Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips has been warned that more than 72,000 children may have been at risk of child sexual exploitation across Bradford.

The alarming figure was presented during a meeting at the Home Office yesterday.

Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore and solicitor David Greenwood delivered a dossier highlighting the potential scale of abuse spanning from 1996 to the present day.

They warned the crisis could exceed the Rotherham scandal in scale.

Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore and solicitor David Greenwood hand the dossier to the Home Office

The pair are urging immediate Government intervention as local authorities continue to resist calls for a full independent inquiry.

The dossier outlines years of systematic failures by Bradford Council and partner agencies to protect vulnerable children. It contains disturbing first-hand accounts from survivors, police records and court proceedings.

Despite mounting evidence, Bradford's political leaders have repeatedly rejected calls for an inquiry, most recently in April 2025.

Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe, Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin and Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime Alison Lowe have all opposed investigation demands.

Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy BrabinGETTY

Campaigners argue this mirrors patterns seen in Rotherham and Telford, where abuse was hidden until independent inquiries exposed the truth. Survivors say an investigation into Bradford's safeguarding failures is long overdue.

Moore and Greenwood argue that Bradford's refusal to investigate mirrors troubling patterns seen elsewhere.

"As we made clear to the Minister today, there is an overwhelming case for a full inquiry across the Bradford District, yet we have shockingly never had one," said Moore following the meeting.

He criticised the current system that allows local authorities to block investigations into their own failings.

"If Bradford's political leadership will not act, then the Government must," Moore insisted.

Greenwood, who helped expose the Rotherham scandal, emphasised the need for "an extensive review similar to that conducted by Professor Alexis Jay in Rotherham."

The warning comes ahead of a crucial government decision expected later this year on which areas will face targeted grooming gang inquiries. The Home Secretary has commissioned Baroness Louise Casey to lead a rapid audit on the crisis nationwide.

Moore and Greenwood highlighted a "fundamental flaw" in the current approach to tackling grooming gangs. They argue the voluntary nature of local inquiries allows councils to evade scrutiny.

This system gives veto power to "the very authorities that victims say failed to protect them in the first place," according to Moore.

"If the current system prevents that from happening, it is the system that must be overruled, not the victims," he added.

Professor Jay found that 1,400 children were victims of sexual abuse in RotherhamPA

Greenwood shared a powerful testimony from one of the women he represents.

"It could encourage others to come forward and aid in the healing process, especially for those who aren't strong enough," the survivor told him.

"The thousands of girls, now women, in Bradford and Keighley need this. The authorities owe it to us."

The solicitor emphasised the scale of the crisis requires full transparency.

"The public will never understand the true scale and types of exploitation or the positive and negative responses of the council, police and NHS in Bradford" without a comprehensive inquiry, he said.

GB News has approached the Home Office for a comment.