Baroness Casey Report Finds Ethnicity Avoided in Grooming Gangs Inquiry

Baroness Louise Casey's report on grooming gangs reveals a widespread failure to address the ethnicity of perpetrators in cases of child sexual exploitation, with estimates suggesting around 500,000 children affected annually. Casey cautioned against misusing incomplete and unreliable data on ethnicity, noting that suspects in child sexual exploitation cases were disproportionately of Asian heritage, while child abuse overall involved more white men, urging calm in interpreting these figures. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper highlighted how officials avoided discussing ethnicity due to fears of being labeled racist, despite evidence that offenders were disproportionately Asian men, and criticized the decade-long lack of robust ethnicity data in crime recording. The government, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has responded by launching a new national inquiry into grooming gangs, with Cooper preparing to address Parliament and publish the 200-page Casey review. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch apologized to grooming gang survivors for past government inaction and emphasized the need to depoliticize the issue. Meanwhile, Shadow Minister Katie Lam accused some of prioritizing avoiding racism accusations over protecting children, reflecting the complex and sensitive nature of the topic.