London, Oldham, Bradford and Keighley named as first focus of grooming gangs inquiry

London, Oldham, Bradford and Keighley will be the first towns and cities investigated by an independent grooming gangs inquiry, it was announced on Wednesday. The independent inquiry into grooming gangs has confirmed that its three-part hearings will investigate Whitehall departments and politicians alongside local councils, the NHS and national police institutions. Chaired by Anne Longfield, it will compel individuals and institutions to explain what they “did or did not do to protect children from being sexually abused”, a statement said. There has been months of lobbying from survivors and campaigners over which areas will be included. The inquiry’s commissioners had said the inquiry would not investigate every area where grooming gangs had operated. More areas will be confirmed as the inquiry sets out phases of its investigation. Fiona Goddard, who was 14 and living in a children’s home in Bradford when the grooming and abuse began during the late 2000s, said it had been “a long fight”. “Bradford has evaded inquiries for many, many years and it’s time that the full truth about what happened comes out,” she said. Robbie Moore, the Conservative MP for Keighley and Ilkley, who had called on the government to include Bradford in the inquiry, said the decision marked “a significant turning point”. The inquiry team said London had been picked in part because it has the highest rate of referrals for child sexual exploitation in the country. …