Telford CSE report to be published in spring

In total, 164 witnesses have so far given evidence to the inquiry

A report into child sexual exploitation will be published early next Spring.

The Independent Inquiry into Telford Child Sexual Exploitation was set up after the Sunday Mirror claimed up to 1,000 girls had been abused by gangs in Telford since the 1980s.

Chairman Thomas Crowther QC said sections of the report will be shared with those criticised before Christmas.

The report will "provide a picture of how instances of CSE have changed over the years", he said.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the former judge told an update meeting 164 witnesses had so far given evidence, but 12 former council employees and 17 ex-police officers or staff had "chosen not to assist us".

Inquiry chair Thomas Crowther QC said the report would be published in "early spring"

He added that 1.25 million pages of evidence, the majority from Telford and Wrekin Council, had been examined.

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Delivering the progress update at the Holiday Inn hotel in Telford, Mr Crowther said: "Large sections of the report now exist in draft.

"It's my intention that, where those sections have levelled criticisms at individuals or organisations, those sections will be sent to key stakeholders for them to comment.

He said the target publication date of "early spring next year" was "further away than I had hoped", but more key material and witnesses had come forward in recent weeks.

Around 1.25 million pages of evidence has been examined by the inquiry