- 6/16/2025
Yvette Cooper has revealed more than 800 rape gang cases were uncovered in Baroness Casey's "damning" review.The Home Secretary admitted that the number could rise above 1,000, adding: "Children as young as ten plied with drugs and alcohol, brutally raped by gangs of men [had been] disgracefully let down again and again by the authorities who were meant to protect them and keep them safe."She also said: "At its heart she identifies a deep-rooted failure to treat children as children."A continued failure to protect children and teenage girls from rape, from exploitation, and serious violence."READ HERE FOR FUTHER UPDATES
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00:00I'll update the House on the audit the government commissioned from Baroness Casey on child sexual exploitation and grooming gangs
00:08and on the action we are taking to tackle this vile crime, to put perpetrators behind bars
00:14and to provide the innocent victims of those crimes with support and justice.
00:21The House will be aware that on Friday, seven men were found guilty of the most horrendous crimes in Rochdale between 2000 and 2006.
00:30They were convicted of treating teenage girls as sex slaves, repeatedly raping them in filthy flats, alleyways and warehouses.
00:41The perpetrators included taxi drivers and market traders of Pakistani heritage, and it has taken 20 years to bring them to justice.
00:52I want to pay tribute to the incredible bravery of the women who told their stories and have fought for justice through all those years.
01:02They should never have been let down for so long.
01:05The sexual exploitation of children by grooming gangs is one of the most horrific crimes.
01:12Children as young as 10, plied with drugs and alcohol, brutally raped by gangs of men and disgracefully let down again and again by the authorities who were meant to protect them and keep them safe.
01:23And these despicable crimes have caused the most unimaginable harm to victims and survivors throughout their lives and are a stain on our society.
01:34Five months ago, I told the House our most important task was to stop perpetrators and put them behind bars.
01:40I can report that work is accelerating.
01:44Arrests and investigations are increasing.
01:48After I asked police forces in January to identify cases involving grooming and child sexual exploitation allegations that had been closed with no further action,
01:58more than 800 cases have now been identified for formal review, and I expect that figure to rise above 1,000 in the coming weeks.
02:10Let me be clear.
02:11Perpetrators of these vile crimes should be off our streets, behind bars and paying the price for what they have done.
02:19Further rapid action is also underway to implement recommendations of past inquiries and reviews,
02:25including the seven-year independent inquiry into child abuse, recommendations which, for too long, have sat on the shelf.
02:34So in the Crime and Policing Bill, we are introducing the long-overdue mandatory reporting duty, which I called for more than 10 years ago,
02:42as well as aggravated offences for grooming offenders so their sentences match the severity of their crimes.
02:49Earlier this year, I also commissioned Baroness Louise Casey to undertake a rapid national audit of the nature, scale and characteristics of gang-based exploitation.
03:04I specifically asked her to look at the issue of ethnicity and the cultural and social drivers for this type of offending,
03:11analysis that had never previously been done, despite years of concerns being raised.
03:18And I asked her to advise us on what further reviews, investigations and actions would be needed
03:25to address the current and historical failures that she found.
03:30I told Parliament in January I expected Baroness Casey to deliver the same kind of impactful and no-holds-barred report
03:37that she produced on Rotherham in 2015, so we never shy away from the reality of these terrible crimes.
03:45And I am very grateful to Louise and her team that they have done exactly that,
03:50with a hugely wide-ranging assessment conducted in just four months.
03:54The findings of her audit are damning.
03:58At its heart, she identifies a deep-rooted failure to treat children as children.
04:03A continued failure to protect children and teenage girls from rape,
04:07from exploitation and serious violence, and from the scars that last a lifetime.
04:13She finds too much fragmentation in the authorities' response,
04:16too little sharing of information, too much reliance on flawed data,
04:20too much denial, too little justice, too many criminals getting off,
04:25too many victims being let down.
04:28The audit describes victims as young as 10, often those in care,
04:31or children with learning or physical disabilities,
04:34being singled out for grooming precisely because of their vulnerability.
04:38Perpetrators still walking free because no-one joined the dots,
04:43or because the law ended up protecting them
04:46instead of the victims that they had exploited.
04:49Deep-rooted institutional failures,
04:52stretching back decades where organisations who should have protected children
04:56and punished offenders looked the other way.
05:00And Baroness Casey found blindness, ignorance, prejudice, defensiveness,
05:04and even good but misdirected intentions
05:07all played a part in this collective failure.
