The ongoing public inquiry into grooming gangs in England is under pressure to produce meaningful outcomes for survivors, its chair, Baroness Longfield, emphasized during a parliamentary session on Wednesday. Speaking before the Home Affairs Committee, the former children’s commissioner for England stressed the inquiry’s commitment to delivering tangible results and ensuring such abuses do not recur.

Baroness Longfield acknowledged the gravity and widespread nature of the crimes under investigation, which have drawn criticism over the government’s initial hesitation to launch a national probe despite calls from opposition parties including the Conservatives and Reform. She affirmed that the inquiry aims not only to address past injustices but also to bring about lasting change, urging an end to repeated investigations of this kind. “We don’t think there should be another inquiry after this,” she said, highlighting the importance of momentum and evidence gathering.

Central to the inquiry’s mandate is examining whether factors such as ethnicity, culture, or religion influenced both the offences and institutional responses. Baroness Longfield pledged the investigation would be unflinching in addressing these sensitive issues. The inquiry will scrutinize how grooming gangs operated and evaluate the responses from various institutions, including the police, local authorities, health services, social care, and schools.

The probe, funded with a £65 million budget, has a statutory maximum duration of three years and is scheduled to conclude no later than March 2029.

Meanwhile, a recent private investigation led by Restore Britain MP Rupert Lowe reported uncovering child sexual exploitation in 85 local authorities across the country. The findings underscore the scale of the issue confronting authorities and reinforce calls for robust action.

In parallel with the inquiry, the government is promoting the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to improve law enforcement’s ability to identify grooming gangs and child sex offenders. Under Home Office plans backed by £9 million in funding, police forces in England and Wales will gain access to AI-enabled intelligence systems designed to analyze large datasets, translate foreign language materials, and identify links among suspects. Officials say this technology will help bring predators to justice “regardless of size or local resources.”

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood described the grooming gangs scandal as among the “darkest moments” in the nation’s history, vowing there will be “no hiding place” for offenders. She pledged to ensure that those guilty of child sexual abuse and exploitation are located and prosecuted, underscoring the government’s commitment to protecting vulnerable victims and holding perpetrators accountable.