Grooming gangs evidence may be destroyed, says MP

An MP has said he is worried evidence about grooming gangs, which could form part of a national inquiry, may have been destroyed because of Home Office delays.

Robbie Moore, Conservative MP for Keighley and Ilkley, said the government had taken seven months to write to councils and police forces about the requirement to preserve data.

But a Home Office spokesperson said it had emphasised to government departments that records should be appropriately retained back in September.

Moore said: "The whole purpose of wanting a national inquiry is to reassure victims and survivors that actually the state is on their side and is doing the right thing."

Labour MP Chris Murray, who is on the Home Affairs select committee alongside Moore, raised similar concerns about the inquiry which is set to start this week.

The recommendation to preserve records was part of Baroness Casey's National Audit into group-based child sexual exploitation, which recommended a national inquiry into the scandal.

It stated: "Local authorities, police forces and other relevant agencies should in the meantime be required not to destroy any relevant records."

Moore said: "For the government of the day not to have acted on a key direction included within the audit is deeply worrying and I don't feel provides any reassurance to victims and survivors that this process should be duty bound to reassure them."

He said parliamentary recess for Easter meant MPs would also be unable to scrutinise any announcement about an inquiry, which is due this week.

He added: "It took them seven months before a direction was issued; in the meantime data could have been lost, data could have been shredded, which could have been absolutely valuable and key for any investigation that now needs to take place."

A Home Office spokesperson said: "We have established the Independent Inquiry into grooming gangs to get the answers that victims and survivors of these horrendous crimes deserve.

"Since Baroness Casey's National Audit, we have worked across government to ensure records relevant to the draft Terms of Reference are appropriately retained by public sector organisations.

"The inquiry has the power to order the production of documents and failure to comply with such an order without reasonable excuse is an offence punishable by imprisonment."

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