Correspondence

Letter from Chair to Baroness Casey

Published 10 December 2025

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Baroness Anne Longfield CBE Chair to the Inquiry

The Baroness Casey of Blackstock DBE CB
1 Horse Guards Road London
SW1A 2HQ

9 December 2025

Dear Baroness Casey,

Following my appointment as Chair for the National Inquiry into Grooming Gangs, I am writing to formally ask you to be an Adviser to the Chair and Panel.

Your National Audit set out a stark and powerful assessment of the national and local response to the scourge of grooming gangs over decades and made the case for a National Statutory Inquiry, which I am honoured to Chair working alongside Zoë Billingham CBE and Eleanor Kelly CBE as Panellists.

Your deep subject matter expertise and unflinching approach, not just shown in your

National Audit but also in your inspection into Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council in 2015, will be invaluable to the Inquiry and to building trust with victims and survivors. I

would greatly welcome your continued involvement on issues including:

  • How the inquiry should identify and select local areas for investigation
  • How to engage with victims and survivors
  • Where to focus Inquiry investigations
  • How to ensure Inquiry recommendations lead to meaningful change
  • Ensuring the ongoing work of the inquiry is conducted in the spirit your Audit intended

I understand that you have other ongoing commitments and so would welcome the opportunity to meet with you following the initial set up of the inquiry and the establishment of a secretariat to discuss the formalities of this role and any associated terms and conditions.

I look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards,

The Baroness Longfield CBE

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