AN INQUIRY into child sexual exploiters will be led by Baroness Anne Longfield and is expected to run for three years. The Home Office confirmed her appointment on Tuesday (9), with Zoë Billingham and Eleanor Kelly joining her as panellists.
It will look closely at the actions of police, councils, social services and others in cases of child sexual exploitation.
Set up under the Inquiries Act, the latest inquiry will focus on how ethnicity, religion and cultural factors influenced both the crime and the response from authorities. The government has allocated £65 million for the work.
According to a statement, the panel will have full legal powers to compel witnesses, demand documents and pass evidence to police where it could support prosecutions. Draft terms of reference will be consulted on and finalised by March 2026.
Home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said," “For years, the victims of these awful crimes were ignored. First abused by vile predators, they then found themselves belittled and even blamed, when it was justice they were owed.”
“Today, I have announced the chair and panel of an inquiry which will shine a bright light on this dark moment in our history.”
“They will do so alongside the victims of these awful crimes who have waited for too long to see justice done.”
“This inquiry is theirs, not ours. So I call on all those present to put politics aside, for a moment, and to support this chair and her panel in the pursuit of the truth.”
Local investigations will take place in areas where serious failures are suspected, including Oldham. Any evidence uncovered could be used to pursue criminal charges.
Longfield, who served as Children’s Commissioner from 2015, said she will not shy away from difficult conclusions.
“The findings in Baroness Casey’s report were truly shocking, and I recognise that behind every heinous crime is a person, a child, a teenager, a family. I will never lose sight of this," she said.
“The inquiry owes it to the victims, survivors and the wider public to identify the truth, address past failings and ensure that children and young people today are protected in a way that others were not.”
“The inquiry will follow the evidence and will not shy away from difficult or uncomfortable truths wherever we find them.”
“The scourge of child sexual abusers has not been adequately tackled over past decades. That must change and I will do everything in my power to make this happen.”
Baroness Louise Casey, who recommended the inquiry, will act as adviser. Shesaid, “Together, they make a formidable team and have my full support.”
The inquiry will work closely with Operation Beaconport, a national police effort reviewing closed cases of child sexual exploitation. Hundreds of cases are being reopened. Evidence from the inquiry that could lead to charges will be passed to police, the statement added.
The government has also announced almost £3.75m in extra funding for policing, survivor support and research, which will examine the backgrounds and motivations of offenders, including ethnicity and religion.
Mahmood added that the aim is to prevent further harm and ensure justice is delivered.
