Plaid Cymru and Lib Dems back Welsh grooming gangs probe

Emily Price 

Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Lib Dems have backed calls for a probe into child grooming in Wales.

Their comments came after Nation Cymru asked the two parties if they were supportive of Tory calls for a Wales-wide inquiry.

In the Senedd last week, the Conservatives read out harrowing details of the experience of a Welsh victim of child sexual exploitation and trafficking.

Emily Vaughn – not her real name – was one of the victims who took part in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, also known as the Jay Report, a decade ago.

Concerns have been raised in recent weeks that the report’s recommendations were never properly implemented.

Last week, the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced a £10 million plan for a series of local inquiries into grooming gangs across the UK.

Blocked

But the Welsh Conservatives say there should be an investigation that focuses solely on Wales because the original Jay Inquiry only looked at Swansea as a grooming gangs hotspot.

Last week in the Senedd, Tory leader Darren Millar was blocked by Llywydd Elin Jones from reading out the harrowing details of Emily’s experience.

Trafficked from south Wales to Telford when she was a teenager, Emily was raped over 1000 times after being forced into a huge child-sex-trafficking gang.

She has urged Welsh politicians not to shy away from the graphic details of how children are abused by grooming gangs.

Today, Plaid Cymru told Nation Cymru that the party would like to see a police investigation into grooming gangs in Wales.

The group says that if such a probe uncovered evidence, they would then like to see a full scale Wales-wide inquiry.

Plaid highlighted concerns raised after the conviction of north Wales head teacher Neil Foden who was  jailed for 17 years after being found guilty of the sexual abuse of four girls.

Fresh investigation

A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said: “We agree that no stone should be left unturned where there are allegations of child abuse, and we must always seek to act in the most effective manner. A fresh investigation, conducted in a way that gives the public confidence, would be a means to do that.

“The merits of any investigation must always be guided by what’s in the best interests of victims.

“By instigating an immediate all Wales police investigation, abuse cases could be reassessed for patterns of grooming behaviours, and any newly identified patterns of abuse could then be investigated in greater depth. Such an investigation, with independent oversight, could help to answer public concerns.

“If such an investigation uncovers any suggestion of a failure to look into patterns of abuse, we would of course back an immediate public inquiry, as we already have done in response to the Neil Foden case.”

Patterns

the Senedd’s only Lib Dem, Jane Dodds, said she would support calls for a Welsh probe.

A Lib Dem spokesperson said: “We support anything that will deliver justice for the victims and help prevent these terrible acts from ever happening again.

“We also want to see the implementation of the recommendations made in the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse published in 2022, which clearly outlines what improvements need to be made.

“Each day the Welsh Government fails to implement these reforms is another day where someone finds themselves at an unnecessary risk.

“Our priorities, above all else, should be the protection of our children and vulnerable young people.”

The Welsh Conservatives have welcomed the news.

A Tory spokesperson said: “With there being clear evidence of sexual exploitation by grooming gangs occurring in Wales, we need a Wales-wide inquiry.

“This is not about politics, this is about justice, compassion and ensuring that no victim suffers in silence.

“Politicians from across the political spectrum have a moral obligation to ensure an inquiry takes place, and this is what the Welsh Conservatives will continue to call for.”

Horrific

In a statement responding to Emily’s story last week, the First Minister’s Official Spokesman said: “We will continue to do everything we can as a government to ensure young people in Wales are safe from the horrific crimes of exploitation and sexual abuse.

“Whilst we have received assurances from all Welsh police forces that there are no current widespread issues with grooming gangs here, we welcome the decision by the Home Secretary to ask all police forces, including in Wales, to review historic gang exploitation cases where no further action was taken.

“We also welcome the UK Government’s announcement of a national review across the UK led by Dame Louise Casey and will be engaging fully with this review.”