[DanaC]

Notice the Rochdale connection - along with Rotherham that is the other hotspot town for the childgrooming cases involving asian men and young girls. That said, in Rochdale where the grooming took place around 2008/9 the men responsible were prosecuted and it became a matter of fierce public debate.

Rochdale is and was a place of serious racial tension, and one of the results ofthat case was that the BNP (British National Party) made a good deal of political capital out of the ethnicity of the offenders. It became the main tranch of their political campaigning in that area. Which may partly explain the higher level of concern amongst the Rotherham authorities over the race issue.

Not that that excuses them in any way whatsoever.

Also - I haven't even touched on the other scandals involving prominent figures within the entertainment industry - most notably Jimmy Savile and allegations that he was part of a much wider ring of abuse - involving hospitals, secure schools, Broadmoor secure pyschiatric hospital and other places. Bear in mind that Savile had 'friends' in very high places.

The government recently did an about turn and announced a full scale and wide ranging enquiry into abuse at the highest levels - then they announced the person to head up that enquiry. Lady Butler-Schloss - an eminent former high court judge with a history of looking into abuse. The problem with that though, was that not only had she been implicated in trying to reduce damage to the catholic church during an abuse enquiry (telling a victim not to mention a bishop because 'the press would love a bishop' but also her late brother was one of the people suspected of having been involved in abuse.

She withdrew from the enquiry two days after being named to head it up and they are still trying to find someone else to take her place.