On 13 April 2026, the Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs was set up in response to Recommendation 2 of Baroness Casey’s National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (June 2025). The Inquiry will investigate previous and current cases of failure or obstruction by statutory services nationally and locally of group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse committed by ‘grooming gangs’. This may include examination of the actions of related services as determined by the Chair and Panel, including religious institutions and organisation. In view of this, a legal hold on potentially relevant material was put in place as of 11 June 2026.
If you have any questions relating to the Inquiry and to the legal hold instruction please contact Alice Bradley, Secretary to the Inquiry at: contactus@grooming-gangs.independendent-inquiry.uk. There is also a support page on the Inquiry website. We do recognise that this a very distressing matter and that some in our diocese may have been directly affected by this. If you or someone you know needs support in relation to this, even if it relates to events long ago, please do get in touch with our safeguarding team for help and support.