Burnham ‘not opposed’ to new national grooming inquiry
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, supports a potential new national inquiry into grooming gangs, following the failure of a Conservative amendment to establish one. Burnham highlights the limitations of local reviews, such as his 2017 review into child sexual abuse in Greater Manchester, which lacked statutory powers to compel testimony. He advocates for a national inquiry that could address systemic issues more effectively. The article also mentions the unaddressed recommendations from the 2022 Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse.
Burnham Open to National Grooming Gangs Inquiry After Labour Blocks Conservative Amendment
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham declared Thursday he “would not be opposed” to a national inquiry into grooming gangs, just hours after Labour MPs defeated a Conservative amendment that would have established one.
The proposed amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which would have commissioned a nationwide investigation into child sexual exploitation, failed in Parliament Wednesday night. The defeat came after the Home Office rejected Oldham Council’s request for a fresh inquiry into abuse cases in the town.
Burnham, who launched a review into systematic child sexual abuse shortly after taking office in 2017, acknowledged the limitations of local investigations during an interview with BBC Radio Manchester. “The review I instigated was not a public inquiry,” he said. “People were not required to give evidence. There’s a difference at a local level and a statutory public inquiry.”
The mayor’s reviews produced scathing reports on authorities’ responses in Oldham, Manchester, and Rochdale, though no criminal proceedings have resulted against council or police officers. This lack of accountability has prompted Burnham to reconsider the need for broader federal intervention.
“There will always be limitations with what you can do with a local review,” Burnham explained. “The review team could not compel someone to speak to them. That’s why I am not opposed to that sort of [national] review. I do think there’s a case for limited national inquiry which draws on local reviews to draw out some of these issues which compels people to speak. It may draw out charges.”
The Conservative government received the final report from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse in 2022 but failed to implement its 20 recommendations before leaving office. The inquiry, led by Professor Alexis Jay, described child sexual abuse as an “epidemic that leaves tens of thousands of victims in its poisonous wake” and examined organised group abuse cases in Rotherham, Cornwall, Derbyshire, Rochdale, and Bristol between 2010-2014.
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