Today, Telford's MP, Lucy Allan has written an open letter to all Telford & Wrekin Councillors, urging them to support the proposal that a local independent inquiry be held and be held now.
This comes ahead of the Extraordinary General Meeting which Telford & Wrekin Council is holding tomorrow, to discuss a motion on an independent inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation.
In the letter, Ms Allan said:
'We now know that Child Sexual Exploitation is still happening in Telford. We now know the authorities do not always respond as we would hope. We now know that in addition to Operation Chalice, there have been other operations in Telford: not all victims got justice, not all perpetrators were charged, not all those affected have come forward.'
The MP went on to say:
'Anyone who has listened to a family, a victim or survivor will tell you the time to act is now. Not at some point in the future, not based on what may or may not happen within a national inquiry into child sex abuse in UK institutions (IICSA), not some years down the line...Local people elected us and gave us responsibility. People put their trust in us to represent them, not the Home Office officials or council officers; it’s time to take on that responsibility.'
You can read the open letter to Telford & Wrekin Councillors below.