Burnham backs ‘limited’ national abuse inquiry

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has said he would back a “limited” national inquiry into child grooming gangs to compel people to give evidence so “those who may have charges to answer are held to account”

It comes after Labour MPs voted against a Conservative call to have the government set up a national investigation, though ministers have not ruled out holding one in the future.

Labour veteran Mr Burnham said a series of local reviews into abuse in Manchester, Rochdale and Oldham he commissioned were “limited” compared to what a public inquiry could achieve.

He said he was “frustrated” that Westminster politicians had “taken no interest” in the issue when those reports were published.

The calls from the Conservatives and Reform UK for a national inquiry into grooming gangs comes after incendiary comments by tech billionaire Elon Musk, criticising Labour’s stance on the issue.

A review into child sex abuse in Manchester and Rochdale was launched by the mayor in 2017, which later expanded to include Oldham.

The reports, published between 2020 and 2024, found authorities had failed to protect children from sexual exploitation by gangs of predominantly Asian men.

Defending his record, Mr Burnham said the region’s authorities had “faced up to this”.

He said 223 charges had come forward as a result, with “eight people brought to justice last year, and 26 more to stand trial this year”.

But Mr Burnham added: “I do think there is a case for limited national inquiry that draws on reviews like the one that I commissioned, the one I’ve seen in Rotherham, and the one we saw in Telford.”

The mayor told BBC Radio Manchester people were not required to give evidence to the review team, adding it was “appalling” that in the Rochdale review some police officers refused to take part.

“There’s a difference at a local level and a statutory public inquiry. There will always be limitations with what you can do with a local review. The review team could not compel someone to speak to them.”

“That is something I couldn’t do at my level.”

One abuse survivor from Oldham said the review into her town had led to “more recommendations, filed away for no-one to follow”, adding some victims had not been heard.

Mr Burnham said he accepts the Oldham review only looked at “specific allegations”, and he supports Oldham’s Council’s plans to hold a local inquiry “to give more victims a voice”.