Baroness Casey Reports Decade of Grooming Gang Failures, Urges National Inquiry

A decade-long failure by UK authorities to address grooming gang crimes has been exposed in a damning report by Baroness Casey, prompting calls for a national inquiry to ensure justice for victims and prevent future abuses. The report criticized governments, police, and local councils for ignoring the issue and allowing exploitation to continue unchecked, with only one council, Oldham, having held a local inquiry. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper endorsed the inquiry and announced stronger measures including mandatory rape charges for adult men engaging in sexual activity with children under 16, tighter taxi licensing, and exclusion of convicted sex offenders from the asylum system. Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer reversed his stance, now supporting a statutory inquiry after previously resisting it. The inquiry will be time-limited and targeted, with powers to compel witnesses and investigate local authority failures, especially where there have been attempts to cover up or ignore grooming gang activities. Critics, including Chris Philp, allege that authorities deliberately prioritized race relations over protecting vulnerable girls and that the Prime Minister only agreed to the inquiry under pressure from Baroness Casey's findings.