Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has called for a hardline approach to deporting foreign nationals involved in grooming gangs, describing their crimes as “heinous”.
Labour has formally rejected calls for a Home Office-led inquiry into historic child abuse in Oldham, following requests from the town’s council.
Speaking about her time as Home Secretary, Braverman recalled meeting survivors of grooming gangs in Rotherham and Rochdale, describing it as “one of the most unforgettable moments” of her tenure.
She told GB News: “We need to have a zero tolerance approach when it comes to deporting those foreign nationals who have been found guilty of these heinous crimes.
Suella Braverman called for them to be deported
GB News
“One of the most unforgettable moments of my time as Home Secretary was when I visited Rotherham and Rochdale, I met with the survivors of the grooming gangs, they were young women in their 30s.
“They told me of the horrendous experiences they had gone through, and some of them told me how the pain and destruction was exacerbated by the fact that their perpetrators were still in the country and at large.
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“The government, frankly, failed to get them out of the United Kingdom. This is adding insult to injury.
“If we don’t control our borders fundamentally in this way, then we again are part of the problem.”
The decision came after Oldham Council voted to write to the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper requesting a formal Public Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in the borough.
The council had also voted to commission an independent inquiry should the Home Office refuse their request.
A Home Office spokesman stated: “No child should ever suffer sexual abuse or exploitation. Everyone who is responsible for children’s welfare must learn from past mistakes and do everything possible to prevent future failures.”
The rejection comes after the Greater Manchester Combined Authority found in 2022 that police and the local authority in Oldham failed to protect children from sexual abuse.
Many local survivors feel the 2022 report did not go far enough.
Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips responded to the council’s request, acknowledging “the strength of feeling that a further inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham should be undertaken.”
In letters to the council executive, Phillips apologised for delays in responding but maintained that local authorities should take the lead.
“It is for Oldham Council alone to decide to commission an inquiry into child sexual exploitation locally, rather than for the Government to intervene,” Phillips stated.
She welcomed the council’s resolution to continue its work with victims and survivors.
GB News understands that Oldham Council has since made contact with Telford, which faced similar issues, to explore various inquiry options.
