Grooming still happening in Oxford, ex-detective says

The government has already said it would adopt the recommendations made in 2022 by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), led by Professor Alexis Jay.

Mr Morton led Operation Bullfinch, then the biggest criminal investigation in Oxford’s history, which resulted in the convictions of 21 men for offences spanning the late 1990s to the late 2000s.

He said calls for a new public inquiry are “pointless” and would be a waste of money.

“We’ve done the public inquiry. Every single investigation has been thoroughly reinvestigated and checked. We’ve had seven years worth of Prof Jay and her team looking at child sex exploitation and made the recommendations.

“Let’s get it going. Don’t waste your money on more pointless inquiries,” he added.

That is a view echoed by a child sexual abuse survivor, who cannot be named, who said the focus in recent days has been misplaced with much of the debate surrounding whether there should be a public inquiry, rather than on what can be done to help victims.

“It’s naïve to think [grooming] is not still happening and the political debate is not focused on the problem but on trying to outdo one another,” she told the BBC.

“My life has been destroyed by this. People need to focus on us and how to stop this and not on scoring points.”

On Monday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced those who cover up or fail to report child sexual abuse could face professional or criminal sanctions under a new offence to be introduced this year.

But Mr Morton said survivors of abuse often don’t trust anyone – including the police or social services.

He claimed perpetrators have been driven underground by the recent publicity about abuse but are still active.