Grooming gang whistleblower Maggie Oliver takes government to court for 'failing to act' after £200million child sexual abuse inquiry
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The government is being taken to court over accusations it has failed to deliver grooming gang inquiry recommendations.
Maggie Oliver, a former detective turned whistleblower, has said child sexual abuse survivors 'should not be asked to relive their most traumatic experiences only to see no meaningful action' taken.
It comes after the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), which concluded in 2022, recommended 20 major reforms to protect children in England and Wales.
These included collecting data relating to the ethnicity and religious backgrounds of perpetrators of such horrific crimes.
A recent report by Baroness Louise Casey found a significant over-representation of Asian men who are suspects in grooming gangs.
It added that while authorities are in 'denial', more needs to be done to understand why this is the case.
Other recommendations still to be implemented include ensuring children in care have the same access to justice as others and ending the use of pain-inducing restraint on children in custody - a practice described in the IICSA report as 'amounting to torture'.
But Ms Oliver, 70, has said that, despite repeated public commitments, successive governments have allegedly failed to implement many of the IICSA reforms.
Greater Manchester Police detective turned whistleblower Maggie Oliver, 70, alleges that successive governments have failed to deliver child sex abuse reforms
She said: 'The government has promised another national inquiry, this time focused on so-called "grooming gangs".
'Survivors have every right to be heard, but why launch another inquiry when the recommendations of the last one remain unimplemented?
'After years of testimony and hundreds of millions of pounds spent, survivors should not be asked to relive their most traumatic experiences only to see no meaningful action follow.
'Our charity has been deeply involved in the wider work to tackle child sexual abuse.
'I have long campaigned for proper national data collection, including on the ethnicity of perpetrators, because without reliable evidence these crimes cannot be properly understood or prevented.
'Survivors of child sexual abuse were promised change. Instead, they are met with delay after delay.
'As a former police officer, I want our agencies to have the tools to effectively combat child abuse. As a mother, I want children to be able to walk the streets in safety.
'Why does our government have to be dragged to court to be forced to protect children?'
The Maggie Oliver Foundation will take the government to the High Court in London on March 5
Her charity, The Maggie Oliver Foundation, will now head to the High Court next week to bring a judicial review against the government.
The 2022 report took seven years and cost £200million.
Chaired by Alexis Jay, the inquiry was launched to examine how public and private institutions failed to protect children from sexual abuse.
Ms Oliver resigned from Greater Manchester Police as a detective in March 2013 over the force's alleged inaction over grooming gangs.
The High Court hearing on March 5 will consider whether the charity's case should be allowed to proceed to a full judicial review hearing.
If permission is granted, the charity said the government will be required to explain its failure to implement the measures recommended by the IICSA.
A government spokesperson said: 'The government is committed to tackling the horrors of child sexual abuse and exploitation and getting justice for victims and survivors. There can be nowhere for these evil perpetrators to hide.
'As part of this work we have set out a clear strategy for delivering IICSA's recommendations, including the introduction of legislation which is now going through Parliament.
Ms Oliver (second from left) is interviewed outside the headquarters of Greater Manchester Police in April 2022
'This includes introducing mandatory reporting, reforming the disclosure and barring system, removing the three-year limitation for victim personal injury claims, and making grooming a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing.'
Ms Oliver was a Detective Constable for Greater Manchester Police (GMP) who worked on the Rochdale grooming gangs investigation.
She blew the whistle on the force for 'covering up decades of abuse' after seeing 'evil perpetrators get away with unspeakable acts, including rape, against children as young as 11 and 12' years old.
Last month she said that during her time at GMP, she saw the authorities 'side with the rapists' who would 'get away scot-free' when young girls plucked up the courage to report child sex abuse to police.
In 2020 Ms Oliver accused the force of 'deliberately ignoring' rape victims and called for officers who turned a blind eye to abuse to be prosecuted.
Her charity, founded in 2019, supports child sex abuse victims with support.
