Telford child sex abuse: I will support any inquiry on CSE, says police chief
West Mercia's police and crime commissioner today furiously denied accusations that he had lobbied against a dedicated child sex abuse inquiry in Telford.
John Campion is accused of saying on March 13 that he would support whatever scrutiny was necessary to get answers on child sexual exploitation, but on the same day writing to the Home Office to say an independent inquiry was unnecessary.
Today he said that his opinion had not changed. He said he would support any inquiry, but felt that bringing the national Jay Inquiry to Telford would be better than a council-led probe into the issue.
Mr Campion said: “A factual briefing was provided to the Home Office following national media coverage of Telford.
"Any suggestion that it was my intention to influence the Government’s position regarding a separate Telford inquiry is completely untrue and is a wilful misrepresentation, which I would reject absolutely.
"The Jay inquiry will shortly be examining the issue of CSE in Telford, which I fully support. I believe any additional inquiry specifically focused on Telford would need to add to the value and scope of the Jay inquiry, rather than just repeat it. We do not need two inquiries that serve a single purpose. That has consistently been my position and still is.
"It remains a matter for Government, or the local authority, to determine whether to commission a specific inquiry for Telford. I would support any scrutiny that would help victims and reassure communities which the Government, or indeed the local authority deems appropriate and necessary.”
Mr Campion said that although the national spotlight was now on Telford, police and Telford & Wrekin Council had been fighting child sexual exploitation for years.
"The same stories that have shocked, angered and upset so many people nationwide in recent weeks, have had the exact same impact on people in the Telford area for a number of years now," he said.
"This is the precise reason why so much has been done recently to prioritise this awful crime. This is not to detract from the suffering caused to many young people and their families, but simply to demonstrate that lessons have been learned, and continue to be.
“For my part, since my election in 2016 I have committed significant extra resources to CSE. These include specialist services to help victims, community projects to prevent new offences wherever possible, and to make sure our police have the resources they need to investigate and bring offenders to justice."
