Greater Manchester Police failures have left paedophile ring at large for seven years, whistleblower claims
A whistleblower who resigned from Greater Manchester Police has told Sky News the force’s child protection investigation unit where she worked is “not fit for purpose” and that failures have left a paedophile ring at large for at least seven years.
In her resignation letter last year, she said: “I don’t feel like we’re making things better for these kids. In fact, I think we’re making it worse.”
She also said that her work with the victims only served to “re-traumatise them” and “leave them hanging.”
Assigned a major operation into child sex offenders in Manchester in 2022, the detective constable we are calling “Lucy” says failures could have allowed the continuation of what she says “professionals have called some of the worst abuse they’ve ever seen.”
Jason Farrell interviews ‘Lucy’. Pic: Andy Portch
She first noticed a problem when she picked up the investigation and realised there had been two previous complaints involving the same suspects and other children, dating back to 2018. One where the case had been closed.
She told Sky News: “A lot of the professional material such as children’s records, medical records and school records had not been requested, had not been read because if they had, they would say that many of the children had reported multiple disclosures of sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect and psychological torture.”
The 2018 case was reopened. Lucy realised she was leading a complex investigation with very young victims, whose trust she needed to gain, but says she was managing numerous caseloads and was not given the time or the resources to do the job.
She said: “I wanted to go and see them regularly, but the time just wasn’t made available to me. And so, you’d go and speak to them, you’d bring it all back up, re-traumatise them, and then you’d leave them hanging.
“I had a Teams meeting with the DCI. He’s making all these promises to me. ‘I’ll get you the resources’. It just didn’t happen.”
Lucy says victims’ experiences are being made worse. Pic: Andy Portch
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She added: “You just got a lot of shoulder shrugging. You know, ‘it’s out of my hands’ sort of thing.
“I know that superintendent level knew about this. So it goes that far up. You start to realise it doesn’t matter how far up you go, nobody’s going to listen.”
Last week a report into Greater Manchester Police (GMP) found multiple failures in a grooming gang investigation in Rochdale over a decade ago.
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Former detective Maggie Oliver
At a news conference, Chief Constable Steve Watson said “lessons had been learned”, but Maggie Oliver, the detective who blew the whistle on the scandal, said he was wrong – and told the room about recently resigned officer Lucy.
Speaking directly to the chief constable sat in front of her, Ms Oliver said: “That officer could have been me 12 years ago.
“She had been banging on doors. She has been desperately trying to get a very serious case where many, many children are being abused, taken seriously.”
‘It’s still happening’
Lucy says the force hasn’t learned from its failings.
“It is still happening. It’s appalling the treatment these victims get… And it’s not just failing the victims, it’s failing the community.”
She says she felt she had “the workload of six or seven people”, and that she was encouraged to focus on just two victims rather than look at the bigger picture, which echoes complaints made by Ms Oliver in the Rochdale case over a decade ago. Although GMP has subsequently told us it is investigating a larger number of victims.
‘Lucy’ resigned from Greater Manchester Police. Pic: Andy Portch
Lucy says it began to impact her mental health.
“I just felt like my head was buzzing. I felt like I couldn’t sleep, even though I was exhausted. At one point I felt like I was losing my marbles, and it was just too much for me.
“I thought, I can’t change anything. I can’t keep saying the same thing. It’s draining the life out of me.
“The thought that I was failing them, it was just too much for me.”
After five years in the force, Lucy resigned, putting in a formal complaint about the investigation.
She says: “I sent an email. I said this resourcing issue is bigger than all of us. I said, ‘But I don’t feel like we’re making things better for these kids. In fact, I think we’re making it worse.’
“And I said, ‘I don’t think this child protection unit is fit for purpose’. And my inspector didn’t even speak to me about it. She just pretended like it hadn’t happened.”
She says morale among the other staff is low.
“It’s just awful. You know, people just want to leave. People are crying because of the problem and in my exit interview, I said ‘you haven’t got enough staff’.”
