First locations for grooming gang inquiry announced

The first places to be investigated in a national independent inquiry into grooming gangs will be Oldham, Bradford and Keighley, and London.

The Statutory Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs, which will be chaired by Baroness Anne Longfield CBE, will compel individuals and institutions to explain what they "did or did not do to protect children from being sexually abused", the organisation said.

The review will also examine if changes have been made in places where there have been past reviews, such as Oxford and Rotherham.

Abuse survivor Fiona Goddard, who resigned from the inquiry in October 2025, 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.

Goodard left the panel over concerns that two of the shortlisted chairs had backgrounds in policing and social services.

Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore, who called on the government to include Bradford in the inquiry, said it marked "a significant turning point".

"This inquiry must seek the truth - however horrific it may be. And bring about justice to those who have been failed for far too long," he said.

In a letter to stakeholders, inquiry organisers said the first set of hearings would focus on government departments, the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, councils and the NHS.

It said despite 800 recommendations being identified by the inquiry, there had been "significant inconsistency" in how these recommendations have been implemented.

A statement said the "experiences of victims and survivors in those areas will be at the heart of these investigations".

Baroness Longfield said she hoped the inquiry would mean "no further inquiries into grooming gangs will ever be needed".

"These hearings will help us to establish what national institutions and services should have been doing to implement these findings and to protect children from abuse and harm - and what, if any, progress has been made in areas where investigations have taken place," she said.

The national inquiry into the sexual exploitation of children by grooming gangs in England and Wales was announced by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in June 2025.

But it faced turbulence when five abuse survivors called on safeguarding minister Jess Phillips to quit.

Baroness Longfield will be supported by Zoe Billingham, a former member of the independent police inspectorate, and Eleanor Kelly, former chief executive of Southwark Council.