‘Tip of iceberg’ ...thousands of grooming gang cases reopened

Operation Beaconport to go back 15 years

- BY PAUL JEEVES CrimeEditor

THOUSANDS of allegations pointing to grooming gangs operating across Britain will be reinvestigated after being previously dismissed by police and prosecutors.

The National Crime Agency say Operation Beaconport will be “unprecedented” in its scale.

And it warned offenders there will be no place to run and hide - even if they decide to try to flee the country.

Investigators have already unearthed 1,273 cases of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation they believe need to be reexamined.

But this is believed to be just the “tip of the iceberg” as a full picture of the extent of grooming gang depravity in a 15-year period since 2010 is explored.

The 9,000 alleged cases of child exploitation being reviewed by the Met following a Daily Express exposé will be passed to the independent operation. It is promising to finally “put victims and survivors” at the heart of the criminal justice process.

SUSPECTS