Politicians who fail to protect rape gang victims could be prosecuted

[IwantToRetire]

Politicians, police chiefs and social workers could be prosecuted over their failure to tackle grooming gangs under plans by a police whistleblower and victims of child sexual abuse.

Former police detective-turned-whistleblower Ms Oliver said misconduct in public office could be one of the offences being looked at to hold to account senior officials who “knowingly failed in their duty to protect children” against gangs or other cases of sex abuse.

Action for Accountability, a non-profit organisation that has launched the bid, will be working with Devonshires Solicitors to investigate claims and will bring proceedings if it finds misconduct.

Maggie Oliver, the Greater Manchester detective who exposed the Rochdale grooming scandal, and the victims want to investigate police forces, local councils and individuals who they believe turned a blind eye and failed to act over child sexual exploitation.

Ms Oliver said that while the new offence on reporting abuse will “go some way” to ensure exploitation in Rochdale, Rotherham, Telford and elsewhere will not be repeated, it will “do nothing to right historical wrongs and hold those who’ve already failed to account”.

Extracts from a longer article at https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/04/14/politicians-fail-to-protect-rape-gang-victims-prosecuted/

Can be read in full at https://archive.is/qkuUg

(Obviously not to be confused with the bid by former Reform MP to hold a publicly funded public enquiry)

It’s a start, but I’ll believe it when I see it, and I agree with Maggie Oliver.

I think one of the problems with the Government option is that as in many cases it was the failure of a local Government to investigate let alone take action.

So how can they then be thought competent to carry out an enquiry into themselves.

Let alone act without bias?!

But definitely think that historical wrongs need to be acknowledged and dealt with.

I’d be amazed if it ever makes it onto the statute book. And even assuming it does, how many company Directors are personally prosecuted for wrongdoing by the company they run, even though the law was changed to allow it? This would be the same - prosecutions would be few and far between.