The MP of the Greater Manchester town rocked by a child abuse scandal says he wants 'some action, not just more words' after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak launched a new grooming gangs taskforce to root out and jail paedophiles preying on vulnerable youngsters.
Labour's Tony Lloyd, whose Rochdale constituency was at the centre of one of a number of high-profile cases, said he had told Government 'for years to take this seriously' and 'deal properly with anyone involved in grooming young people'.
He spoke out as detective turned whistle-blower and child sexual exploitation campaigner Maggie Oliver, who resigned from Greater Manchester Police after claiming the Rochdale victims had been failed by the force, said she was concerned 'this is rhetoric that I've heard before'. She said she also has fears the police and the criminal justice system are 'already at breaking point' and said there was a 'long, long, long way to go' to bring about the changes needed to 'stamp out this horrific crime'.
Maggie met with the PM and Home Secretary Suella Braverman privately in Rochdale on Monday as they launched the new initiative. She said she took with her three survivors of child abuse, from Rochdale, Oldham and Rotherham, and together they discussed the issues.
She told the Manchester Evening News: "Words are all very well and good, but I want to see some action. I have heard all these words before. The survivors shared their experiences with the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary, telling them how they were monumentally failed.
"I believe hearing first hand from survivors has a real impact - they weren't conversations the PM and Home Secretary will forget.
"But we are going into an election period - are these sound bites and PR? I very much welcome that this is being tackled head on and finally police forces are going to to have to record the ethnicity of abusers. But I said to them at the meeting that words are easy and action is what is needed."
Downing Street, meanwhile, rejected accusations the Government's approach to tackling grooming gangs amounted to 'hard-right talking points and dog-whistle politics'.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the party had been calling for stronger measures against child sexual exploitation for a decade, with 'frustration' mounting over the Government turning a 'blind eye' for so long.
The spectre of child sexual exploitation has long hung over Rochdale since nine men were convicted and jailed in 2012 for a catalogue of serious sex offences against vulnerable victims in Rochdale and Heywood. A trial heard that girls as young as 12 were plied with alcohol and drugs and raped in rooms above takeaway shops, and ferried to different flats in taxis where cash was paid to use them.
But they faced a long battle to be believed before justice was finally done.
The PM pledged 'political correctness' would not get in the way of the crackdown, as ministers promised tougher sentences and new support for local forces to protect children from abuse. Part of the plan will see specialist officers assist local police forces to solve child sexual exploitation investigations.
Mr Lloyd MP said in a statement: "The government have been told to set up a task force on grooming gangs and they've been told for years to take this seriously.
"The present Home Secretary and her predecessors have been told by me directly to deal properly with anyone involved in grooming young people. So after all this time, let's see some action not just more words."
Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, also announced plans for a consultation on introducing a mandatory duty on professionals working with children to report concerns about sexual abuse.
Writing on the Facebook page of foundation, Maggie added: "My fear is that whilst this may be a good incentive, it should not be that already crumbling resources that could be used investigating and prosecuting the abusers are turned instead towards prosecuting and investigating those failing to report, a much easier target than the gangs themselves.
"But I'm grateful that this has been said, and that it is at least a start.
"We have a long, long, long way to go to bring about the changes our country demands to stamp out this horrific crime which as the Home Secretary rightly says, is a national shame and especially so as it's gone virtually unchecked for decades whilst successive governments have continued to talk the talk whilst in reality they have been turning a blind eye."
Labour leader Sir Keir said the Government was 'behind the curve' in its plan to tackle grooming gangs - and pointed to his record of helping to bring the first Rochdale grooming case to prosecution when he served as director of public prosecutions between 2008 to 2013.
Speaking on a visit to Hartlepool he said: "Child sexual exploitation is a problem and we should do whatever we can to bear down on it.
"When I was director of public prosecutions between 2008 (to) 2013. With my Crown Prosecution Service, we brought these cases, the first Rochdale grooming case was one that I gave the green light to.
"So there's been a frustration here with the Government because for a decade, we've been calling for stronger measures, things like mandatory reporting, and the Government's turned a blind eye so anything can now be done to improve the situation. Well, yes, good. But I think the question for the Government is 'what have you been doing for the last 10 years?'"
Asked whether ministers were right to record the ethnicity of abusers, the Labour leader told broadcasters: "Well, ethnicity is important and nothing should get in the way of investigating and prosecuting child sexual exploitation.
"But if you look at the overall figure that is, you know, a relatively small element of it. That doesn't mean it's not to be dealt with, don't get me wrong, but if we are not clear about the full picture, then we won’t have a proper response.
“I want a Government that recognises the full response that’s needed here, and a Government that really has been behind the curve now for a decade.”
Pressed about whether the Government was engaging in “dog whistle” politics, the Labour leader added: “I think the Government needs to be clear about the full extent of the challenge.
“Ethnicity is not a reason not to come down hard, and it shouldn’t be. So the Government is right about that. But on the other hand, the Government needs to recognise that that’s a small proportion of the cases we’re dealing with."
Meanwhile Chris Clarkson, the Conservative MP for Heywood and Middleton, said: "We have all heard the heart-breaking stories of young women in our community, put through unimaginable torment and then badly let down by the system which was supposed to protect them.
"I'm pleased that the Prime Minister and Home Secretary are taking tough action to deal with the perpetrators of this hateful behaviour and the people who turn a blind eye to it out of a mixture of indifference and political correctness. No one is above the law and I'm glad that we have a Government which takes that seriously."
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