05:10And on the key issues of ethnicity that I'd asked her to examine,
05:14she has found continued failure to gather proper, robust national data,
05:20despite concerns being raised going back very many years.
05:24In the local data that the audit examines from three police forces,
05:28they identify clear evidence of over-representation
05:32among suspects of Asian and Pakistani heritage men.
05:36And she refers to examples of organisations avoiding the topic altogether
05:41for fear of appearing racist or raising community tensions.
05:45These findings are deeply disturbing.
05:50But most disturbing of all, as Baroness Casey makes clear,
05:56is the fact that too many of these findings are not new.
06:01As Baroness Casey's audit sets out,
06:03there have been 15 years of reports, reviews, inquiries and investigations
06:08into these appalling rapes, exploitation and violent crimes against children,
06:13detailed over 17 pages in her report,
06:17but too little has changed.
06:19We have lost more than a decade.
06:22That must end now.
06:26Baroness Casey sets out 12 recommendations for change.
06:28We will take action on all of them immediately
06:31because we cannot afford more wasted years.
06:33So we will introduce new laws to protect children
06:36and support victims so they stop being blamed
06:39for the appalling crimes committed against them.
06:42New major police operations to pursue perpetrators
06:45and put them behind bars.
06:48New national inquiry to direct local investigations
06:51and hold institutions to account for past failures.
06:55New ethnicity data and research
06:56so we face up to the facts on exploitation and abuse.
07:00New action across children's services and other agencies
07:03to identify children at risk
07:05and further action to support child victims
07:08and tackle the new forms of exploitation and abuse online.
07:13Taken together, this will mark the biggest programme of work
07:16ever pursued to root out the scourge of grooming gangs
07:20and child sexual exploitation.
07:23Those vile perpetrators who have grown used
07:25to the authorities looking the other way
07:29must have no place to hide.
07:31So I'm going to spell out the next steps we're announcing today.
07:37Baroness Casey's first recommendation is
07:38we must see children as children.
07:40She concludes
07:41too many grooming gangs have been dropped
07:43grooming cases
07:44have been dropped or downgraded
07:46from rape to lesser charges
07:47because a 13 to 15 year old
07:50is perceived to have been in love with
07:52or had consented
07:54to sex with the perpetrator.
07:56So we will change the law
07:58to ensure that adults who engage in penetrative sex
08:01with a child under 16
08:03face the most serious charge of rape
08:05and we will work closely with the CPS and the police
08:08to ensure there are safeguards
08:10for consensual teenage relationships.
08:13We will change the law
08:14so that those convicted for child prostitution offences
08:18while their rapists got off scot-free
08:20will have their convictions disregarded
08:23and their criminal records expunged.
08:27Baroness Casey's next recommendation
08:29is a national criminal operation.
08:32As I've set out,
08:33arrests and investigations are rising
08:35but the audit recommends this going further.
08:37So I can announce the police will launch
08:39a new national criminal operation
08:41into grooming gangs
08:42overseen by the National Crime Agency
08:44bringing together for the first time
08:47all arms of the policing response
08:49and will develop
08:50a rigorous new national operating model
08:53which all forces across the country
08:55will be able to adopt.
08:58Ensuring grooming gangs
08:59are always treated
09:00as serious and organised crime
09:03and so rapists who groom children
09:05whether their crimes were committed decades ago
09:07or are still being committed today
09:09can end up behind bars.
09:12But alongside justice
09:13there must also be accountability and action.
09:15We've begun implementing
09:16the recommendations
09:17from inquiries past
09:19including Professor Jay's independent inquiry
09:22and we've said
09:23that further inquiries are needed
09:25to get accountability in local areas.
09:28I told the House in January
09:29I would undertake further work
09:31to look at how to ensure
09:32those inquiries
09:33could get the evidence they needed
09:35to properly hold institutions to account
09:38and we have sought responses
09:40from local councils too.
09:41We asked Baroness Casey
09:43to review those responses
09:44as well as the arrangements
09:46and powers that had been used
09:47in past investigations and inquiries
09:49to consider the best means
09:51to get to the truth.
09:53Her report concludes
09:54that further local investigations
09:56are needed
09:57but they should be directed
09:59and overseen
10:00by a national commission
10:01with statutory inquiry powers.
10:04We agree
10:05and we will set up
10:07a national inquiry
10:08to that effect.
10:09Baroness Casey is not recommending
10:12another overarching inquiry
10:14of the kind conducted
10:15by Professor Alexis Jay
10:17and she recommends
10:18that the inquiry
10:19should be time limited
10:20but its purpose
10:22must be to challenge
10:23what the audit describes
10:25as continued denial,
10:27resistance
10:27and legal wrangling
10:28among local agencies
10:30and we will set out
10:31the further details
10:32on the national inquiry
10:34in due course.
