‘Outrageous!’ — Govt Pulls Support Funding for Victims of Child Rape Grooming Gangs in Rotherham

ROTHERHAM, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 03: (EDITORS NOTE: This image was processed using digital f
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Kurt Zindulka

The British government has made an “outrageous” decision to end a £500,000 grant intended to support victims of child sexual exploitation at the hands of grooming gangs in Rotherham, a local MP has said.

In a letter to Labour MP Sarah Champion, the government’s parliamentary under-secretary of state for children and families, Will Quince MP said that the grant — which was meant to cover additional costs for social care for victims in the Operation Stovewood investigation — will end.

The investigation, which is being conducted by Britain’s equivalent to the FBI, the National Crime Agency (NCA), is currently examining child sexual exploitation in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

Speaking to the BBC, Ms Champion said that there are over 225 officers investigating some 284 suspected grooming gang members. The MP said that it is expected that Operation Stovewood is expected to last for at least another seven years.

Commenting on the move to pull the grant, Champion said: “The government’s decision to in effect cut the funding it provides to survivors of child abuse in Rotherham is outrageous.

“With a significant number of trials linked to Operation Stovewood expected in the coming year, this funding is needed now more than ever.

“Instead, the government has pulled the rug from under their feet.”

The government, for its part, said that keeping children safe is a “priority” and that they would continue other sections of the funding.

“We recognise the challenges that councils are facing, including the pressure on children’s services, which is why we are providing local authorities councils with £4.8bn in new grant funding to help maintain vital frontline services, including children’s social care,” a spokesman said.

However, it is estimated that the yearly cost for Operation Stovewood is around £6.9m per year.

While the government has cut funding for victims, two of the country’s most infamous grooming gang child rapists have reportedly received over £2 million in taxpayer-funded legal aid to challenge their deportation to Pakistan — years after they were set to be removed from the UK.

Former police detective turned rape gang whistleblower, Maggie Oliver said last year that victims of the rape gangs “were let down by the state when the grooming first occurred, and they are still being let down by officialdom’s refusal to uphold the law, keep them informed or respect their human rights.”

Oliver, who has gone on to found a charity for grooming victims, has also said that there has been “institutional cowardice” within British police forces and courts, allowing the heinous gangs to continue operating under their noses.

A notable example of this was exposed in a report from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which found that sexual abuse against children committed by members of “Asian” rape gangs was overlooked for decades out of politically concerns among the police.

A Rotherham police chief inspector was quoted in the report, telling a father of a missing girl that the town would “erupt” if the public was made aware that “Asian” grooming gangs were abusing young white girls.

Rotherham was not unique in bending to political correctness, with a report from the Mayor of Greater Manchester claiming that officers were told to look for offenders of “other ethnicities” at the same time as a large grooming gang of South Asian-heritage men preyed on young white girls.

In October, three Conservative MPs called on the government to launch a Rotherham-style inquiry into similar atrocities in Bradford, warning that “nothing has really changed” and “largely Pakistani Muslim” grooming gangs are still roaming free and abusing young children.

Highlighting the scale of the issue, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC)  revealed on Monday that they received a record 4,735 calls concerning child sexual abuse or exploitation over the previous six months, an increase of 36 per cent over the same time span in 2020.

Last year, Europol warned that more children may fall prey to paedophiles during the pandemic, with many youngsters spending more time on the internet.

Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka

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