The chairwoman of an official inquiry into the sexual exploitation of children has said she does not regret not looking into towns such as Rotherham and Rochdale. Professor Alexis Jay made the revelation during a question-and-answer session at the London Assembly on Wednesday.
Denial of 'mistake' during London Assembly grilling
Responding to Conservative Assembly Member Susan Hall, Ms Jay denied it had been a "mistake" not to look at Rotherham in her 2024 inquiry. When directly asked if she regretted the decision, or if it had been a mistake, she responded: "Of course not."
"We were more interested in finding out how this issue was being addressed across the country in areas that had no formal kind of reviews, and whether because there have been no identified networks in certain areas that did not exist. That was our particular concern," she added.
Criticism from Assembly Member Susan Hall
But Ms Hall said: "Twice during the hearing, I tried to ascertain from Professor Jay regarding the fact that no towns where grooming gangs had been present were included in the IICSA [Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation]. Twice, I got dismissive answers.
"No wonder many campaigners feel that the investigation was a whitewash: not only did it fail to meaningfully look at towns where grooming gangs were known to exist, but its authors defend that decision and try to get away from the subject however possible.
"It is an outrage, and I hope that the professor will respond to my written questions for urgent clarity on the gigantic gap in the IICSA report."
Background on grooming gang scandal
The grooming gang scandal is the large-scale sexual exploitation of young girls in towns across the UK by groups of men. Rochdale became one of the hotspots for such activity, and campaigners are still demanding justice for the victims of these gangs to this day.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation chose not to look at towns like Rotherham or Rochdale, where there had been reports of grooming gangs - instead focusing on places where no grooming gangs were reported.
The Daily Express has conducted a long investigation into grooming gangs in London and across the UK. This paper revealed earlier this year that the Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, had read reports describing young girls being raped by groups of men, while publicly denying that grooming gangs existed in the capital.
Sir Sadiq repeatedly denied any such gangs existed in the capital in January 2024, and suggested he did not know what a "grooming gang" was when asked. The Met announced last year it would review 9,000 cases of child sexual exploitation following mounting pressure from critics that insufficient action was being taken on alleged gangs in the capital.
