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Children in Oldham were failed by the agencies meant to protect them from sexual abuse, a review has found.

The independent inquiry was set up after allegations circulating on social media that Oldham Council was covering up what it knew about Asian grooming gangs in the town.

Investigators said there were structural flaws in Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and the council's systems which were meant to safeguard children.

There was no evidence of a cover-up.

The major report examined the way child sexual exploitation was tackled between 2011 and 2014, and found procedures were not properly followed.

It investigated the alleged grooming of children in council homes, shisha bars and by taxi drivers in Oldham and concluded there was no evidence of "widespread" child sex abuse in those settings or a cover-up but it does point out other serious failings.

The authorities failed some children, notably citing the case of one girl identified only as "Sophie", who was abused aged just 12, after "significant opportunities missed" to protect her, the review found.

She went to Oldham police station to report being raped by an Asian man in October 2006 and was told to come back when she was "not drunk".

The girl was instead taken from the police station in a car and raped inside the vehicle, then taken to a house and raped multiple times by five different men.

The report also details how Shabir Ahmed, the ring-leader of a notorious grooming gang in Rochdale, was employed by Oldham Council as a welfare rights officer and seconded to the Oldham Pakistani Community Centre.

Despite multiple concerns being raised about him and his arrest for the sexual assault of children, police failed to tell his employers.

Both Oldham Council and GMP should apologise for their failings, the report concluded.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan...ester-61863603