The Home Office commissioned Casey Review is due to be published and it must be a turning point. Ahead of that publication the Prime Minister has confirmed the Government will accept one key recommendation; for a government commissioned national inquiry with statutory powers, the details of which will be published in the coming days and weeks.
This is strongly welcomed and I hope gives weight to the Oldham process which had already begun its initial work, whether that continues as is with additional powers granted, or is brought into the new approach more fully.
Many of the people campaigning on this issue do so from a place of deep personal experience—either as victims themselves or as friends and family members of those affected. They’ve seen up close where the system failed, and they deserve to be heard.
I said two years ago during the parliamentary debate on the Oldham Assurance Review: That means clear and determined action. We must acknowledge the true scale and nature of this abuse, commit to rooting out offenders wherever they are found, and ensure that no survivor is left without the support and justice they deserve.
I have seen all aspects of this; working to get authorities to respond on behalf of victims and survivors, to be open and transparent about the nature and scale of abuse, and to secure justice. I’ve seen too the exploitation of the issue by bad faith political activists, from the early days of the EDL and others who would seek to tarnish whole communities and drive division, to the present day where both aspects are still very much alive, and in the end failing the only people who matter; the victims and survivors.
Over a decade ago I and others began the work of raising awareness and speaking out against this. One article I’ve posted previously from that time stands today, and I’m resharing here https://oldhamcouncil.wordpress.com/…/child-sexual…/
I want to finish where I started with the victims and survivors. The courage and determination they have shown has stood firm, for some over a very long period of time. They must be central to what follows.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 