Telford: 1,000 children sexually abused after police failed to probe due to racism fears

12 July 2022, 17:05 | Updated: 12 July 2022, 17:56

A report has found over 1,000 children were sexually exploited in Telford over three decades, party because of failings by West Mercia Police
A report has found over 1,000 children were sexually exploited in Telford over three decades, party because of failings by West Mercia Police. Picture: Alamy

By Daisy Stephens

More than a thousand children were sexually exploited over at least 30 years in Telford amid "shocking" police and council failings which were partly due to a desire not to "inflame racial tensions" by investigating Asian men, an inquiry has concluded.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Unnecessary suffering and even deaths of children might have been avoided had West Mercia Police (WMP) "done its most basic job" in acting on reports of such crime, according to findings published on Tuesday.

For decades child sexual exploitation (CSE) "thrived" in the Shropshire town and went "unchecked" because of failures to investigate offenders and protect children amid fears that probes into Asian men would "inflame racial tensions".

Both the council and the police have apologised to the children affected.

Read more: Rishi races ahead as Raab and Shapps back former Chancellor in leadership race

Read more: Priti Patel rules herself out of Tory leadership race

Inquiry chairman Tom Crowther QC said: "The overwhelming theme of the evidence has been the appalling suffering of generations of children caused by the utter cruelty of those who committed child sexual exploitation.

"Victims and survivors repeatedly told the inquiry how, when they were children, adult men worked to gain their trust before ruthlessly betraying that trust, treating them as sexual objects or commodities.

"Countless children were sexually assaulted and raped. They were deliberately humiliated and degraded. They were shared and trafficked. They were subjected to violence and their families were threatened.

"They lived in fear and their lives were forever changed."

Seven men were jailed in 2013 following Operation Chalice, a police probe into child prostitution in the Telford area
Seven men were jailed in 2013 following Operation Chalice, a police probe into child prostitution in the Telford area. Picture: Alamy

He said that "for decades CSE thrived in Telford unchecked" and agencies, including the council and WMP, were "aware of it in detail", adding: "Failure by agencies to investigate emboldened offenders; failure to safeguard put children at risk.

"So far as both the council and WMP were concerned, a number of features appear to have contributed to this shocking failure to address CSE: a focus upon abuse within the family, at the expense of extra-familial exploitation; over-caution about acting in the absence of 'hard evidence' - a formal complaint from a child - about exploitation; and a nervousness that investigating concerns against Asian men, in particular, would inflame racial tensions."

The chairman described a "culture of not investigating what was regarded as 'child prostitution'" and said the force turned "a blind eye and chose not to see what was obvious".

Read more: Heathrow tells airlines to stop selling tickets for summer travel

Read more: Nasa releases stunning new images from James Webb Space Telescope

He said an absence of police action had emboldened offenders, and added: "It is impossible not to wonder how different the lives of those early 2000s victims of child sexual exploitation - and indeed many others unknown to this inquiry - may have been had WMP done its most basic job and acted upon these reports of crime.

"It is also impossible in my view, not to conclude that there was a real chance that unnecessary suffering and even deaths of children may have been avoided."

He also criticised the "glaring failure on the part of a generation of Telford's politicians" not to regard a child sexual exploitation response as an "essential service" in the period before 2016.

West Mercia Police did not properly investigate due to fears of inflaming racial tensions
West Mercia Police did not properly investigate due to fears of inflaming racial tensions. Picture: Alamy

Seven men were jailed in 2013 following Operation Chalice, a police probe into child prostitution in the Telford area.

In 2018, a Sunday Mirror investigation concluded that around 1,000 children could have been sexually exploited in the Shropshire town over a 40-year period, leading to calls for a public inquiry which was commissioned later that year by Telford and Wrekin Council.

Read more: Boris blocks Labour motion of no confidence in Government

Read more: Liz Truss is 'a bit crackers' and 'pretending to be Thatcher', ex-Tory MP says

In 2019, one of the seven prosecuted six years earlier was jailed alongside three other men for abusing a "helpless" young girl who was "passed around like a piece of meat", sold for sex and raped.

The victim, aged just 13 when the abuse began in 2001, told how she was forced to perform sex acts in a churchyard, raped above a shop on a filthy mattress, and violently abused when she tried to refuse their advances.

The inquiry, which has taken three years to conclude, looked at allegations from 1989 to the present day but Mr Crowther said he had also spoken to victims whose experiences dated back to the 1970s.

Updates to follow

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

More weather warnings are in place for Monday after Storm Bert saw five Brits die over the weekend.

Storm Bert bashes Britain: Five die after flooding with more weather warnings in place for Monday

A former British soldier has been captured by Russian forces while fighting for Ukraine, state media has claimed.

Former Brit soldier 'captured by Russia' while fighting in Ukraine

Assisted dying law changes will pass the Commons on Friday, MPs in support of the bill have claimed ahead of the crunch vote.

Assisted dying bill 'has enough support to pass Commons' next week, MPs supporting change claim

Bar staff will be trained to deal with spiking under a new crackdown on violence against women on nights out, Sir Keir Starmer has announced.

Bar staff to get anti-spiking training as part of Starmer's crackdown on nightlife violence against women

Former England ace Wayne Rooney has broken his silence about wife Coleen appearing on I'm A Celebrity! Get Me Out Of Here.

Wayne Rooney admits he's voting for wife Coleen to do I'm A Celeb trials and 'wants to go into the jungle next'

Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Hezbollah fires massive '340 missile' barrage in Tel Aviv after Israel killed 29 in Lebanon

A man in his 80s has died after his car went into the water in Lancashire 0n the latest Storm Bert fatality.

Man in his 80s dies after car goes into water as Storm Bert flooding sees major incident declared

Exclusive
Shadow Housing Secretary Kevin Hollinrake has called on Labour to stand up to the International Criminal Court after it issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Labour should stand up to the ICC over Netanyahu arrest warrant, top Tory tells LBC's Lewis Goodall

Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor (centre) and partner Dee Devlin leave the High Court in Dublin after the personal injury case against him.

Conor McGregor deletes vile rant about woman he raped after civil jury found him liable for 2018 attack

Lauren Laverne has revealed she is cancer-free

Lauren Laverne reveals she's cancer free in major health update

Wales has been hit with severe flooding

Body found in search for man, 75, who went missing while walking his dog near river during Storm Bert

Storm Bert is battering Britain for a second day

Major incident declared as Storm Bert causes 'devastating' floods with homes and cars left underwater

Westminster Bridge has been closed off following the stabbing

Man left fighting for his life after cardiac arrest on Westminster Bridge after stabbing rumours

Zayn Malik has paid tribute to Liam Payne

'Love you bro': Zayn Malik pays tribute to Liam Payne at first show since former bandmate's death

Diane Abbott speaks to Lewis Goodall

'It's literally a life and death question': Diane Abbott calls for more discussion on assisted dying before vote

Storm Bert i battering Britain for a second day

'Danger to life' warning as Storm Bert batters Britain for second day with more than 200 flood alerts in place