Rotherham MP Sarah Champion (Labour) and Keighley & Ilkley MP Robbie Moore (Conservative) have written to the Home Office demanding action amid reports that the Government’s long-awaited national grooming gangs inquiry has stalled.
The letter, co-signed by the pair and addressed to Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips, urges immediate clarity on when a Chair of the inquiry will be appointed, and expresses concern that the focus of the inquiry may be changed.
It comes amid reports this week that the government may widen the remit of the inquiry beyond grooming gangs to examine other forms of sexual abuse across whole regions..
The search for a chair of the panel is also still to be completed, with sources claiming that Judges and lawyers appear to be reluctant to head the inquiry.
Champion and Moore, who have been at the forefront of parliamentary efforts to secure a full statutory inquiry into grooming gangs, warn that the inquiry should be “tightly focussed” to avoid the “sprawling scope” to avoid weakening its impact and confidence in its conclusions.
“Recent press reports have stated that work towards appointing a Chair has stalled,” they write.
“We are extremely concerned that the failure to make progress on the appointment of a Chair is leading to substantial delays in the inquiry beginning its crucial work.”
“Four months on from the Government’s announcement, there remains no clarity on its scope, its remit, its terms of reference, or the resources at its disposal.”
"We strongly believe that the inquiry should be tightly focussed and avoid the sprawling scope that hindered the work of the previous Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation, weakening its impact and confidence in its conclusions."
“While we recognise the importance of appointing the right Chair, it is vital that the inquiry begins its work as soon as possible.”
Terms of the inquiry are still being discussed by a panel of stakeholders including survivors of abuse rings, four months after the prime minister bowed to public pressure.
