Nigel Farage declares grooming gangs scandal ‘shames’ Britain as he vows to back decades | Politics | News

Nigel Farage has declared that the investigation into the grooming gang scandal in England should go back “40 years”. The systematic rape and sexual abuse of thousands of white British girls – mostly by groups of Pakistani boys – “shames us as a country”, the Reform UK leader has said.

Mr Farage said politicians, “local police force commanders” and “council leaders” should be “held to account”, adding that “very few do”. He told GB News: “I would like to go back 40 years to look at police reports, meeting minutes. I would like any written information over 40 years to be published, names to be redacted if necessary to protect people.”

“I think there are institutional failures in social services, in elected politicians, in the police, and this has been going on for decades.

“I’m glad something is happening, but it’s not close enough.

“It should go to local police force commanders, it should go to council leaders. Rotherham? Everyone knew.

“I remember being there in 2014; this had been known for years and yet was not discussed for fear of deliberately and willfully escalating tensions.”

The first eight closed grooming gang cases were sent back to police forces for re-investigation as part of a massive national review of hundreds of files where lines of inquiry may have been missed.

Operation Beaconport is investigating cases in which two or more suspects accused of sexual abuse between January 2010 and March 2025 are still alive; There is a victim of a sexual crime through physical contact; the cases have not yet been examined; and no further action was taken.

In November, 1,273 such investigations from 23 police forces were referred to the National Crime Agency (NCA); of these, 236 were prioritized because they contained allegations of rape.

“This terrible scandal shames us as a country in the eyes of the rest of the world. People can’t believe that this is not only happening, but is being allowed to continue here.”

“And yet more and more evidence is emerging that these things are happening in London, amidst the Mayor’s absolute denial. People must be held accountable.”

On Tuesday the NCA said: “At this early stage, reviews have identified closed cases from eight force areas that may have valid lines of investigation.

“Forces have been instructed to reopen these cases to determine next steps in relation to any reinvestigation.”

NCA chief executive Graeme Biggar said it was a “first step towards seeking justice for victims and survivors”.

“Operation Beaconport is the most comprehensive and complex investigation into the sexual exploitation and abuse of children in UK history,” he said.

The review of the cases comes within a year of the publication of Baroness Casey’s national audit into group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation.

Children placed in care, sexually abused and later prosecuted for crimes including prostitution are still being failed, the author of a landmark report has warned.

Baroness Louise Casey, who is leading the national inquiry into grooming gangs, last year called on the government to quash any convictions against victims who were criminalized when they should have been protected.

And a Home Secretary who was groomed as a child has vowed to bring the perpetrators behind grooming gang scandals to justice because it “must never be allowed to happen again.”

Natalie Fleet said: “Despite clear warnings and repeated calls for change, victims and survivors have been repeatedly let down by institutions intended to keep them safe. Vulnerable children have simply been ignored.”

“As a survivor, I know the lifelong impact such crimes can have. I know what it is like to carry memories that never fade away.

“I know the feeling of shame and guilt and responsibility. I also know the sense of injustice that I was made to feel in this way. That’s why this is so important to me. And that’s why this should never be allowed to happen again.”