The grooming gangs scandal, explained

The Justice Secretary says 'moment of reckoning' is still to come, calling for 'truth and reconciliation'

Young woman in shadows standing under a tree with cityscape behind her
One of the teenagers who claimed to be a victim of sexual abuse and grooming in Rotherham
(Image credit: Christopher Furlong / Getty Images)

Hundreds of suspects have been arrested, and dozens charged in connection with the grooming gangs scandal over the years, but Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has said a "moment of reckoning" is still to come.

"On one level you could say, well, accountability is occurring because these criminals are facing the full force of the law," she told The Spectator. But the trajectory of the scandal prompts a larger question – "why so many people maybe looked the other way" and why it was not given "the prominence that was needed".

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