New Public Inquiry announced into grooming gang scandal – what will it explore and how can I participate?

The government has announced the establishment of a national Public Inquiry into group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse. This announcement was made shortly before the publication of a major review led by Baroness Casey.

Background to the announcement

The grooming gang scandal in the UK first came to light in Rotherham, where police and council officials were alerted as early as 2001 about to sexual exploitation of girls - many in care - by local men. Despite this, it wasn’t until 2010 that the first convictions were secured. A 2014 inquiry by Professor Alexis Jay found that at least 1,400 children had been abused in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. A wider Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) was launched in the wake of the Jimmy Savile revelations and was chaired by Professor Jay. Published in 2022, IICSA’s final report found that authorities had downplayed the scale of abuse, often blaming victims and frequently choosing to protect their own reputations rather than safeguard children. The report issued 20 recommendations including mandatory reporting, a national redress scheme, and the creation of a child protection authority.

Despite these damning conclusions, the majority of IICSA’s recommendations were not implemented by the last government. Some, such as the proposal for mandatory reporting laws, have been significantly diluted; others, like the recommendation for a national redress scheme for victims, have been quietly abandoned. Meanwhile, the system remains vulnerable for perpetrators to continue to exploit and victims continue to suffer.

The issue of child sex grooming gangs has been politically contentious for over a decade, with all sides of the political spectrum citing action or inaction on the issue to make political capital. In January 2025, the debate became the focus of renewed national controversy when Elon Musk used his platform “X” to call for a national inquiry and publicly accused the government of failing to act. His intervention prompted significant media attention and renewed political pressure, including tense exchanges in Parliament and fresh calls for a full public inquiry.

That month, the government declined calls for a full Public Inquiry, arguing that the issue had already been thoroughly examined by Professor Alexis Jay’s seven-year Inquiry and report, published in 2022 (IICSA). The Home Secretary instead announced plans for five government-backed local Inquiries to be held in areas such as Oldham.

Alongside these announcements, the Prime Minister instructed Baroness Louise Casey to carry out the “National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse”. The remit of this audit included:

• Assessing existing evidence, including ethnicity data and demographic trends of perpetrators and victims.
• Reviewing current law enforcement data to better equip agencies to respond to this form of abuse.
• Evaluating what is known about the prevalence and patterns of abuse at both local and national levels.

What did Baroness Casey’s report find?

The findings of Baroness Casey’s report expose serious collective failures to protect vulnerable young girls from being groomed and sexually exploited.

Initially sceptical about the need for a new inquiry, Baroness Casey changed her position after uncovering what she described as a widespread “reluctance of local areas to face up to the facts” - particularly around failings in victim support.

The report notes that serious and continued flaws in data collection have made it difficult to assess the scale of the issue at a national level. For example, the report sets out “appalling” data gaps regarding ethnicity and says the ethnicity of perpetrators is "shied away from" and still not recorded in two-thirds of cases, meaning it is not possible to draw conclusions at a national level.

However, having examined Police data from three areas (Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire) – the report states there is enough evidence to show disproportionate numbers of men from Asian ethnic backgrounds amongst among those suspected and convicted of group-based child sexual exploitation. The report says this disproportionality warrants further examination.

The government has responded by accepting all the recommendations made by Baroness Casey in this audit report, which include:

• Making it a formal requirement to collect both ethnicity and nationality data for all cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation.
• Carrying out a national police operation.
• Reviewing the criminal convictions of victims of child sexual exploitation, quashing any where victims were criminalised instead of protected.
• Commissioning research into the drivers for group-based child sexual exploitation, including online offending, cultural factors and the role of the group.

A link to Baroness Casey’s full 200-page report can be found here.

What will the newly announced Public Inquiry look at?

The Public Inquiry is expected to investigate systemic failures in tackling group-based child sexual exploitation across the country. Senior government sources say it will coordinate a series of focused local investigations, which will proceed even if individual local authorities object. The Terms of Reference for the Inquiry have not yet been announced, but when they are we will have a better understanding of the Inquiry’s scope. Crucially, as a statutory public inquiry under established under the Inquiries Act 2005, the Inquiry will be independent and have the power to compel evidence and summon witnesses under oath. We expect that oral evidence will be heard from a range of these witnesses, and large volumes of documents will be obtained, reviewed and analysed to determine what happened and what steps can be taken to provide better systemic safeguards to prevent exploitation and suffering of this horrific nature persisting into the future.

When will the Inquiry begin?

A start date for the Inquiry has not yet been announced. With the Chair yet to be appointed and the terms of reference pending, it is likely to be at least several months before formal proceedings begin. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said the government aims for the Inquiry to be completed within three years, though timelines of this kind are often subject to change once proceedings are underway.

Who is likely to be involved?

We expect a range of individuals and organisations to take part in the Inquiry, either as witnesses, experts or Core Participants. Those individuals and organisations designated as Core Participants will have a formal status in the Inquiry that allows them to access disclosure (evidence), make legal submissions, and be involved (to some degree or another) with the questioning of witnesses. Core Participant status is typically granted to those who have played a significant role in the matters under investigation, and/or who have been directly affected by them (so as to have a “significant interest” in proceedings). In this Inquiry, they are likely to include victims and survivors, campaigning organisations, police forces, local authorities, social services, government departments and politicians.

This Inquiry is likely to receive widespread coverage and scrutiny, given the importance of the issues in focus, as well as their politicisation. It is vital that the victims remain at the heart of the Inquiry’s investigation, to ensure proper accountability and that lessons can be learned to prevent anything like this happening again in the future. Their voices and experiences must be heard and heeded; however it is vital that those who wish to contribute are provided with specialist trauma-informed support and representation given the distressing nature of the investigation and what they may be asked to recall and contribute so as to prevent potential re-traumatisation as far as possible.

Core Participants in a statutory Public Inquiry can be awarded public funding to appoint legal representatives who will be able to advise them and put forward questions for witnesses and legal submissions on their behalf. At Saunders Law, we have a dedicated expert team specialising in public inquiries who have recently been instructed to act for individuals and non-state groups affected by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, Infected Blood Inquiry, and the ongoing Covid-19 Inquiry & Undercover Policing Inquiry.

If you have been affected by group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse and/or are interested in participating in the upcoming Public Inquiry, please feel free to call us on 020 7632 4300 or make an enquiry online.