Exclusive
Grooming gangs haven't gone away but methods moving online, says whistleblower Maggie Oliver
3 July 2025, 19:03 | Updated: 3 July 2025, 19:10
Grooming gangs continue to pose a threat around the country, but the methods of targeting children are increasingly moving online, says whistleblower Maggie Oliver.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Ms Oliver told LBC's Andrew Marr: "From my experience and the work we do every day, this problem hasn't gone away."
She said children are still being targeted by organised grooming gangs, but the ways the abusers groom children "is now different".
"It's often online because it's safer for them," she revealed.
Ms Oliver's comments come following reports Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is now investigating more than 1,000 grooming gang suspects.
A report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) claims GMP has made “significant improvements” in how it investigates group-based sexual exploitation of children, or grooming gangs, and other types of child sexual abuse offences.
Ms Oliver slammed the report as she accused the police of "marking their own homework".
She said: "Unfortunately, this report today is not transparent. It's gaslighting the public."
Read more: Starmer U-turns on grooming gangs: PM orders statutory inquiry after Casey report
Read more: Rochdale grooming gang ringleaders 'cannot be deported after tearing up Pakistan passports'
Maggie Oliver speaks to Andrew Marr
The 76-page report looks at the current and ongoing way grooming gangs and other child sex offences are handled by the police, health bodies and the 10 councils in Greater Manchester.
It said police have live investigations into “multi-victim, multi-offender” child sexual exploitation inquiries, involving 714 victims and survivors, and 1,099 suspects.
Ms Oliver told LBC: "I think it's impossible now for the authorities to pretend that there weren't massive, monumental failures over decades to protect these children.
"But there is still a reluctance to accept that things today are still very bad for victims and survivors."
