Telford sex abuse inquiry to give 'answers' to survivors

An inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Telford will "provide answers to survivors", a council has pledged.

Telford and Wrekin Council has outlined how it plans to conduct its own inquiry and has committed at least £350,000 to fund it.

A Sunday Mirror article claimed 1,000 children may have been abused in the town since the 1980s.

Councillors agreed to commission the inquiry at a meeting last week.

A report, published by the council, said Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group and the West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner have also both agreed to contribute £70,000.

The council said it is "very difficult to estimate the costs" of the inquiry, but plans to set aside initial money from its under-spend for the year 2017/18.

The council's cabinet will be asked to approve the funding and setting-up of the inquiry at its meeting on Thursday.

A cross-party group would then be established to find the appropriate independent body to develop terms of reference for the inquiry, recommend arrangements for the process and appoint an independent chairman.

Senior councillors had called for the government to take the lead on any investigation.

But, at an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday, Labour councillors backed a motion by the opposition Conservative group in a unanimous decision to set up an independent, council-led inquiry.

Council leader, Shaun Davies, said: "From the outset, we have expressed concerns that a council commissioned inquiry would be limited in both powers and scope and would not give victims and survivors the answers they deserve.

"However, we are absolutely committed to ensuring that the process is as thorough and as independent as it possibly can be."

The national Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse is due to visit Telford in the coming months as part of its Truth Project.