Andrew Norfolk, the former Times reporter who exposed the Rotherham grooming gang scandal, has died aged 60, the newspaper said.
Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Norfolk, who died on May 8 after suffering ill health, was “absolutely integral” in helping to change the law so more grooming gang members could be convicted.
Mr Norfolk’s reporting in 2011 revealed a pattern of mainly white teenage girls being groomed by gangs of adult men of a Pakistani heritage after a growing number of prosecutions around the UK.
It led to an inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham, which covered the period 1997 to 2013 and made a “conservative estimate” that around 1,400 children were sexually exploited over 16 years.
The Prime Minister, who was director of public prosecutions when the scandal was revealed, told The Times: “I am deeply sorry to hear of Andrew’s death. He wasn’t just an incredibly talented reporter, at The Times and elsewhere, he was driven by the desire to call our attention to injustice and protect the most vulnerable.
“I was privileged enough to meet Andrew first-hand when I was director of public prosecutions after he broke the news of the grooming gangs scandal. His passion for supporting the victims of grooming gangs shone through, and he was absolutely integral to making sure we could change the rules to increase convictions of the vile perpetrators.
“My thoughts are with Andrew’s family, loved ones and friends. I hope their memories of him and the knowledge of the difference he made to people’s lives are a comfort to them at this time.”
