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Government Names Baroness Anne Longfield to Lead UK Grooming Gangs Inquiry

The appointment ends months of delay following rows over the inquiry’s scope.

Overview

  • The Home Secretary said more than 1,200 cases have been flagged for reinvestigation, including around 200 priority rape cases.
  • The inquiry will proceed through local investigations overseen by a national panel with full statutory powers to compel evidence.
  • The remit will explicitly examine offenders’ backgrounds, including ethnicity and religion, and whether authorities held back to preserve community cohesion.
  • The Conservatives published survivor-developed draft terms urging a two‑year limit, a focus on extra‑familial abuse, powers to summon witnesses, and referrals to police, with survivors such as Fiona Goddard expressing support after quitting the liaison panel.
  • Political contention over independence, remit and UK‑wide scope continues, with Kemi Badenoch pressing for Scotland to be included and for the government to adopt the survivor-informed framework.