Rotherham sex abuse report torn apart by Rochdale whistleblower: 'Time and time again, nobody is held to account'

Rotherham sex abuse report torn apart by Rochdale whistleblower: 'Time and time again, nobody is held to account'
rochdale digital
Tom Evans

By Tom Evans


Published: 23/06/2022

- 08:26

Updated: 14/02/2023

- 10:56

A report into the Rotherham grooming scandal has been criticised by campaigner Maggie Oliver, after none of the 47 officers investigated were sacked

The police watchdog's eight-year investigation criticises South Yorkshire Police's approach to the abuse of more than 1,400 girls in the town.

None of the 47 officers investigated were sacked due to the findings.


The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC’s) investigation catalogued how teenagers were seen as “consenting” to their abuse by officers, who were told to prioritise other crimes.

South Yorkshire Police (SYP) admitted “we got it wrong and we let victims down” after the report concluded the force “failed to protect vulnerable children”.

Maggie Oliver talking to Michelle Dewberry
Maggie Oliver talking to Michelle Dewberry
GB News

South Yorkshire Police apologised for the findings
South Yorkshire Police apologised for the findings
Danny Lawson

But Maggie Oliver, a sex abuse whistleblower who now runs a charity helping survivors, has criticised the findings.

Appearing on Dewbs & Co, she told GB News presenter Michelle Dewberry: "I could literally cut and paste this report and put either Rochdale, or Rotherham, or Oldham, or Oxford.

"Every single one talks about the same failures: About children being failed, the police failing in their duty.

"And, in every single one, chief constables are wheeled out time and time again.

"They say things have changed and everything's better now.

"But I will tell you and your listeners that from my work in the Maggie Oliver Foundation that I know that is not the case."

Ms Oliver continued to talk about her charity work, with The Maggie Oliver Foundation, where she helps survivors of abuse.

She said: "My team is inundated every day with desperate people who are having the door slammed in their faces, today.

"And yet, we know, time and time again, nobody is held to account.

"For me, the buck stops at the top. Chief constables know what is going on and yet they appear to me as political pawns."

Looking at the national picture, Ms Oliver painted a grim outlook for the country after these findings have been made public.

She concluded: "Throughout the country, things are no different.

"We might be slowly moving in the right direction in that the public now know what is happening. "But you speak to any victims today and they will tell you that the service they're getting from the police, from the criminal justice system, is still not fit for purpose.

"The abusers are getting away and the victims are being treated with contempt.

"There is a lack of understanding of what this abuse does. Victims are still being blamed for their own abuse.

"The system is broken. We need a radical overhaul from the police, to the CPS, to the courts. The whole shebang."

You may like