Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

Clive Efford Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jess Phillips]

On the contrary: very few people have written to me more throughout this process than the leader of Telford council, who has talked about how they want to continue to make progress. I am very familiar with what happened in Telford. Quite a lot of the evidence shows that people in Telford were groomed where I live, in Birmingham, yet the Telford inquiry—while brilliant—did not lead to any changes in neighbouring areas. That is exactly what we hope the national inquiry will do, so although I cannot direct where it must go, I absolutely want it to look at prior work that has been done and some of the gaps that have been identified, exactly as the right hon. Gentleman says.

[Clive Efford (Eltham and Chislehurst) (Lab)]

I welcome my hon. Friend’s statement. This is yet another example of the state turning its back on working-class people—in this case, young girls. I also welcome the fact that cold cases are going to be investigated and that those cases will be reopened if there is any evidence of criminal activity, but in the past when an inquiry has been announced, we have seen police suspend until the outcome of that inquiry investigations that they have been undertaking. Can the Minister assure us that that will not happen in this case?

[Jess Phillips]

Yes. My hon. Friend makes an important point that we have to make sure that the inquiry is not used for further state inactivity. There have been cases where that has happened before. As we are undertaking a new national policing operation in Operation Beaconport at the same time as the national inquiry, I give him my absolute assurance that I will ensure that the two work closely together so that such a situation cannot happen, unless it would cause such judicial issues that it would have to happen.