims, their parents and participants such as Maggie Oliver, full face to the camera, are immediately denied or discredited by others who were not there.

Starmer and Jess Phillips are terrified of the full truth of the denials coming out and the reasons behind them.

Is that why the previous government made the same decision eazybee, in your opinion?

2020, an inquiry, under the Conservatives.
Never a full inquiry, countryside, into on street grooming gangs, won't be under this awful Gov.
For Starmer , stood in front of the caring profession, to label all those concerned about this horror, including those stood around him, as far right, is the most disgusting phrase to come out of his mealy mouth. Worse than Brown awful comments.
Calling politicians the same,. He can't diffuse this, giving harsher sentence announced shortly after by Cooper, won't cut the mustard. An asylum seeker who raped a 12 year old, twice, been let off with a suspended sentence, because of what he suffered, unbelievable. Where is the justice for that child.
So I'm far right, and by his words anyone who is against this horror is also. So fancy all you left wing grans are now far right, what do you know!!!
He is supposed to represent all British people, his disdain for us was shown yesterday.

foxie48

It's clear from reading some of the posts on this thread that many just don't understand the role of the CPS in the UK. The CPS advises and guides the police AFTER they have gained evidence and are at the point of charging. The police forces involved in these dreadful cases did not collect evidence or bring charges, that is the real issue here. Starmer has apologised for one instance when the CPS said there was inadequate evidence to bring a charge of rape when a force did investigate a case but there are 14 different CPS areas, they handle 130K cases annually, I don't think there's any evidence that that Starmer would have been aware of it but as Director of the CPS, he accepted blame for a bad decision made by the CPS. He was DPP from 2008-2013, there was a comprehensive in depth review which published in 2022, none of the recommendations were put in place by the previous government. This is a witch hunt.

Thanks foxie. Very well analysed.
I agree, this is a witch hunt. It’s becoming impossible on gransnet to have an informed debate on complex issues. Outrage at anything Starmer does or says follows far too easily.

Inquiries have confirmed mistakes were made. The victims were seen as complicit in the horrific abuse they suffered. Police did investigate, the CPS reviewed the evidence and often concluded there was little/no hope of successful prosecution. One issue they have to consider is the ability of the child victim to withstand aggressive questioning from defence lawyers, several of them in there are multiple alleged perpetrators.

Starmer saw this and oversaw the first prosecution involving Rochdale. Nazir Afzal continued the change in focus and successful prosecutions followed.

This level of organised children sexual abuse and exploitation was something most police/health/education/social work etc had little previous experience of. It’s horrific but do we really need another inquiry rather than implementing the ones we have