Cooper starts by saying she will update the House on Casey's report, and the actions the government will take to "tackle this vile crime, to put perpetrators behind bars" and to provide support and justice for victims.

On Friday, she says seven men were found guilty of "horrendous crimes" in Rochdale between 2000 and 2006, convicted of "treating teenage girls as sex slaves".

They included taxi drivers and market traders of Pakistani heritage and it has taken 20 years to bring them to justice, she says.

The home secretary then pays respect to the bravery of the women who have spoken up, saying: "They should never have been let down for so long".

Image source, PA Media

Throughout the day, we've been hearing reaction to the weekend announcement that there'll be a national inquiry into grooming gangs - and we're now hearing from Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.

She's making a statement in the House of Commons about a report by Baroness Louise Casey, ordered to look into the grooming gangs scandal.

Back in January, it was Cooper who announced Casey's audit and said it would look at an array of existing and new data - including the ethnicity and demographics of these gangs and their victims, as well as the cultural and societal drivers for this offending.

We'll bring you live text updates of Cooper's statement - you can also watch it live at the top of the page.

Ruth Green
BBC News

It’s survivors like Fiona Goddard, from Bradford, who’ll be watching what happens next most closely.

Fiona’s sexual abuse began when she was just 13 and lasted for five years. Nine men have been convicted of crimes against her but she thinks as many as 50 were involved.

She describes how she was trafficked around Bradford and surrounding areas.

“The majority of these men were in the same communities. They were Pakistani men. They all knew each other, a lot of them were related," she recalls.

“Localised inquiries would be very good for the personal aspect and acknowledging each victim within that community and hearing their stories. But then it would struggle with the aspect of trafficking and inter-linking cities and stuff like that. National inquiries would look at all that type of stuff, but would lose the personal touch and the acknowledgment of the victims.”

But, she stresses that any form of inquiry needs statutory backing.

"They need to have means where witnesses can give evidence anonymously and be safeguarded. They need to have the funding. If you don't put the appropriate funding they are going to cut corners, which means that yet again the full amount of information is not getting next exposed," she tells me, adding:

“I don't feel like the victims' voices are being heard enough. I feel like it's been drowned out. Like the victims are trying to talk, but it is drowned out by the politics.

There's a full generation of people that have been failed and they're still suffering consequences. You need to put that right ... You should be focusing on it not happening again. But you should also be making sure that these people can get some closure and have an opportunity to move on with their lives."

We're hearing from former Chief Constable Simon Bailey, who says it is "critical" for the inquiry to take a victim-focused approach.

"They deserve to know that no stone has been left unturned," the ex national lead for child protection at the National Police Chiefs' Council tells BBC World at One.

Bailey says the National Crime Agency, which will launch an operation targeting grooming gangs, will be looking very "closely" at different cases, adding children's social services and the department of education will have a role to play.

He adds one of the key elements to ensure the inquiry is successful is to ensure investigations are based on "strong local multi-agency" safeguarding arrangements.

Asked by the BBC's Sarah Montague what it says about the police that over 800 cases that have been reopened since the home secretary asked them to review cases in January, Bailey says "failings" in investigations were noted in previous inquiries, going back over a decade.

"We have had to come to terms with that," he says.

Dame Jasvinder Sanghera, an advocate for survivors of abuse says authorities were "dragging their feet" when it came to responding to grooming gang allegations because they didn't want to stoke "community tensions".

She tells the BBC World at One that there is a "real fear of causing offence", as an "overwhelming" number of perpetrators were found to be Pakistani males.

She adds many of the victims were seen as "easy targets".

"We are not protecting the most vulnerable in our society," Sanghera says, adding national inquiry is a "long time overdue", and that for it to be effective there needs to be a clear understanding of accountability and what the penalties will look like.

"We don't want an inquiry were recommendations are going to take years - it has to be timely," she says.

Alison Holt
Social affairs editor

Solicitors have seen a steep rise in the number of child abuse victims contacting them for advice since the major political row over grooming gangs at the start of the year, according to one legal firm specialising in this area.

“Over 450 inquiries have been made with our firm since January,” says Kate Hall, a solicitor at Simpson Millar.

Hall says many had found the headlines and political arguments re-traumatising.

The inquiries have been made by people who have suffered all types of abuse, not just by grooming gangs.

“That will be the tip of the iceberg of people who have come forward to all the firms across the country,” and there will be many others who have felt unable to take that step of getting in touch, she adds.

Sima Kotecha
Senior UK correspondent

A grooming victim from the Midlands has told me she’s worried about a national inquiry “going on forever before there are any results”.

She says other inquiries have taken years to come to fruition, such as the Covid inquiry.

“Is this helpful to victims like me who have waited so long for a government to take this issue seriously, to now have to wait for an inquiry? I’m just not sure it’s the right way to go,” she says.

She also explains how "grooming" being in the spotlight again can cause more pain and trauma for victims.

She urges the police to "get on with finding the monsters” and hopes today’s report marks a turning point in how ministers tackle the problem.

