Royton councillor to lead call for Oldham to push for national inquiry into ‘rape gangs’

Cllr Lewis Quigg

A ROYTON councillor will lead the call for Oldham Council to demand a national public inquiry into ‘rape gangs.’

The authority has welcomed an announcement by the government of local investigations into claims of child sexual exploitation.

But Royton North Conservative Lewis Quigg, along with the rest of the party’s group, is calling for an extraordinary council meeting to vote on their motion they should go further.

And it will ask borough chiefs to demand a national public inquiry ‘without further delay.’

Oldham has been at the centre of claims of gangs grooming children for many years, with even Elon Musk joining the calls for an inquiry.

A review published in 2022 found authorities had failed to protect some children from grooming and sexual exploitation but found no evidence of “widespread abuse” or a cover-up.

But the motion, proposed by Cllr Quigg and backed by ward colleagues Christine Adams and Dave Arnott, wants more.

It also cites the fact Shabir Ahmed, ringleader of a grooming gang in Rochdale, was employed by Oldham Council.

It states: “We humbly request this council calls upon His Majesty’s Government to initiate a national public inquiry that investigates the scourge of child sexual exploitation by rape gangs, both historic and current in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham but also across the whole of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

“We request a full national public inquiry is held urgently, as villages, towns and cities up and down the spine of the country have been affected by child sexual exploitation which was carried out by evil rape gangs on an unprecedented scale.”

The Conservatives will point to Ahmed’s case, about which ‘serious failings’ of both the council’s and Greater Manchester Police’s investigations were highlighted in the 2022 review.

They will also flag up the voting down of requests from 2020 to 2024 for inquiries of different kinds and how no council officers, who worked or currently work at the authority, have been disciplined or lost their job for professional failures in protecting children from rape gangs and child sexual exploitation to date.

The chairman of a reconvened council meeting on January 20 sanctioning a Conservative councillor and asking her to withdraw her remarks for using the term ‘Pakistani heritage rape gangs,’ will also be highlighted.

Government quotes will also be used as the group states: “For too long governments of all colours have rejected this much needed national inquiry.

“It is time to hear from the survivors and victims who have been affected, and to expose those organisations, individuals and institutions that either covered it up, colluded in this scandal or stood by and did nothing.”

Oldham will be one of five areas in the country to conduct a local inquiry, with leader , Councillor Arooj Shah, believing it is leading the way.

She said: “Survivors must be at the heart of any inquiry into these horrendous failings. Oldham’s survivors can be confident that by involving someone of the stature of Tom Crowther KC they will have a voice and a stake in our inquiry.

“I’m proud that Oldham will help shape future survivor-led inquiries across the country. It is a small chink of light and hope from this dark era of our borough and our country.

“Child sexual abuse is perpetrated by people of all races and religions and inflicted on people of all races and religions.

“We need to do more to understand why this particular pattern of abuse is more prevalent among some groups of men.

“That’s not racism – it’s common sense.”