10:36Mr Speaker,
10:36I warned in January
10:37that the data collection
10:39we had inherited
10:39from the previous government
10:40on ethnicity
10:41was completely inadequate.
10:44It was only collected
10:45on 37% of suspects.
10:49Baroness Casey's audit
10:50confirms
10:51that ethnicity data
10:52is not recorded
10:53for two-thirds
10:54of grooming gang perpetrators
10:55and she says
10:57it is not good enough
10:58to support any statements
11:00about the ethnicity
11:01of group-based child
11:02sexual exploitation offenders
11:04at the national level.
11:06I agree with that conclusion
11:07and frankly
11:09it is ridiculous
11:09and helps no one
11:11that this basic information
11:13is not collected
11:14especially when there have been
11:16warnings and recommendations
11:17stretching back 13 years
11:20about the woefully inadequate
11:22data on perpetrators
11:23which prevents patterns
11:25of crime
11:26being understood
11:26and tackled.
11:28The immediate changes
11:30I announced in January
11:31to police recording practices
11:32are starting to improve
11:33the data
11:34but we will need
11:35to go much further.
11:36Baroness Casey's audit
11:37examined local level data
11:39in three police force areas
11:40Greater Manchester,
11:42West Yorkshire
11:42and South Yorkshire
11:43where high-profile cases
11:45involving Pakistani heritage men
11:47have long been investigated
11:48and reported
11:49and there they found
11:51the suspects of group-based
11:53child sexual offences
11:54were disproportionately likely
11:56to be Asian men.
11:58She also found indications
12:00of disproportionality
12:01in serious case reviews
12:02and while much more robust
12:05national data is needed
12:06we cannot and must not shy away
12:08from these findings
12:09because as Baroness Casey says
12:11ignoring the issues
12:13not examining
12:13and exposing them to the light
12:15allows the criminality
12:17and depravity
12:18of a minority of men
12:20to be used
12:21to marginalise
12:22whole communities.
12:24The vast majority
12:25of people
12:26in our British, Asian
12:27and Pakistani heritage communities
12:29continue to be appalled
12:31by these terrible crimes
12:33and agree
12:34that the criminal minority
12:35of sick predators
12:37and perpetrators
12:38in every community
12:39must be dealt with
12:40robustly
12:41by the criminal law.
12:44Baroness Casey's review
12:45also identifies
12:47prosecutions and investigations
12:48into perpetrators
12:49who are white, British,
12:51European, African
12:53or Middle Eastern
12:54just as Alexis Jay's inquiry
12:56concluded that all ethnicities
12:58and communities
12:59were involved in appalling
13:00child abuse crimes.
13:03So to provide accurate information
13:04to help tackle serious crimes
13:06we will make it
13:06a formal requirement
13:08for the first time
13:09to collect both ethnicity
13:11and nationality data
13:12for all cases
13:14of child sexual abuse
13:15and exploitation
13:16and we will commission
13:18new research
13:19into the cultural
13:20and social drivers
13:21of child sexual exploitation,
13:23misogyny
13:23and violence
13:24against women and girls
13:25as Baroness Casey
13:27has recommended.
13:29The final group
13:30of recommendations
13:30from the audit
13:31is about the continued failure
13:33of agencies
13:33who should be keeping
13:34children safe
13:35to share vital information
13:37or act on clear signs of risk.
13:40And worryingly,
13:41the audit finds
13:42that whilst reports
13:43of child sexual abuse
13:44and exploitation
13:45to the police
13:46have gone up,
13:47the number of child sexual abuse cases
13:50identified for protection plans
13:52by local children's services
13:53has fallen to its lowest ever level.
13:56But no one has been curious
13:58as to why.
14:00And the audit details
14:01an abysmal failure
14:02to respond to 15 years' worth
14:04of recommendations
14:04and warnings
14:05about the failings
14:06of interagency cooperation.
14:08So we will act at pace
14:10to deliver
14:11on Baroness Casey's recommendations
14:13on mandatory sharing
14:15of information
14:16between agencies
14:18and on unique reference numbers
14:20for children
14:20that were already
14:22being taken forward
14:23by my right honourable friend,
14:24the Education Secretary.
14:26And my right honourable friend,
14:28the Transport Secretary,
14:29will also work at pace
14:30to close loopholes
14:31in the law
14:32on taxi licensing.
