Next week, on 13 April 2026, the statutory public inquiry into child grooming gangs finally begins. Finally. After years of campaigning by victims. After years of Reform UK pushing for accountability. After the political establishment had tried to move on and pretend it never happened.

But here's the thing: victims shouldn't have to wait this long. Children shouldn't have been abused this long. And police and councils shouldn't have been allowed to fail their duty for this long.

Years of Institutional Failure

Rotherham. Rochdale. Telford. Grooming gangs operated in plain sight across Britain. Systematic abuse of vulnerable children. Not isolated incidents. Organised. Persistent. Ignored by the authorities whose job it was to protect them.

In Rotherham, police and council officials knew about the gangs. Some of them. They did very little. In Rochdale, the same story — girls reported abuse and were failed. In Telford, hundreds of children were exploited while institutions looked the other way.

This wasn't incompetence. This was institutional failure at every level. Police. Councils. Social services. They all let these girls down.

The question isn't whether this happened. The question is why it took so long to get a proper inquiry, and who is going to be held accountable.

Labour Tried to Block This

Let's be clear about what happened. The previous government didn't want a new inquiry. They thought they could manage it with existing reviews. They thought they could move on. It took sustained pressure from Reform UK and campaigners to force Labour's hand.

This isn't criticism from the sidelines. This is about the scale of failure. Girls were brutally abused. Families were destroyed. And the institutions that should have protected them claimed they didn't have a full picture. So they didn't want a comprehensive inquiry that might expose just how badly they failed.

That's not how accountability works. That's how cover-ups work.

What Needs to Happen Now

This inquiry must go deep. It must name names. It must expose the failures — in police leadership, in council management, in social services. It must answer the hard questions about why abuse went on for so long, why it wasn't stopped, and what changed only when the media and campaigners forced the issue.

And it needs to happen quickly. These victims have already waited long enough. They don't need another decade-long inquiry gathering dust. They need accountability within a reasonable timeframe.

The Crime and Policing Bill is also moving through Parliament at the same time. That gives the Government a chance to show it's serious about child protection. Real consequences for police failures. Real standards for safeguarding. Real teeth.

What Reform UK Would Do

Reform UK would ensure this inquiry delivers real accountability. We'd make sure victims are heard — not managed. We'd pursue criminal charges where evidence exists. We'd reform police leadership and cultural training so institutions prioritise child safety over protecting their reputation.

We'd also roll out proper facial recognition vans nationwide to catch repeat offenders. Five vans is a start, but it's not enough. We need technology that works, policing that cares about prevention as much as prosecution.

And we'd overhaul safeguarding standards so that no child is ever treated the way these girls were. Not ignored. Not disbelieved. Not sacrificed to institutional inertia.

The Week Ahead

When this inquiry begins next Monday, remember what took so long to get here. Remember that this happened because victims refused to be forgotten. Because campaigners wouldn't let it go. Because Reform UK kept pushing when others wanted to move on.

Now we need the inquiry to do what institutions should have done years ago: tell the truth about what happened, who failed, and why.

These victims deserve nothing less than complete accountability.