THE Scottish Conservatives have called for an inquiry into grooming gangs to be extended to Scotland.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced an official probe into group-based child exploitation on Monday after the UK Government rejected calls for this earlier this year.
Now the Scottish Tories have written to Cooper warning that “victims of grooming gangs in Scotland must not and cannot be overlooked”.
It comes after Scottish Labour MP Joani Reid also called for John Swinney to launch a grooming inquiry.
Shadow Scottish secretary Andrew Bowie said: "Now that the Labour Government has finally bowed to the huge public demand for a national inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal it is essential that it is truly national in scope.
“That means extending the remit to include Scotland, where there have been well-documented cases of gangs responsible for the rape and sexual abuse of young women.
“The Home Secretary must work with the Scottish Government to agree the scope of the inquiry because it’s imperative that the voices of Scottish victims of these vile gangs are heard and appropriate lessons learned for the future.
“We already know that vulnerable young women were appallingly let down by Labour-run councils, where it appears that partisan political considerations led to the cover-up of the issue."
Reid said there was "less understanding about the scale of this problem in Scotland" and this was "unacceptable".
“If the Scottish Government does not intend to hold its own dedicated inquiry, we need clear reasons why – not the vague responses we’ve had so far. This issue is too serious and urgent to leave unanswered," she said.
The UK Government rejected calls for a public inquiry earlier this year and instead said it was focusing on putting in place the recommendations already made in a seven-year national inquiry by Professor Alexis Jay.
But the Prime Minister announced on Saturday a full probe would be held after a review by Baroness Louise Casey.
The review found suspects were often “disproportionately likely” to be Asian men.
Speaking to journalists on Monday, First Minister Swinney said: “The Prime Minister has obviously taken his own decision on grooming gangs.
“We established some years ago the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, which has got extensive scope and ability to explore many or all of these issues.
"I would give every consideration to an issue of this type if I felt it was necessary to be undertaken and obviously we will do that in the fullness of time.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Child sexual abuse and exploitation has a devastating impact, which is why we are taking action to ensure that children are protected from harm.
“The independent Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry is undertaking an extensive review of child protection policy and practice in Scotland and will report with recommendations for further development in due course. We have also established a national multi-agency Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group, of which Professor Alexis Jay is a member, to consider all UK and Scottish work and make recommendations to ministers accordingly.
“In Scotland, all healthcare and education professionals already have a duty to report child abuse. The case for introducing mandatory reporting more widely remains under active consideration, and we are continuing to engage closely with key partners, including Police Scotland, Social Work Scotland and Child Protection Committees Scotland, on this important issue.”
