Grooming inquiry lawyer asked Home Office 'do you still want me?'

A barrister tasked with helping to develop local inquiries into child grooming gangs has revealed he asked a government official "do you still want me?", amid uncertainty over his role.

In January, the government announced that Tom Crowther KC would work in partnership with the Home Office on the issue.

But during a Commons committee hearing on Tuesday, he suggested there had been little progress nearly three months on.

The Home Office has been approached for comment.

Mr Crowther chaired the inquiry into child sex abuse in Telford, Shropshire, which in 2022 found more than 1,000 girls had been abused in the town over a period of 30 years amid "shocking" failures by the police and local council, according to the report.

The issue was thrust into the spotlight once again earlier this year by tech billionaire Elon Musk, when he used his X social media platform to call for the UK government to set up a national inquiry into it.

The Conservatives and some Labour MPs joined calls for an inquiry and on 6 January Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced Mr Crowther had agreed to work with the government and local councils on the issue of child grooming gangs.

Giving further details on 16 January, Cooper said Mr Crowther would work with the Home Office to "develop a new effective framework for victim-centred, locally-led inquiries", starting with Oldham council in Greater Manchester, and four other pilot areas - which have not yet been named.

Speaking to the Commons Home Affairs Committee on Tuesday about the impact of the Telford report and how it can be used as a template for wider child sexual exploitation inquiries, Mr Crowther said the announcement of his role in January came just hours after he was offered it over the phone by a minister.

He told MPs of how he had asked officials and ministers for further details on what he would be required to do on several occasions.

In a phone call on 14 February with a Home Office official, Mr Crowther asked: "Do you still want me?"

In response, he said he was told the framework for locally-led inquiries would be drafted by ministers and advisers but his comments would be "welcome".

He said the official assured him there would be a follow-up email the following day but this never came.

Mr Crowther said he was now due to have a meeting with the Home Office on Wednesday.

He said he had taken it upon himself to meet the Oldham council leader and last month it was confirmed he would lead the inquiry there.

But Mr Crowther told MPs he was unsure whether the locations of the other locally-led inquiries would be announced by Easter.

A separate nationwide review by Baroness Louise Casey, examining the demographics of grooming gangs and their victims, as well as the "cultural drivers" behind the issue, was due to be completed by April.