The grooming cases that cast a shadow over Bradford

Another five men had previously been jailed for their involvement.

Those cases – and the concerns surrounding them – will now fall under the spotlight of the new inquiry which will examine the scale of offending and questions over responses.

Chaired by Baroness Anne Longfield CBE, the Statutory Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs will require individuals and institutions to explain what they “did or did not do to protect children from being sexually abused”, the organisation said.

Survivor Fiona Goddard, who was sexually abused as a child by groups in men in Bradford, was among those to welcome the announcement.

She said: “Bradford has evaded inquiries for many, many years and it’s time that the full truth about what happened comes out.

“It’s one thing prosecuting the perpetrators of these crimes – that should have been a given – but the people that chose to go into safeguarding roles that made these decisions, that weren’t just turning a blind eye to the child abuse, it aided and facilitated it.

“The decisions that were made directly contributed to further abuse.”

She added: “We need to know the why and who and how.”