Letter from the Home Secretary to Baroness Longfield regarding the final terms of reference
Published 31 March 2026
Applies to England and Wales
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31 March 2026
Letter from the Home Secretary to Chair of the Inquiry
Dear Baroness Longfield,
Thank you for your letter of 27 March outlining your recommended changes to the terms of reference for the Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs.
The grooming gangs scandal is one of the darkest moments in our country’s history – where the most vulnerable people were abused and then let down by the very institutions meant to protect them.
Today, we are publishing the final terms of reference for this vital Inquiry, and I am pleased to accept your recommendations in full. This publication marks an important milestone for the Inquiry and most importantly, victims and survivors. It reflects our shared commitment to establishing a clear and robust mandate to shine light on past fallings and to ensure such failures never take place again.
This Inquiry will be formally established under the Inquiries Act 2005 as of 13 April 2026 when Parliament returns after Easter recess. Once established, the Inquiry will have full statutory powers to compel evidence and testimony and is a seminal moment in addressing failures of the past, uncovering the truth and holding institutions and individuals to account.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank you and the panel for the significant work you have undertaken since your appointment, particularly your leadership throughout the consultation period and your careful stewardship developing the final terms of reference.
Your commitment to engaging directly and compassionately with victims and survivors is clearly reflected through the terms. It is clear that victims and survivors will remain central to the work of the Inquiry, and your Victims and Survivors Charter will help embed a trauma-informed and victim-centred approach as the Inquiry progresses.
I also want to acknowledge your efforts to strengthen the Inquiry’s areas of focus. The terms provide greater clarity on the examination of systemic, institutional and individual failures, including missed opportunities for intervention and failures of leadership, and place accountability firmly at the centre of the Inquiry’s work.
I have been clear from the outset that this Inquiry must not shy away from difficult issues and will be laser focussed on grooming gangs. The final terms of reference make clear that the Inquiry will examine what role ethnicity, religion and culture played in both the offending and the response of institutions.
I also welcome the clear references to engagement with law enforcement, including the importance of a close working relationship with Operation Beaconport.
I look forward to seeing more on the Inquiry’s workplan later this year and remain committed to delivering the truth, accountability and reform that victims, survivors and communities rightly expect, both through this Inquiry, Operation Beaconport, and our wider work to tackle these horrendous crimes.
Yours sincerely,
[Signed]
Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood MP