Home Secretary Yvette Cooper faces mounting pressure over her refusal to establish an independent inquiry into police officers accused of raping children who were victims of grooming gangs in Rotherham.
Five women who suffered exploitation by grooming gangs during their childhood have come forward with allegations of sexual assault by officers at the time.
Nick Timothy MP, previously chief of staff at No10, revealed on Friday that Cooper has rejected demands for a National Crime Agency probe into police and other officials since January.
He said: "It is harrowing that, 10 years after allegations of rape were first levelled at police officers, not a single one has been brought to justice.
“These are claims of child rape in police cars and dealing of drugs used to coerce victims. This could not be more serious. Forces cannot investigate themselves. Yvette Cooper must reconsider her position.”
The accusations include claims that two victims were raped in police vehicles and threatened with being returned to their abusers if they refused to comply.
Two survivors reported being sexually assaulted in the rear of police vehicles, whilst another described how an officer threatened to deliver her to the grooming gang unless she engaged in sexual acts with him.
The victim said: "I would rather be raped once, or give one man oral sex, than to be taken somewhere where I know it'd be 15, 20 guys one after another. That was just easier."
Legal representatives for the women revealed their clients have identified an additional four South Yorkshire police officers as alleged perpetrators.
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Home Secretary Yvette Cooper faces mounting pressure over her refusal to establish an independent inquiry into police officers accused of raping children who were victims of grooming gangs in Rotherham
|PA
Further allegations have emerged concerning a Greater Manchester police officer accused of sexual abuse by another survivor.
The initial allegations of child rape against an officer emerged a decade ago, yet no prosecutions have followed.
South Yorkshire police is investigating, but critics said they were “shocked” the force had been trusted to investigate its own staff, citing “cover-up after cover-up”.
During the 2016 trial of the Rotherham gang, claims surfaced that leader Basharat Hussain had a CID detective on his payroll who revealed a safe house location protecting a vulnerable girl.
Maggie Oliver, a whistleblower formerly with Greater Manchester police, disclosed that she received orders to abandon her 2004 investigation into a suspected child rapist serving in the force.
Brothers Arshid Hussain, left, Basharat Hussain, centre, and Bannaras Hussain were found guilty of a range of offences involving the sexual exploitation of teenage girls in Rotherham
|SOUTH YORKSHIRE POLICE
Upon returning from compassionate leave, she discovered "the whole job had been buried".
The Independent Office for Police Conduct's investigation into 47 officers concluded in 2022 with merely two written warnings and zero prosecutions.
Professor Alexis Jay, whose public inquiry uncovered 1,400 child victims of Rotherham grooming gangs, said it was "very hard to see the justification" for South Yorkshire police to investigate its own officers.
Jay added: "It would have been cleaner all round to simply ask another police to investigate this."
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has formally requested that Cooper establish an independent investigation
| PAHayley Barnett, assistant chief constable of South Yorkshire police, said she was “acutely aware of how profoundly difficult, if not impossible” it is for victims to report to her force.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has formally requested that Cooper establish an independent investigation.
A Home Office spokesman said a new national police operation, led by the NCA, would “ensure that every historic case is fully investigated, that the perpetrators are put behind bars, and that the victims of these appalling crimes receive the justice they deserve.”