Oldham grooming gangs’ victims receive apologies over authorities’ failures

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Victims of grooming gangs in Oldham have received official apologies after a major report said police and the local council failed to protect some youngsters from sexual exploitation but concluded there was no official cover-up. Despite “legitimate concerns” from police and the council in Oldham of the far right capitalising on the issue of grooming by predominantly Pakistani men, the authorities in the town, which suffered race riots in 2001, did not shy away from tackling the issue, the report said. The report on Oldham follows an earlier damning report, centred on grooming gangs in Manchester, which said victims had been failed by police and local authorities in the city. Maggie Oliver, the former GMP detective who turned whistleblower, said: “Another day, yet another report about the failures of a police force to protect the most vulnerable in our society, even when there is irrefutable evidence to prosecute offenders and safeguard children.” Stephen Watson, Chief Constable of GMP, said the report reflected an era where police and authorities all too often failed children and he wanted to apologise for their failings but recognise his officers’ approach today was “worlds apart” from that of the past.