Cameron: sex ring case 'dreadful'

Prime Minister David Cameron speaks during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons
16 May 2012

The Rochdale sex grooming scandal was a "truly dreadful case" which must be investigated further, David Cameron has said.

The Prime Minister spoke out a week after nine Asian men were jailed for plying white girls as young as 13 with drink and drugs so they could "pass them around" and use them for sex.

He told MPs: "There are particular problems in particular communities ... and we need to face up to these problems if we are going to deal with them."

Mr Cameron said England's Children Commissioner Maggie Atkinson would investigate the girls' plight and he would consider launching a serious case review.

Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, he told the Commons: "It is a truly shocking case and we need to look very carefully at what went wrong. We need to look at why information wasn't passed more rapidly from children's homes to police, why action wasn't taken more rapidly."

He added: "It's very important we get to the bottom of a truly, truly, dreadful case."

Rochdale's Labour MP Simon Danczuk said the victims "went to hell and back" to relive their ordeal through giving evidence to convict the men.

He said politicians rarely listened to such girls, who he said were denied access to power and influence.

Labour MP Tony Lloyd, who plans to quit Parliament and stand as the city's police commissioner, urged Mr Cameron to consider an inquiry into whether privately-run care homes were well-funded with properly-trained staff - and demanded a better inspection regime.

He said: "Offering our looked-after children a safe and secure place to live must be paramount."

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