London, Oldham, Bradford, and Keighley will be the first locations investigated by an independent inquiry into grooming gangs, chaired by Anne Longfield. The announcement was made on Wednesday.

The inquiry will conduct three-part hearings to investigate Whitehall departments, politicians, local councils, the National Health Service (NHS), and national police institutions. A statement from the inquiry said it will compel individuals and institutions to explain what they "did or did not do to protect children from being sexually abused." The commissioners stated that the inquiry will not investigate every area where grooming gangs operated and that additional areas will be confirmed as investigation phases are set.

The inquiry team said London was selected partly because it has the highest rate of referrals for child sexual exploitation in the country. A statement said the inquiry would assess "the wider network of grooming gangs across London's satellite towns and cities" and "investigate the role of London in the national network of grooming gangs."

More than 800 recommendations regarding grooming gangs and child sexual exploitation dating back to the 1990s have been identified by the inquiry. The inquiry team said there had been "significant inconsistency" in how these recommendations have been implemented. The third phase, focusing on national accountability hearings, will investigate technology companies and the "role of technology in the exploitation of children by grooming gangs."

Fiona Goddard, a grooming gang survivor, said it had been "a long fight." She stated, "Bradford has evaded inquiries for many, many years and it's time that the full truth about what happened comes out." Robbie Moore, Conservative MP for Keighley and Ilkley, said including Bradford marked "a significant turning point."

In 2003, Ann Cryer, then Labour MP for Keighley, raised concerns about Asian grooming gangs in her constituency. She said a group of concerned mothers had alerted her to the issue, reporting that their young daughters were being sexually exploited by older Asian men. Cryer stated that police and social services were not acting on these concerns. After publicizing her concerns, Cryer received accusations of racism, threatening notes, and phone calls, leading police to install a panic alarm in her home.

The inquiry was established following a "rapid audit" on gang-based exploitation conducted by Louise Casey, who recommended a national police operation and a national inquiry into group-based child sexual exploitation. The government accepted these recommendations and committed to establishing a national inquiry. The first batch of grooming gang cases from a national review of previously closed files has been referred back to police forces where potential lines of inquiry may have been missed.

Operation Beaconport, which examines cases between January 2010 and March 2025 involving two or more living suspects accused of sexual abuse, is part of this effort. This operation reviews cases of sexual offenses involving physical contact that have not been previously reviewed and where no further action was taken. As of November, 1,273 investigations from 23 police forces were referred to the National Crime Agency, with 236 prioritized due to rape allegations. A Home Office statement said Beaconport will receive nearly £38 million this year, following £4 million provided last year.