New probe and statutory public inquiry will be a means to get ‘truth and justice’, home secretary says
Keir Starmer has launched a sweeping national operation to investigate grooming gangs and a statutory inquiry into institutional failure, marking a significant reversal after months of pressure on Labour to act.
The National Crime Agency (NCA), the UK’s top investigative body, has been tasked with leading a coordinated national push to reopen historic group-based child sexual abuse cases and identify offenders who slipped through the cracks of previous police efforts.
The new operation will also aim to “put vile criminals behind bars” and bring justice to victims whose cases were not previously progressed through the justice system, according to officials.
More than 800 such cases have already been reopened since January. Officials say the aim now is to scale that up, combining forces across regional police, specialist exploitation teams and national units such as Operation Hydrant.
