Scottish Government announces grooming gangs inquiry

Key Points

Scotland’s education secretary Jenny Gilruth has announced an inquiry into child abuse grooming gangs
Professor Alexis Jay who wrote the damning report that revealed mass abuse in Rotherham will lead the Scottish inquiry
It comes after the Scottish Government faced pressure to launch a national probe from victims and opposition parties
A row over grooming gangs was ignited in January 2025 after tech billionaire Elon Musk launched a barrage of attacks on the Prime Minister
Sir Keir resisted calls for a national inquiry for months before finalling announcing one would go ahead in June

The Scottish Government has announced a public inquiry into the operation of grooming gangs in Scotland.

Professor Alexis Jay who wrote the damning report that revealed mass abuse in Rotherham will lead the investigation.

It comes after First Minister John Swinney faced pressure to launch an inquiry from victims and opposition parties.

Education secretary Jenny Gilruth said the inquiry would focus on the prevalence of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation now and in the recent past, whether brought forward by survivors or relating to findings from an ongoing independent review.

A review to understand the scale of the abuse was announced in December involving several public bodies, including the care and schools watchdogs.

Police Scotland is working to identify any child grooming gangs reported to the force since 2013 as part of a national audit.

Detectives are looking at cases involving one or more victims and two or more suspects where the victim is under the age of 18.

Professor Jay, an academic at the University of Strathclyde, is an expert in child protection, best known for chairing the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales which published its final report in 2022.

She also wrote the damning report that revealed at least 1,400 children were sexually exploited in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

“The sexual and criminal exploitation of children entails abuse of the most horrific kind, usually at the hands of many perpetrators,” Professor Jay said.

“The Public Inquiry will get to the truth of exploitation in Scotland in the past and the present, in order to prevent it in the future.

“It will examine the extent to which public authorities and other organisations effectively identify the risk of child exploitation and take action to protect children. I will engage with victims and survivors early, as the terms of reference are formed.”

Last year, the UK Government announced an independent inquiry into grooming gangs in England and Wales.

A national row over grooming gangs was ignited in January 2025 after tech billionaire Elon Musk used his X social media platform to launch a barrage of attacks on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and safeguarding minister Jess Phillips.

It followed the Government’s decision to decline a request from Oldham Council for a Whitehall-led inquiry into child sexual abuse in the town.

Sir Keir resisted calls for a national probe for months, with the Government insisting its focus was on putting in place the outstanding recommendations already made in a seven-year national inquiry by Professor Jay.

But in June 2025, Sir Keir confirmed a statutory inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal would be held.

Baroness Anne Longfield will lead the inquiry over three years with a budget of £65 million, the Home Secretary announced in December.