GMP headquarters. Pic: Andy Portch
Calls for serious case review
She is now calling for a serious case review into the investigation she was working on.
“I think a lot of offenders were involved. I think if they were allowed to follow the lines of inquiry, I think they would find it was a massive, massive job. It’s a paedophile ring. That’s what I think it is.” she says.
“It’s 20 months since I was involved. It’s seven years since the first child came forward. So that’s a failure.”
Greater Manchester Police’s Chief Constable Steven Watson
A GMP spokesperson said: “We are concerned to hear how this former detective feels about this operation.
“GMP has a significant number of officers across the force working in child protection roles, with large increases in staff allocated to these roles in recent years. It is absolutely accurate to say that the situation is much different to GMP’s approach in the past.
“However, we are not complacent. The former officer escalated her concerns to the chief constable’s office last week.
“The issues raised, and the investigation mentioned, are being reviewed by a detective superintendent and the assistant chief constable who holds the public protection and serious crime portfolio.”
They added: “In respect of this case, crucially, we can confirm that the children in question had been subject to safeguarding arrangements for several years before reports of non-recent abuse were made.
“The children involved were protected and are all safe and well and have been throughout the course of the investigation.
“A team of four officers continue to investigate reports of domestic incidents. Two suspects remain under investigation and reviews have been taking place every six weeks since January 2023.”
Just a cursory glance at the headlines, and it’s clear the disgrace and downfall of Prince Andrew is not over.
So what next for the man and the monarchy?
The King might have hoped his involvement showed direct action had been taken.
He certainly does not want any distraction from his upcoming state visit to the Vatican.
But that might be wishful thinking.
Now the Met Police has been dragged in too. Forced to look into reports in the Mail on Sunday that Andrew asked his protection officer to smear his accuser, Virginia Giuffre.
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Police ‘looking into’ Andrew claims
The prince allegedly wanted his officer “to dig up dirt” and told an aide at the palace what he had done.
Let’s be clear: back then, Andrew’s security was funded by the taxpayer.
So are we reaching the endgame, and what does that look like?
Andrew might have given up the use of his title, Duke of York, and other honours too.
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But what about his style ‘prince’? Some want that ditched too.
It’s a complicated but not impossible process. Andrew could, of course, just stop using it voluntarily.
Some want him to give up his home, too. For a non-working royal, the stately Royal Lodge, with its plum position on the Windsor Estate, is an uncomfortable optic.
Andrew’s wider family is worried. The Sunday Times has reported that the Prince of Wales wants him cut off completely.
With the reputation of the monarchy at risk, William does not want to appear weak. He’s putting loyalty to “the firm” firmly above his familial relationships.
Prince Andrew has always strongly denied the allegations, and restated on Friday: “I vigorously deny the accusations against me”. Sky News has approached him for comment on the fresh allegations set out in the Mail on Sunday.
But with Virginia Giuffre’s tragic death and posthumous memoir due out on Tuesday, Buckingham Palace will be braced for more scandal.
When Andrew gave up his titles, there was certainly a sense of relief.
There is now a sense of dread over what else could emerge.
Sky News’ royal commentator has explained why Prince Andrew has not given up being called a prince – while another expert has said “the decent thing” for him to do would be “go into exile” overseas.
Andrew announced on Friday that he would stop using his Duke of York title and relinquish all other honours, including his role as a Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
However, he will continue to be known as a prince.
Royal commentator Alastair Bruce said that while Andrew’s other honours and titles were conferred to him later in life, he became a prince when he was born to Elizabeth II while she was queen.
He told presenter Kamali Melbourne: “I think […] that style was quite special to the late Queen,” he said. “And perhaps the King, for the moment, thinks that can be left alone.
“It’s a matter really for the King, for the royal household, perhaps with the guidance and advice of government, which I’m sure they are taking.”
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Who pushed Andrew to drop his titles?
Since Andrew’s announcement, there has been speculation over whether any further measures will be taken – and one author has now called for him to “go into exile”.