As we reported a little earlier, Downing Street says that local inquiries already announced are expected to become part of the national inquiry.

We've taken a look back at where local inquiries into child sexual exploitation by groups of men have previously taken place, and when:

• Oldham (2019, 2022)

• Oxfordshire (2015)

• Rochdale (2013)

• Rotherham (2014, 2015)

• Telford (2022)

In 2010 a confidential report looking into grooming gangs was carried out in Birmingham, this was later unearthed through a freedom of information request.

Earlier in 2025, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said funding would be provided for new local inquiries in Oldham and four other areas, which have not yet been named.

There has also been a previous national inquiry into child sex abuse, which included a strand on grooming gangs, led by Prof Alexis Jay.

Barbara Tasch
Live page editor

Good afternoon.

If you're just joining us, we're waiting on the release of Baroness Casey's report into sexual abuse carried out by grooming gangs in England and Wales.

The BBC understands that one of the 12 recommendations - which will be accepted by the government - is to order police forces in England to improve their collection of ethnicity data in child sexual abuse and exploitation cases.

Our social affairs editor Alison Holt writes that it will be the detail of how the inquiry will work that will be key for survivors.

The release comes two days after Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced there would be a full national inquiry into the matter.

The government dismissed calls for a national inquiry earlier this year.

We'll also be hearing from the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper this afternoon, as she is set to make a statement in the Commons at around 15:30 BST.

We'll bring you the latest lines and you will be able to follow along by clicking the watch live button that will be at the top of our page.

Judith Moritz
Special correspondent

Something I’ve been asked several times today is why Baroness Louise Casey changed her mind on the issue of a national inquiry when she was previously opposed to it.

I think it’s relevant to understand the timing of her process.

She was originally tasked with delivering her audit within three months, and when that deadline came and went, questions started to be asked about the delay. But Casey held firm.

I understand that she felt it was vital to ensure the voices of survivors were at the centre of her work and she took the extra time so that she could meet with a number of them, to hear their testimony at first hand.

I’m told that it was an emotional but necessary experience - and the views that she heard are likely to have coloured her approach to the report, and the recommendations which she is making – very possibly including the matter of a public inquiry.

The new national inquiry into grooming gangs will see more than 800 cold cases followed up on by the National Crime Agency.

A Downing Street spokesperson says that local inquiries already announced are expected to become part of the national inquiry.

The No 10 spokesman said: "What this inquiry will do is build on the work carried out by Alexis Jay and her independent inquiry to child sexual abuse, but look specifically at how young girls were failed so badly by different agencies on a local level, strengthening the commitment we made at the start of this year to carry out locally-led inquiries.

“By setting up a new inquiry under the inquiries act with statutory powers to compel witnesses, the local authorities and institutions who fail to act to protect young people will not be able to hide and will finally be held to account for their action.”

They did not say how much the inquiry would cost, or provide a timeframe.

They say that the Home Secretary would set out details this afternoon - you'll be able to follow her statement live from the Commons right here on this page.

Inquiry leaves Starmer in an awkward positionpublished at 12:37 British Summer Time 16 June

12:37 BST 16 June

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Once Baroness Louise Casey recommended that the government hold a national inquiry, Keir Starmer had no choice.

Yet it is an awkward position for the prime minister to have reached given his comments at the start of the year - suggesting that some of those calling for a new national inquiry were “jumping on a bandwagon” and “amplifying what the far-right is saying”.

There will be those in the Labour Party now who believe that it would have been more straightforward for Starmer to embrace a new inquiry from the outset.

• Listen to more from Henry on BBC Newscast here

Former detective Maggie Oliver, who resigned from Greater Manchester Police over its handling of grooming cases in Rochdale, says she would not trust a new national inquiry unless it was led by Baroness Casey.

She says she spent seven years waiting for the previous national abuse inquiry, only to find that the strand that looked at grooming gangs was "a complete and utter whitewash with one victim allowed to speak".

" I have got no faith that this next one will be any different unless Baroness Casey leads it. I do trust her, and I don't believe she's going to let us down this afternoon," she tells BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.

"In all my time on this road, I think Baroness Casey has given me the most hope that somebody has listened, has heard, and really is committed," she adds.

Oliver says her legal team is issuing judicial review proceedings against the government today to force it to implement the recommendations from the first national abuse inquiry.

"I don't need an inquiry to tell me what's wrong," she says. "This is about gross criminal neglect at the top of policing, at the top of government, at the top of social services."

• You can listen to the full Woman's Hour interview with Maggie Oliver on BBC Sounds

It's the timing of Starmer's decision that is significantpublished at 12:02 British Summer Time 16 June

12:02 BST 16 June

Joe Pike
Political and Investigations correspondent

There don’t seem to be many people arguing that Keir Starmer is taking the wrong course of action by ordering a national public inquiry into grooming gangs.

Rather it is the time it has taken for him to eventually change his mind which is significant.

Was it report author Dame Louise Casey's decision to switch her approach that swung it for the PM?

Or perhaps it was also a combination of public opinion, opposition party pressure as well as the cold, hard political reality of his situation.