14:34Finally,
14:35I want to respond
14:36to three other important issues
14:38identified by Baroness Casey
14:39in her report,
14:40but where she has not made
14:41specific recommendations.
14:44On support for victims,
14:45my right honourable friend,
14:46the Health Secretary
14:47will fund additional training
14:49for mental health staff
14:51in schools
14:51on identifying
14:52and supporting
14:53children and young people
14:55who have experienced
14:56trauma,
14:57exploitation
14:58and abuse.
15:00Secondly,
15:01Baroness Casey reports
15:02that she came across
15:03cases
15:05involving suspects
15:06who were asylum seekers.
15:08We have asked her team
15:09to provide to the Home Office
15:11all the evidence
15:12that they found
15:13so the Immigration Enforcement
15:14can immediately pursue
15:16individual cases
15:17with the police.
15:19But let me make clear,
15:20those who groom children
15:22or who commit sexual offences
15:24will not be granted
15:25asylum in the UK.
15:27We will do everything
15:29in our power
15:30to remove them.
15:31I do not believe
15:32the law is strong enough
15:34that we have inherited,
15:35so we are bringing forward
15:37a change to the law
15:38so that anyone
15:39convicted of sexual offences
15:42is excluded
15:43from the asylum system
15:44and denied
15:45refugee status.
15:48We have already increased
15:49the removal
15:50of foreign national offenders
15:51by 14%
15:51since the election
15:52and we are drawing up
15:54new arrangements
15:54to identify and remove
15:56those who have committed
15:57a much wider range
15:59of offences.
15:59Finally, Baroness Casey
16:02describes ways
16:03in which patterns
16:04of grooming gang
16:04child sexual exploitation
16:06are changing,
16:08including evidence
16:09of rape and sexual exploitation
16:10taking place
16:11in street gangs
16:12and drug gangs
16:14that combine criminal
16:15and sexual exploitation.
16:18I do not believe
16:19that this kind of exploitation
16:20has been sufficiently investigated.
16:23It also describes
16:24sexual exploitation
16:25in modern slavery
16:26and trafficking cases
16:26and most significant of all,
16:28it describes the huge increase
16:30in online grooming
16:31and horrendous
16:32sexual exploitation
16:33and abuse
16:34including the use
16:35of social media apps
16:37to build up relationships
16:38and lure children
16:40into physical abuse.
16:42And the audit quotes
16:43one police expert saying
16:44if Rotherham were to happen
16:46again today
16:47it would start online.
16:51So Mr Speaker
16:51we are also passing
16:52world leading new laws
16:54to target those who groom
16:55and exploit children online
16:57investing in cutting-edge technology
16:59to target the highest harm offenders
17:02but we will need to do much more
17:05or the new scandals
17:06and shameful crimes
17:08of the future
17:09will be missed.
17:11When the final report
17:12of Alexis Jay's
17:13seven-year national inquiry
17:14was published
17:14in October 2022
17:16the then Home Secretary
17:18Grant Shapps
17:19issued a profound
17:20and formal public apology
17:22apology to the victims
17:23of child sexual abuse
17:24so badly let down
17:26over decades
17:27by different levels
17:28of the state.
17:30As Shadow Home Secretary
17:31at that time
17:32I joined him
17:32in that apology
17:33on behalf of the opposition
17:35and extended it
17:37to victims
17:38of child sexual exploitation too.
17:40To the victims
17:42and survivors
17:43of sexual exploitation
17:45and grooming gangs
17:46on behalf of this
17:47and past governments
17:48and the many public authorities
17:50who let you down
17:52I want to reiterate
17:54an unequivocal apology
17:56for the unimaginable pain
17:58and suffering
17:59that you have suffered
18:00and the failure
18:02of our country's institutions
18:04through decades
18:05to prevent that harm
18:07and keep you safe.
18:08But words are not enough.
18:11Victims and survivors
18:12need action.
18:14The reforms I've set out today
18:15will mean the strongest action
18:16any government has taken
18:18to tackle
18:18child sexual exploitation
18:20more police investigations
18:22more arrests
18:22and new inquiry
18:23changes to the law
18:25to protect children
18:25and a fundamental overhaul
18:27of the way organisations work
18:29to support victims
18:30and put perpetrators
18:32behind bars.
18:33But none of this will work
18:35unless everyone
18:36is part of it.
18:37unless everyone works together
18:40to keep our children safe.
18:42I commend this statement
18:43to the House.
Recommended
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