Legal action could force Labour to come clean over grooming gangs failures | Politics | News
Former police officer Maggie Oliver is taking legal action against the Government (Image: Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)
Grooming ring whistleblower Maggie Oliver is taking the Government to court over failures to address child sexual exploitation.
Ms Oliver’s charity will go to the High Court next week to seek a judicial review against the Government over its alleged failure to implement recommendations following the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).
The investigation, chaired by Alexis Jay and lasting seven years and costing £200 million, was launched to examine how public and private institutions were failing to protect children from sexual abuse.
The final report, completed in 2022, recommended 20 key reforms to child protection in England and Wales.
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Reform’s Zia Yusuf told the Daily Express that “everyone in an official capacity” should be “brought to justice” if they covered up some of the worst crimes in British history.
Ms Oliver said: “The government has promised another national inquiry, this time focusing on so-called ‘grooming gangs’.
“Survivors have every right to be heard, but why launch a new investigation when the recommendations of the last one remain unimplemented?
“After years of testimony and hundreds of millions of pounds spent, survivors should not be asked to relive their most traumatic experiences only to find that no meaningful action has taken place.
“Our charity is deeply involved in wider work to tackle child sexual abuse. I have long campaigned for appropriate collection of national data, including the ethnicity of perpetrators, because without reliable evidence these crimes cannot be fully understood or prevented.
“Victims of child sexual abuse were promised change. Instead they are met with delay after delay. As a former police officer, I want our institutions to have the tools to effectively combat child abuse. As a mother, I want children to be able to walk the streets safely.
“Why does our government have to be dragged through the courts to protect children?”
The Daily Express has reported extensively on the failure of authorities to investigate grooming rings and the extent of the cover-up.
Following pressure from the Daily Express, the Met confirmed it would review 9,000 cases of child sexual abuse as a result of recommendations from Baroness Casey’s review.
Mr Yusuf told this newspaper: “I will ensure that not only the terrible perpetrators, but also everyone in an official capacity is brought to justice.
“We will do this quickly. Nigel has already talked about how we can do this in terms of using Parliament as a tribunal, with the power to compel witnesses to do something that will really make a difference and solve this problem, which is what you really need.”
“You need a body that can make witnesses come forward whether they want to or not.”
The hearing, set for March 5 at the High Court, will consider whether the charity’s case should be allowed to proceed to a full judicial review hearing.
If granted permission, the Government would have to explain its failure to implement child protection measures recommended by IICSA, the charity said.
A government spokesman said: “The government is committed to tackling the horrors of child sexual abuse and exploitation and ensuring justice for victims and survivors. There can be nowhere for these evil perpetrators to hide.”
“As part of this work, we have set out a clear strategy for delivering on IICSA’s recommendations, including the introduction of legislation currently passing through Parliament.
“This includes the introduction of mandatory reporting, reforming the disclosure and suppression system, removing the three-year limitation for victim personal injury claims and making grooming a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing.”
