The statutory probe into grooming gangs must be expanded to Scotland after delays in the SNP Government’s own investigation into the issue, the Shadow Scottish Secretary has demanded.
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Secretary → expand → issue
Scottish Tory MP Harriet Cross has written to the Home Secretary urging the Westminster inquiry, chaired by Baroness Anne Longfield, to include group-based child sexual abuse north of the Border, including high profile cases in Glasgow and Dundee.
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inquiry → write → Glasgow
In her letter, which has been signed by all Scottish Conservative MPs, she pointed to reports of victims across all 32 Scottish council areas.
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she → sign → areas
The UK inquiry started in April but its terms of reference only cover England and Wales.
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terms → start → England
Ms Cross warned excluding Scotland will leave the UK inquiry with an incomplete picture of the scale and nature of grooming-gang activity.
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excluding → warn → activity
The Scottish Government announced its own statutory public inquiry into group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation in February, under the chairmanship of child sex abuse expert Professor Alexis Jay.
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Government → announce → Jay
But Ms Cross said Holyrood’s inquiry was ‘lagging behind’ and had failed to define its scope and terms of reference.
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inquiry → say → reference
She said: ‘SNP ministers did all they could to resist calls for a full inquiry and only announced one following months of pressure from victims and Scottish Conservative MSPs.
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they → say → victims
Shadow Scottish Secretary Harriet Cross said the probe into grooming gangs must be expanded to Scotland after delays in the SNP's own investigation
‘Even then, progress has been painfully slow, with crucial details over the inquiry’s scope and terms still missing.
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details → say → scope
‘Scottish victims have waited long enough.
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victims → wait → ?
They deserve the same answers and justice as victims elsewhere in the United Kingdom.
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They → deserve → Kingdom
She added: ‘Survivors deserve better than an inquiry that spends months stuck in the starting blocks.
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that → add → blocks
They deserve answers.’
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They → deserve → answers
The UK inquiry has already expanded its terms of reference to investigate failures by statutory services in relevant local areas between 1996 until the of the three-year probe to March 2029.
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inquiry → expand → March
The inquiry has announced investigations in Wales and Birmingham, alongside work in areas including Oldham, Bradford, Keighley and London.
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inquiry → announce → Oldham
Ms Cross said victims in Scotland deserve a similar far reaching investigation.
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victims → say → investigation
Holyrood Education Secretary Màiri McAllan said: ‘We are working closely with the eminent expert Professor Alexis Jay to establish the public inquiry into group-based child sexual abuse at pace, and finalising its Terms of Reference based on Professor Jay’s engagement with victims, survivors and representative organisations.
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We → say → victims
‘These will be published as soon as possible after this has concluded, and the inquiry will commence shortly thereafter.’
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inquiry → publish → ?
She added: ‘This runs alongside the Inspectorate-led national review and Police Scotland’s case review.
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This → add → review
A Scottish Truth Project, offering survivors a supportive space to share experiences, is also well advanced.
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Project → offer → experiences
‘It is crucial we take the necessary time to get this right for survivors and ensure no stone is left unturned in our work to tackle this horrific form of abuse.’
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stone → take → abuse
However, Ms Cross insists Scotland should be incorporated into the Westminster investigation, rather than having two separate probes.
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Scotland → insist → probes
Five people were jailed last year for sexually abusing a number of women in Dundee between 2021 and 2022 as part of a group who used drugs to exploit victims aged between 16 and 30.
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who → jail → 16
In a separate case, seven members of a major child sexual abuse ring in Glasgow received life sentences after three children, all under 13, suffered prolonged sexual abuse and violence at a Glasgow drug den dubbed ‘the beastie house’ over a seven-year period.
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children → receive → period
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