Parents Against Grooming UK call for independent inquiry into grooming scandal

Parents Against Grooming UK (PAGUK) have launched a petition calling for an independent inquiry into the Rochdale grooming scandal.

In May 2012, nine men were convicted and charged at Liverpool Crown Court with offences including rape and sexual assault, conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child and trafficking a child within the UK. They were all ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for life and received sentences ranging between four and 19 years in prison. 

Ringleader Shabir Ahmed was given a 19-year sentence and also jailed for 22 years concurrently in July 2012, for raping another child 30 times over a decade.

Co-founder of PAGUK William Howarth explained: “Rochdale needs this inquiry, so we can begin to rebuild our communities. The people in positions to stop this allowed it to continue for whatever reason and should be held accountable for this. PAGUK will put everything into making sure this happens.”

PAGUK was set up in 2012 after the founders had direct dealings with or knew parents whose children had been involved with grooming or had been approached. The group has been calling for a full scale, ‘transparent and independent’ inquiry into the grooming scandal to support the victims and hold people in position at the time accountable. 

As of February 2017, Ahmed and three other gang members Adil Khan, Abdul Aziz and Abdul Rauf, were facing deportation to Pakistan after five different appeals were dismissed. They had challenged government moves to strip them of their British Citizenship, with three arguing the Government had failed in a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of their children.

A previous inquiry led by Ann Coffey MP, found child sexual exploitation (CSE) ‘is a real and ongoing problem that has become a new social norm’.

In 2013, the Coffey Inquiry into CSE was commissioned by Greater Manchester’s Police and Crime Commissioner at the time, Tony Lloyd, to see what had changed since the scandal and what more needed to be done. 

Ms Coffey recommended a radical new approach to tackling CSE to be led by young people, recognising that the police, justice system and children’s services alone cannot succeed in protecting children, especially at a time of deep spending cuts. 

Just two years later in 2015, Greater Manchester Police admitted ‘a complete lack of understanding', of CSE in Rochdale and a 'failure to recognise the scale of abuse', and acknowledged ‘victims were let down’.

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/94711/police-admit-failing-child-sex-victims-in-rochdale-but-no-officers-will-be-disciplined

The conduct of 13 officers between 2008 and 2010 was examined and seven were served misconduct notices but no police officer was disciplined over the failure to tackle the sexual abuse. One detective inspector was found to have warranted disciplinary action but he retired. The other six officers were given 'words of advice' and 'offered further training'.

To sign the petition, visit:

https://www.change.org/p/theresa-may-mp-a-independent-inquiry-into-rochdale-grooming-2000-present