Andrew Lownie, author of The Rise And Fall Of The House Of York, said: “The only way the story will go away is if he leaves Royal Lodge, goes into exile abroad with his ex-wife, and is basically stripped of all his honours, including Prince Andrew.”
Royal Lodge is the Windsor mansion Andrew lives in with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, who has also lost her Duchess of York title.
Andrew and his former wife continue to live on the Windsor estate. Pic: Reuters
Mr Lownie continued: “He makes out he’s an honourable man and he’s putting country and family first. Well, if he is, then the optics look terrible for the monarchy. A non-working royal in a 30-room Crown Estate property with a peppercorn rent.
“He should do the decent thing and go. And frankly, he should go into exile.”
Mr Lownie added if the Royal Family “genuinely want to cut links, they have to put pressure on him to voluntarily get out”.
Read more from Sky News:
How Prince Andrew allegations unfolded
William and Camilla’s influential roles
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Windsor’s take on Prince Andrew
Andrew’s decision to stop using his titles was announced amid renewed scrutiny of his relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and fresh stories linked to the late Virginia Giuffre.
Ms Giuffre, who was trafficked by Epstein, alleged she was sexually assaulted by Andrew on three occasions – which he has always vigorously denied.
The former duke paid to settle a civil sexual assault case with Ms Giuffre in 2022, despite insisting he had never met her.
Bereaved families whose loved ones took their own lives after buying the same poison online have written to the prime minister demanding urgent action.
Warning: This article contains references to suicide
The group claims there have been “multiple missed opportunities” to shut down online forums that promote suicide and dangerous substances.
They warn that over 100 people have died after purchasing a particular poison in the last 10 years.
Among those who have written to Downing Street is Pete Aitken, whose daughter Hannah was 22 when she took her own life after buying the poison from a website.
Hannah was autistic and had ADHD. She was treated in six different mental health hospitals over a four-year period.
Mr Aitken recently spoke to Sky News around the second anniversary of Hannah’s death.
He said: “Autistic people seem to be most vulnerable to this kind of sort of poison and, you know, wanting to take their lives.”
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Pete Aitken speaking to Sky News
Sky News is not naming the poison, but Hannah was able to buy a kilogram of it online. Just one gram is potentially fatal.
“There’s this disparity between the concentration required for its legitimate use and that required for ending your life. And it seems quite clear you could make a distinction,” Mr Aitken said.
Analysis from the Molly Rose Foundation and the group Families and Survivors to Prevent Online Suicide Harms says at least 133 people have died because of the poison. It also says coroners have written warnings about the substance on 65 separate occasions.
The report accuses the Home Office of failing to strengthen the regulation of the poison and says not enough is being done to close dangerous suicide forums online.
Lawyers representing the group want a public inquiry into the deaths.
In a joint letter to the prime minister, the families said: “We write as families whose loved ones were let down by a state that was too slow to respond to the threat.
“This series of failings requires a statutory response, not just to understand why our loved ones died but also to prevent more lives being lost in a similar way.”
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The group’s lawyer, Merry Varney, from Leigh Day, said: “The government is rightly committed to preventing deaths through suicide, yet despite repeated warnings of the risks posed by an easily accessible substance, fatal in small quantities and essentially advertised on online forums, no meaningful steps have been taken.”
Hannah’s dad is one of the family members to have signed the letter
A government spokesperson said: “Suicide devastates families and we are unequivocal about the responsibilities online services have to keep people safe on their platforms.
“Under the Online Safety Act, services must take action to prevent users from accessing illegal suicide and self-harm content and ensure children are protected from harmful content that promotes it.
“If they fail to do so, they can expect to face robust enforcement, including substantial fines.”
They added that the position is “closely monitored and reportable under the Poisons Act, meaning retailers must alert authorities if they suspect it is being bought to cause harm”.
“We will continue to keep dangerous substances under review to ensure the right safeguards are in place,” they said.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
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