Independent MP Rupert Lowe’s 219-page report on UK grooming gangs has exposed the horrific scale of exploitation of at least 250,000 young girls, predominantly by Pakistani Muslim networks, highlighting decades of institutional failures

Independent MP Rupert Lowe, survivors of child sexual exploitation, and authorities across multiple local councils confronted the grim findings of a major independent inquiry in Westminster on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, as the 219-page Rape Gang Inquiry report detailed the systematic abuse of thousands of vulnerable young girls over several decades.

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The report estimates that at least 250,000 mostly white British girls, many as young as 11, suffered repeated rape, gang rape, trafficking, and torture in at least 149 local authority areas.

Perpetrators were overwhelmingly men from Muslim backgrounds, predominantly of Pakistani heritage, though smaller numbers involved individuals from Somali, Iranian, Syrian, Turkish, and other origins.

Tactics typically involved grooming with gifts, alcohol, and drugs before victims were collected from schools, care homes, or streets and taken to various locations for abuse.

Many endured violence, blackmail through recordings, racial slurs, forced abortions, or even trafficking abroad.

This independent inquiry builds on earlier official investigations, such as the 2014 Jay Report into Rotherham, which identified around 1,400 victims in that town alone, and similar probes in places like Telford and Oxford.

Those reviews repeatedly highlighted failures by police, councils, and social services, often attributed to concerns over racism accusations that allegedly led to suppressed evidence and inadequate action.

Rupert Lowe and the inquiry team have called for stronger safeguarding, tougher sentences, deportations of foreign national offenders, and greater institutional accountability.

The report stresses the need to address cultural and religious patterns without fear, while acknowledging the suffering of victims and their families.

Critics of the report have questioned aspects of its methodology and broader estimates, noting challenges in compiling precise national figures due to inconsistent ethnicity recording.

Official audits, such as Baroness Casey’s review, confirm over-representation of certain groups in some areas but emphasise the complexity of the issue.