Keir's rivals claim that this U-turn is evidence of the PM's dodgy political judgement.

The Conservatives argue his delay has wasted six months. Labour counter that the Tories wasted the last decade not acting on previous findings from reports into child abuse.

Joe Pike
Political and investigations correspondent

The BBC understands that one of Dame Louise Casey's 12 recommendations - which will be accepted by the government - is to order police forces in England to improve their collection of ethnicity data in child sexual abuse and exploitation cases.

Police forces in the UK currently use a system of six identity codes to record the ethnicity of suspects.

This change would be significant in relation to grooming gangs because in many high profile cases groups of men of Pakistani descent have been convicted of sexually abusing predominantly young white girls.

By collecting more detailed statistics sources say the police and government will be able to identify problems and trends, including when allegations do not lead to charges or convictions.

The detail of the national inquiry will be keypublished at 11:28 British Summer Time 16 June

11:28 BST 16 June

Alison Holt
Social affairs editor

Survivors of abuse who campaigned for a national inquiry into grooming gangs have won the change of mind or U-turn they want from the government, but the detail of how it will work will be key.

So far, we have only heard about the Casey report through the filter of government statements and press releases.

It appears the national inquiry will be able to insist on “deep dive” investigations into local areas where there are historic allegations of abuse by grooming gangs.

Survivors of abuse by grooming gangs will often describe how time and again they were ignored or blamed by police, social workers and health workers when they tried to report what was happening to them.

Really important for many campaigners is that the statutory inquiry announced by the prime minister will have the legal powers to compel witnesses to give evidence.

It will then be the job of the inquiry to look at patterns of behaviour and ensure investigations are thorough. It will also be able to join the dots of what is happening nationally.

Campaigners wanted an inquiry with teeth, but only when we read the Casey report this afternoon and see the nitty gritty of the government response will we know whether they have actually got that.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced a national inquiry into grooming gangs.

He says he accepted the recommendations of Baroness Casey's audit which we're expecting to be released today.

What is a national inquiry? It is an investigation set up by the government to respond to events of major public concern, in this case grooming gangs. The inquiry will be able to compel people to give evidence.

Have there been previous inquiries? Yes. Professor Alexis Jay compiled a report which looked into the sexual exploitation of 1,400 children in Rotherham. She also chaired a national inquiry into child sexual abuse and set out reforms in her 2022 report. There have also been other local inquiries into grooming gangs.

What about the review in Oldham? An inquiry was set up after rumours spread online that children were being groomed in council homes, shisha bars and by taxi drivers.

Casey's rapid review: Following months of pressure Starmer commissioned Baroness Casey to carry out a rapid audit into the nature and scale of child sexual abuse.

What makes Starmer's new national inquiry different? The government will be able to throw its weight behind the investigations, which will extend to Wales and England.

Police operation: There will also be collaboration between the government and the police to launch a National Policing Operation on group-based child exploitation - we have more on that in our previous post.

Why now? Starmer has said he read "every single word" of Baroness Casey's report and had accepted her recommendation to launch a national inquiry.

Image source, PA Media

Back in January Prime Minister Keir Starmer tasked Baroness Louise Casey to review the grooming gangs scandal.

The report was set to be a "rapid" three month-audit into the nature and scale of group-based child sexual abuse, but it was delayed after Baroness Casey asked for a short extension - Home Office Minister Jess Phillips apologised for the delay.

What was the rapid review tasked to look at?

• To look at further evidence including ethnicity data and demographics of gangs involved and their victims, including "cultural and societal drivers" for this type of offending
• To review existing data to "equip law enforcement with the information and understanding they need to combat these crimes"
• To establish what is known at "local and national levels" when it comes to child sexual abuse

As a reminder, Casey's report is to be released today and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will give a statement to the Commons this afternoon. Stay with us for the latest developments.

Richard Scorer, head of abuse law and public inquiries at Slater and Gordon, tells 5 Live that the Labour government should have announced this national inquiry months ago.

He adds that the issues were not properly addressed by previous inquiries.

This is "one of biggest scandals since WW2 and that's why it needs a national inquiry," he adds.

Scorer warns that there is a problem with inquiry recommendations actually being carried out.

"If we are going to spend money on inquiries like this then we have got to ensure the recommendations are implemented".

A solicitor who works with child abuse victims says sexual exploitation by grooming gangs is "still ongoing".

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Amy Clowrey, director at Switalskis Solicitors, says she receives calls from survivor support groups, individual parents and heads of charities that suggest grooming gangs are still operating in the UK.

"I don't necessarily think it's a result of there not being an inquiry," she says.

Instead, she says it's a result of there "not being enough action taken" and the lack of a joined up approach between child protection authorities.

Clowrey welcomes the decision to launch a national inquiry, but warns that media coverage of government announcements on grooming gangs can "retraumatise" victims who are trying to move on.

"It's important, if we're discussing it, that action's taken too," she says.

As a reminder, you can watch and follow BBC Radio 5 Live at the top of this page.