Grooming gangs inquiry expanded to Birmingham and Wales

Nationalist inquiry into child sexual abuse by grooming gangs has extended its work to Birmingham and Wales, announcing targeted investigations in those regions. The probe, chaired by former children’s commissioner Baroness Anne Longfield, will examine the sexual abuse and exploitation of children by grooming gangs and assess the performance of organisations responsible for child protection. Earlier this year the inquiry named Oldham in Greater Manchester, Bradford and Keighley in West Yorkshire, and London as the initial sites for local investigations. It remains unclear whether additional areas will be added. Some survivors have voiced frustration that their localities have not yet been included, expressing concern that widening the scope could dilute attention on their experiences. Fiona Goddard said there is clearly evidence from Birmingham and Wales "that request to beryllium decently heard" and welcomed their inclusion, but she warned the BBC that the standard of the inquiry "must not travel astatine the disbursal of the extent of investigation". She added that this was especially troubling given the current state of the work, noting fixed "we are already astir a twelvemonth into the enquiry with comparatively small progress". Carly, who asked not to be identified by her real name, was twelve years old when she was first groomed in Huddersfield in 2004. She said she could not understand "how an probe covering an country as tremendous and analyzable as Wales can be described as a heavy dive". She questioned, "How are survivors successful Huddersfield expected to person assurance that our experiences volition not simply beryllium absorbed into a overmuch bigger nationalist representation and efficaciously watered down?" The Statutory Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs in England and Wales was announced by former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in June 2025 and began operations in April. It possesses the authority to compel individuals and institutions to explain what they "did or did not do to protect children from being sexually abused", and will assess the nature and scale of abuse in each locality. Before its launch the inquiry encountered turbulence after abuse survivors urged former safeguarding minister Jess Phillips to resign. The panel has previously stated that sites are selected for investigation based on criteria such as how victims and survivors were treated when they came forward and whether chances to prevent harm were overlooked. Regarding Birmingham, the inquiry said its decision to conduct a probe there reflected a combination of factors "including unfortunate and subsister experience, indications of prevalence, harm and risk, and nationalist concern". Panel member Zoë Billingham remarked, "We will look cautiously at what organisations knew, however decisions were made, however agencies worked together, and wherefore opportunities to support children were missed". The Wales investigation will also scrutinise devolved arrangements and cross‑border cooperation between organisations in Wales and England. Baroness Longfield observed that victims and survivors in Wales had waited "too agelong for answers".