Britain’s grooming gangs inquiry will examine ethnicity and religion, but the chair’s warning about institutions burying findings lands hardest

Britain’s statutory independent inquiry into grooming gangs has published its final terms of reference, confirming it will directly examine whether ethnicity, culture, or religion played a role in the offending and shaped the institutional response across England and Wales. The terms are set to be formally laid before parliament after it reconvenes, after which the full investigation into group-based sexual exploitation of children can begin, as first detailed by The Guardian.

The inquiry is chaired by Baroness Anne Longfield, former children’s commissioner for England. Addressing victims and survivors directly, Longfield stated: “Children across England and Wales were and are sexually abused and exploited. When they asked for help, they were too often disbelieved, dismissed or blamed. That is the reality this inquiry exists to address.”

She pledged that findings will be published progressively rather than held back in a single final report, and her warning about institutional transparency was direct: “There will be no opportunity for institutions to quietly manage what we find. We will not flinch from uncomfortable truths.”

The inquiry has powers to compel evidence and will scrutinize police, councils, and schools

The inquiry will examine how grooming gangs operated and how institutions including police, local authorities, health services, and schools responded to abuse. It has been granted legal powers to compel witnesses to give evidence and require organizations to hand over documents.

Where evidence of criminal conduct by professionals surfaces, it will be referred to Operation Beaconport, the national policing operation launched last year to review hundreds of previously closed investigations, amid broader scrutiny of law enforcement conduct and accountability across public institutions. Oldham has been confirmed as one of the first locations to undergo a focused local investigation, with further areas to be determined by the chair and panel.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood described the grooming gangs scandal as “one of the darkest moments in our country’s history.” She confirmed the inquiry will be “laser focused on grooming gangs and will explicitly examine the role of ethnicity, religion and culture of the offenders and in the response of institutions.”

Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch noted the initial draft terms had not included an examination of ethnicity and religion, nor guaranteed that those in positions of authority would be investigated. She expressed satisfaction that those demands, which she said reflected concerns raised by survivors, will now be addressed, following a pattern seen in other high-profile investigations where corroborating victim accounts after years of dismissal has proven central to establishing accountability.

Longfield will be supported by two panellists: Zoe Billingham, a former HM inspector of constabulary and fire and rescue services, and Eleanor Kelly, former chief executive of Southwark and Tower Hamlets councils. Public hearings will be livestreamed, with transcripts published after each session.

The inquiry has a maximum duration of three years, with a deadline of no later than March 2029, and a budget of £65 million.