Former Metropolitan Police officer John Taylor has launched a scathing attack on the Labour government, accusing them of "ignoring victims" of grooming gangs across the country.
Taylor has called for a public inquiry into what he describes as" decades of institutional failures that have allowed child sexual exploitation to continue in dozens of British cities."
The criticism comes as the government faces mounting pressure over its response to grooming gangs, with Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips under fire in Parliament for failing to provide updates on promised local reviews into the issue.
Phillips faced backlash in the Commons whilst announcing a new child protection authority to address recommendations from Professor Alexis Jay's investigation into child sexual abuse.
John Taylor blasted Labour for "letting down the victims"
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Speaking to GB News, online grooming expert and former Metropolitan Police officer John Taylor said: "Once again, the victims here will feel completely let down and very, very frustrated.
"If you go back over the past 25 to 30 years, and longer these incidents have been happening.
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"When will they realise? At what stage will a government, it has to be the government rather than a party, actually stand up and say let's look into all this.
"Let's look into why there have been 40, 45, 50 cities with hundreds of victims of this type of child sexual exploitation, essentially abduction and rape, gang rape of young girls.
"When will they stand up and say there has to be a public inquiry into this?
"Because there have been individuals, people in authority, including the police, social services, government, CPS, and local authorities who have let the victims down by ignoring it.
Yvette Cooper announced a number of local inquiries into the grooming gangs in January
PA"They’ve actually said it hasn’t happened. Well, guess what? It has."
In January, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had vowed to set out a timetable for implementing inquiry recommendations, including "victim-centred, locally led inquiries" in five areas.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has strongly denied accusations that the government is watering down its response to grooming gangs.
Speaking to Times Radio, Nandy insisted: "No, it's not the truth. The truth is that we are listening to victims and authorities around the country about the need to give them the right tools to tackle it, this very pernicious problem, in their own areas."
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) led by Professor Alexis Jay previously found institutional failings and tens of thousands of victims across England and Wales.
Nandy emphasised the government's belief in local decision-making rather than centralised solutions.
"We believe that decisions are best made by those with skin in the game in their own communities, people who live in those communities, who understand what is happening there," she said.
The Culture Secretary added that ministers did not want to "impose one system from Whitehall, which might give us a decent press release in the media but doesn't actually tackle the problem".
