Former Keighley MP to appear in House of Commons over child grooming

A former West Yorkshire MP who led a campaign against child grooming will appear in front of a committee of MPs today.

Ann Cryer, former Keighley MP, will give evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee, which is leading a far-reaching inquiry into the issue of child grooming - in particular the alleged failure of Rotherham Borough Council to protect victims.

A report by the local safeguarding children board blamed "deficiencies" among front-line staff.

The former MP, who first publicly raised the issue in 2003, has continued to highlight localised grooming as a problem. The Committee will ask her about the issues she has uncovered in her 10 years of campaigning on the subject and why the experiences of the victims are only now beginning to be understood.

Committee Chairman Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP said: "The former member for Keighley has been campaigning to raise awareness of child grooming for a number of years on. We will be asking her why she thinks it took so long for the issue to be publicly acknowledged as a major problem."