SNP Government Accused of Dodging Grooming Gang Investigation
The Scottish National Party government faces mounting pressure to order an independent inquiry into grooming gangs that subjected young girls to horrific sexual abuse, despite its record of launching numerous official probes into other controversies. While the SNP has presided over what critics call a 'growth industry' of public inquiries during its time in government, it appears reluctant to investigate this particular scandal.
Existing Inquiry Could Investigate Grooming Claims
As revealed last Saturday, the ongoing Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI), chaired by Lady Smith, already possesses the authority to investigate allegations of grooming targeting children in care within living memory. A simple directive could have added grooming gangs to its workload many months ago. The inquiry's remit could also be extended to examine cases where victims were not in care, though this expansion has yet to occur.
Government ministers have justified their inaction by claiming that expanding the SCAI's scope would delay its work and increase costs for taxpayers. The inquiry was established a decade ago and has already accumulated costs exceeding £100 million. The SNP government, stung by criticism over the sheer number and escalating costs of statutory probes under its watch, appears unwilling to create another inquiry - even when the mechanism to investigate already exists.
Victims' Harrowing Testimonies Emerge
Recent weeks have seen multiple victims come forward with disturbing accounts of abuse. One 35-year-old woman spoke publicly for the first time about being targeted while in various children's homes in Edinburgh from age 13, only escaping her tormentors after moving away at 18. She represents the third woman to speak out within a month about abuse suffered at the hands of Scottish grooming gangs.
In another case, Fiona Goddard from Bradford described being trafficked to Scotland by Asian men, transported by taxi while carrying class A drugs. She was plied with alcohol and drugs before being taken to houses in Glasgow and Edinburgh where she was raped. Official figures published earlier this year indicate that 650 cases of 'child sexual exploitation' have been recorded in Scotland since 2016, when the category was created following the Rotherham scandal.
Three major police investigations have occurred in Glasgow over the past 15 years, with officers identifying multiple victims - many young girls in care - and multiple perpetrators often described as coming from ethnic minority communities. Children as young as ten were reportedly plied with drugs, raped, tortured and passed around by men, mostly of Pakistani heritage.
There remains a strong suspicion that both in England and potentially Scotland, the fear of being branded racist prevented authorities from establishing proper police probes and public inquiries. Baroness Louise Casey, who audited group-based child sexual abuse in England and Wales, confirmed in June that authorities had 'shied away from' examining the ethnicity of those involved in grooming gangs.
The contrast with the SNP's approach to other initiatives raises questions. The government invested significant time and public money into the failed Named Person scheme, which aimed to appoint a state guardian for every child in Scotland. First Minister Humza Yousaf previously claimed that opponents of this plan were putting children's lives at risk, yet his government appears to be turning a blind eye to demands for a grooming gangs inquiry.
Last week, Justice Secretary Angela Constance faced accusations of misrepresenting expert opinion to maintain the SNP position that no inquiry is needed. She claimed that Professor Alexis Jay - author of the landmark Rotherham grooming scandal report - didn't support a Scottish inquiry, but this statement was later revealed to be inaccurate.
The ongoing political row about inquiry costs has seen the total for current public inquiries exceed a quarter of a billion pounds, with costs continuing to rise due to inadequate scrutiny and management. MSPs have even conducted their own inquiry into whether inquiries are worthwhile, creating what critics describe as a 'Yes Minister' style situation.
The net result leaves victims potentially losing out because of the SNP's perceived incompetence and mismanagement - an outcome that critics argue only benefits the child abusers who caused immense suffering to countless young women and girls across Scotland.
