While attempting to defend himself over Labour’s disastrous response to the rape gangs scandal at PMQs last week, Keir Starmer mentioned a specific report: “On the question of a further inquiry, there have been a number of inquiries, some of them localised, including the Mayor of Manchester’s recent inquiry.” Starmer cited Andy Burnham’s “recent” Manchester report as a reason not to have another national Inquiry…
Kemi parried, demonstrating she knew that the Manchester report was a problem. But the Tories missed the main point about the CPS and Keir Starmer…
The extensive 173-page Manchester report, part three of the ‘Independent assurance review of the effectiveness of multi-agency responses to child sexual exploitation in Greater Manchester’ – commissioned by Burnham – was published in January last year (2024). It uncovers a truly disgusting catalogue of failures by Greater Manchester Police and the region’s local authorities. As one news story put it at the time of the document’s publication it highlights:
“…apparent local authority indifference to the plight of hundreds of youngsters, mainly white girls from poor backgrounds, all identified as potential victims of abuse in Rochdale by Asian men. Among the details in the report include one victim claiming that girls were forced into a cage and made to “bark like a dog or dress like a baby” by perpetrators she described as “perverts”… GMP also secretly took the aborted foetus of a 13-year-old victim to carry out a DNA test without telling her or her parents.”
The report catalogues the failures of Operation Span, a bungling GMP investigation in Rochdale which began in December 2010 and ultimately concluded with the conviction of nine men in May 2012 for serious sexual offences against children. One victim, known as “Amber” was identified in January 2011 as a “critical witness” to this investigation. Police had previously arrested Amber in 2009 on suspicion of procuring children on behalf of the men who were abusing her, which she denied. In February 2011, the CPS formally admitted she never should have been arrested in 2009…
The report continues: “In September 2011, it became apparent that the evidence that Amber held was critical to the successful prosecution of Operation Span.” So the CPS, working in concert with GMP, decided to indict Amber – a victim of child sexual exploitation – and put her on trial as a tactic to ensure that her evidence was heard in court. The report explains:
“The CPS, in consultation with GMP, decided to name Amber as a co-conspirator in the sexual exploitation of other children and included her name on the indictment for the trial. We understand this was a legal tactical decision by the lead barrister for the prosecution to ensure the jury heard Amber’s critical evidence to the case. This decision was made despite the previous commitments provided to Amber and in the full knowledge that she had been coerced by her abusers. We regard the lack of concern by GMP and the CPS for the impact on a vulnerable survivor as unacceptable. Amber was not informed that she would be named on the court indictment and was unable at any stage of the procedure to defend herself against these allegations. We can find no evidence to indicate that any consideration was given to how the decision would affect Amber personally or what the repercussions of the decision might be for her family. By naming her as a co-conspirator, in our judgement, there was a foreseeable risk to her and her family’s personal safety that was either ignored or not considered. We regard this as deplorable further abuse of a CSE survivor.”
In other words, Starmer’s CPS had knowingly put a sexual abuse victim on trial in a legal “tactic” to try to secure a different conviction. The CPS then attempted what looks like a cover-up:
“Amber’s exposure through the court process had a long-term damaging impact on her welfare. It is disappointing that, although the GMP and Rochdale individual management reviews and the serious case review overview report covered the period up to and including the Operation Span trial, none of these reports mentioned the treatment of Amber and the deleterious consequences of her designation as an offender rather than as a victim. It was not until 12 April 2022 that the Chief Constable of GMP issued Amber with a public apology for failing to investigate the crimes against her and failing to recognise her as a child victim.”
Starmer had previously issued a generalised public apology for CPS failures on ‘grooming gangs’ in 2012 – but he did not mention Amber or Operation Span. Will he apologise now?
Sarah Pochin at Reform Scotland’s manifesto launch event: “I really wanted to come on in a Reform tartan burka, but apparently I wasn’t allowed… One day let’s do one of these events not live-streamed. We’ll do all the naughty stuff…”