Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will not announce a national inquiry (Image: Getty)
Yvette Cooper will reject calls for a national inquiry into the child grooming gangs scandal, it is understood.
The Home Secretary is expected to announce more local inquiries – backed by the Government – despite calls for a full public probe into the crisis.
A statement is expected in Parliament this afternoon.
Ms Cooper is also expected to ask police forces to reopen so-called “cold cases” linked to grooming gangs and child sexual abuse.
The local reviews will examine the current scale of the abuse, it is understood.
They will be led by Baroness Louise Casey, with a budget of £10 million, and will focus on the “cultural drivers” and ethnicity of the gangs.
Rotherham MP Sarah Champion said: “Looks like the Government is accepting my 5 point plan to prevent child abuse and expose cover-ups over Grooming gangs! Statement approx 2pm – I’ll be all over the details!”
Ms Champion previously called for a nationwide inquiry that would be led locally and probe the failings of authorities over grooming gangs.
She proposed a national “Telford-style” inquiry rolled out by the Home Office to areas that trigger the threshold for greater scrutiny.
The findings would then be fed back to the Home Office for a national response.
“Child sexual abuse is endemic in the UK and needs to be recognised as a national priority,” she said.
“It is clear that the public distrusts governments and authorities when it comes to preventing and prosecuting child abuse, especially child sexual exploitation.”
She set out a five-point plan of recommendations including a national inquiry and a “national audit” to see if grooming gangs are still operating or cases have been missed.
But Andrew RT Davies MS, Senedd Member for South Wales Central and former Leader of the Welsh , said: “Local inquiries on this issue are not sufficient.
“This dreadful scandal was able to continue because of huge issues within our institutions, so we need to understand how the culture within those institutions worked.
“Only with a national inquiry can we join the dots and really get to the bottom of this issue for victims.”