Overview
- Sir Keir Starmer pledged the inquiry will leave no stone unturned and will examine London cases, with prosecutions prioritized wherever evidence allows.
- Scotland Yard is reviewing roughly 9,000 child sexual exploitation cases in the capital following findings that group-based offending is more widespread, organised and underreported than previously acknowledged.
- The inquiry has been destabilized by the withdrawal of both prospective chairs and the resignation of five members of its victim liaison panel.
- Baroness Louise Casey has been brought in to help the government steady the process and secure new leadership for the investigation.
- Political tensions continue as Sadiq Khan resists the term 'grooming gang' and says London cases are more complex, while critics accuse City Hall and the Met of denial and the mayor highlights transparency pledges and a new £2.4m support package for victims.