A KEIGHLEY woman criticised the effectiveness of efforts to combat child sexual exploitation (CSE).

Angela Sinfield, who is campaigning for a public inquiry into child sex grooming in Keighley and Bradford, said cases handled by a unit tackling this crime were not being pursued.

She said the authorities' claimed they only grasped in 2012 that child sex grooming was happening on an organised scale, adding: "They're in denial."

But Bradford Council and West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson hit back, with the council saying it takes every referral of reported sexual grooming seriously.

Mr Burns-Williamson said: “I've previously made £3.5 million available to police for increased capacity to deal with CSE, human trafficking and cyber crime.

“The investment has meant an increased number of victims/survivors being supported and a large number of offenders being brought to justice."

Mrs Sinfield said: "The authorities knew about [the documentary about sexual grooming] Edge of the City in 2004. Myself and a friend were involved in filming and I'd gone to police then to tell them exactly what was happening.

"But when I met this year with Mr Burns-Williamson and asked him when he first realised this was organised crime, he said '2012'. How can they only have known this since 2012?

"This is why we want a Rotherham-style inquiry. We've been let down."

Mrs Sinfield, from Ingrow, said the multi-agency hub to handle child sexual exploitation in Keighley and Bradford, was failing to pursue many of the cases referred to it.

"Families are being told there'll be 'no further action' in cases of sexual grooming, despite there being evidence to take those cases forward," she said.

Councillor Val Slater, Bradford's portfolio holder for health and wellbeing, responded: “Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) is a top priority. "We’ve worked hard with our partners to invest extra resources into the CSE Hub.

"Every referral is taken extremely seriously and the hub is open to in-depth scrutiny.

"The most recent national inspection of our partnership arrangements praised our ‘commitment to continual improvement’.

“We've invited Mrs Sinfield to visit the CSE hub and have repeated the invitation."

Mr Burns-Williamson, said: “CSE and child sexual abuse remain key priorities in my Police and Crime Plan 2016 – 2021.

“CSE is an extremely challenging issue that can't be tackled by police alone.

“We unfortunately can’t entirely eradicate those intent on committing CSE, but can do our utmost to protect young people, giving them the skills to keep themselves safe, and enabling officers and staff to know the signs.

"It's only by working together that we can tackle this.

“There's been a big focus on safeguarding the vulnerable which has led to significant increases in numbers of investigations, convictions, confidence in victims coming forward.

“MP John Grogan and I met with Angela and [fellow campaigner] Caroline Henry. While taking their concerns seriously, we encouraged them to engage with the national inquiry into sexual exploitation, as the focus locally must be on what more we need to do to tackle CSE across Bradford and West Yorkshire, and provide awareness and support for victims.

"I'll support John in raising more awareness across Keighley schools with an event in the New Year.

"I'm working with Parents Against Child Sexual Exploitation to see how we can provide more practical support to parents of exploited children."