Groups of men are still targeting young girls for abuse in Rotherham, town's Labour MP claims

• Girls are still being targeted in Rotherham despite abuse scandal revelation
• Town's Labour MP Sarah Champion claims she has spoken to new victims
• It follows damning report which said town council is 'not fit for purpose'
• Last year it was revealed gangs of mostly Asian men abused 1,400 girls
• Abuse was systemic and unfettered, and ignored by relevant authorities

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Labour MP Sarah Champion, who represents the South Yorkshire town, said she now thinks the figures in the Jay Report may be an underestimate

Sex gangs are continuing to prey on vulnerable young girls in Rotherham despite last year's damning revelations of systemic and sustained abuse of more than 1,400 girls, the town's MP has claimed.

Sarah Champion, the town's Labour MP since 2012, has revealed recent publicity had prompted many women to come forward to speak to her about how they had been abused, with around 10 percent of them describing new incidents.

It comes just weeks after a criminal investigation was launched into a damning new report that found Rotherham Council was 'not fit for purpose' and still 'in denial' about the 1,400 young girls who were abused in the town over 16 years.

Investigators concluded girls as young as 11 were left to be abused by mainly Asian men between 1997 and 2013 because the council's staff and politicians feared being labelled racist.

Ms Champion told The Times: 'It is still going on, absolutely.

'It's usually young women who've read about this and recognised that this is what happened to them, but it's also young girls who are still involved.

'They're scared, they don't know what to do and they're asking for advice.'

The MP has been vocal in her condemnation of South Yorkshire Police and the Rotherham Council's past conduct.

This, she told the paper, had led to her becoming a target of intimidation within her own party, and she claimed there were people trying to bully and undermine her, as well as campaign against her.

The abuse scandal in Rotherham is considered one of the worst in Britain's history with experts estimating that 1,400 girls fell into the clutches of paedophiles.

The damning report, released earlier this month, was written by Louise Casey, director-general for troubled families at the government's Communities Department.

She found the council had a 'deep-rooted' culture of sexism and bullying where it would 'shoot the messenger' and sought to force whistleblowers into silence or pay them off.

Inspectors also found the council 'goes to some lengths to cover up information' and said that children in the town were still at risk of abuse.

A council researcher claimed files detailing failures in tackling abuse in the town were stolen from her office and never recovered.

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A report by Professor Alexis Jay last August revealed how some 1,400 vulnerable girls had been subjected to rape, violence and trafficking by gangs of mainly Asian men in Rotherham (pictured) between 1997 and 2013

In October 2014 a Home Affairs Select Committee report called for an urgent investigation into the allegation.

The committee added that the council and South Yorkshire Police ignored 'compelling evidence' about the scale of the abuse.

The report said South Yorkshire Police also failed in its role to protect victims, turning a blind eye to their plight and in many cases holding them responsible.

Police were said to be aware that a victim was 'raped with a broken bottle' and some girls were 'ordered to kiss perpetrators' feet at gun point' but never took any action.

In one case an officer told a victim: 'Don't worry- you aren't the first girl to be raped by XX and you won't be the last'.

NCA: 'Collectively we failed the children of Rotherham' (Related)

RESOLUTE DENIAL: ROTHERHAM COUNCIL SILENCED WHISTLEBLOWERS AND COVERED UP 'UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTHS'

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Rotherham Borough Council (pictured) faces new elections and new management after the damning report

The shocking report, released on February 5, found that Rotherham councillors demonstrated a 'resolute denial' of what has happened - even after the damning Jay Report revealed the extent of the sex abuse scandal.

Louise Casey said her inspection team found 'a council in denial about serious and on-going safeguarding failures' as well as a 'culture of covering up uncomfortable truths'.

She also claimed the council attempted to 'silence whistleblowers and pay off staff' rather than 'dealing with difficult issues'.

The report reads: 'RMBC goes to some length to cover up information and to silence whistleblowers. They (councillors) denied that there had been a problem, or if there had been, that it was as big as was said.

'If there was a problem they certainly were not told - it was someone else's job. They were no worse than anyone else. They had won awards. The media were out to get them.'

The report described how there was an 'unhealthy climate' of 'shoot the messenger' where people 'feared to speak out because they had seen the consequences of doing so for others'.

One whistleblower told the inspectors that no-one would 'dare' use the whistleblowing policy because it 'would come back to bite them in the backside and they would be bullied out of the organisation'. 

Another said they were 'proud' to have blown the whistle, despite it costing 'my job and my career'.

They said: 'I stepped forward on behalf of young people … It cost me my job and my career. I feel it was worth it. I am proud to have done so despite the cost to my health and financial situation… the machine at RMBC doesn’t care, won’t listen and simply exists to cover up and destroy.'

One concerned member of staff said threats had been made towards staff who did not toe the line, while another 'feared for reprisals' if they came forward with information.  

Inspectors found that, in two cases involving whistleblowers, officers considered the risk of potential harm to children as secondary to hitting targets or avoiding uncomfortable press coverage. 

The report also highlighted how staff and councillors were dubious about the findings of the Jay Report itself, with some saying they were 'bruised' by its publication. 

One councillor claimed the accusations were 'biased', 'exaggerated' and motivated by politics. 

She said: 'When inspectors commenced work in Rotherham, we were struck by the overwhelming denial of what Professor Jay set out in her report. 

She added: 'When asked, 70 per cent of the current Rotherham councillors we spoke to (including those in the Cabinet) disputed Professor Jay's findings.'

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