Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe has launched a privately funded £600,000 independent inquiry into the UK’s grooming gang scandals, vowing to expose decades of alleged institutional cover-ups, ignored warnings, and systemic failure to protect vulnerable children. The investigation, which began formal hearings this week, will examine high-profile cases in Rotherham, Rochdale, Telford, Oldham, Newcastle, and other towns, focusing on claims that police, councils, social services, and government departments repeatedly downplayed or suppressed evidence of organised sexual exploitation for fear of being accused of racism or inflaming community tensions.

Lowe, who has described the scandal as “the greatest peacetime betrayal of children in British history,” announced the inquiry after raising concerns in Parliament that successive governments had failed to act decisively. “The evidence was there,” he said in his opening statement. “Reports were written, whistleblowers spoke, victims begged for help — and nothing was done. This is not about politics; it’s about justice for thousands of girls who were let down by the very people meant to protect them.”

The inquiry has already heard from former police officers, social workers, local councillors, and survivors. One ex-officer testified that in the early 2000s he was instructed to “step back” from investigating grooming allegations in a northern town because “it might cause community unrest.” A former social worker from Rotherham described being told by senior managers that focusing on Pakistani-heritage perpetrators would be “racially insensitive.” Survivors recounted being dismissed as “troubled teenagers” or “prostitutes” when they first reported abuse.

Official estimates from previous inquiries (Jay Report, Casey Report, Telford Inquiry) suggest at least 19,000 children were exploited between 1997 and 2017, though many experts believe the true figure is significantly higher. Perpetrators, often operating in networks, targeted vulnerable girls — many from care homes or broken homes — with drugs, alcohol, violence, and coercion. Despite multiple independent reports identifying patterns of abuse and institutional failure, only a fraction of offenders have been convicted.

Lowe’s inquiry, which is not government-backed and operates independently, has drawn both praise and sharp criticism. Supporters, including survivors’ groups and campaigners like Maggie Oliver, call it “long-overdue accountability.” Critics, including Labour MPs and some community leaders, accuse Lowe of politicising trauma and risking community relations. Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the inquiry as “opportunistic” and said Labour would continue its own review of grooming gang responses.