From Denial to Damage Control

The Cowards' Last Stand

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson now says those who failed victims "should face justice like anyone else."

Interesting words from a man who sits atop a force that's been neck-deep in corruption, cover-ups, and politically convenient silence for decades. This is the same GMP that orchestrated Operation Hexagon – not to bring justice to grooming gang victims, but to maliciously target members of the public and prosecute whistleblowers.

What do they say about rats in a sack? Watson knows the walls are closing in. He knows this sudden appetite for justice isn't born of moral clarity – it's the result of relentless public pressure.

You can choose to believe this turnaround just fell from the sky. Or you can accept the truth: none of this would be happening without people like us forcing their hand. They didn't wake up one morning and grow a conscience – we dragged them here, kicking and screaming.

Where Was This Fire Two Decades Ago?

For years, the establishment told us grooming gangs were a myth. They told us our daughters were lying. They told us we were racists for asking questions. And when the truth could no longer be hidden, they shifted tactics – from denial to damage control.

Now Sir Stephen Watson, in his starched uniform and polished boots, wants to play the role of redeemer. He speaks of cultural change, of prioritising child protection, of officers personally visited and briefed. But what he doesn't talk about – what he can't talk about – is why that cultural change was ever necessary in the first place.

It is my hope that where people do bear an accountability, that they should legitimately answer for their decisions and if the determination is that they are somehow culpable then of course they should face justice like anyone else.

The grooming gang scandals that have devastated towns across England weren't the result of a few bad apples or bureaucratic missteps. They were the consequence of deliberate, institutional cowardice. Police officers, social workers, and politicians knew. They had the names. They had the evidence. And they did nothing.

Not because they were confused. Not because they were overwhelmed. But because they were afraid of the political consequences of speaking the truth. Because they didn't want to be labelled bigots. Because they decided that a white working-class girl was expendable if it meant preserving community cohesion or protecting their own careers.

A Force Drowning in Its Own Filth

Let's not forget: this is the same Greater Manchester Police that was placed in "special measures" just a few years ago.

It's the same force that ran Operation Augusta, a so-called investigation into child sexual exploitation, and then buried its findings because it exposed uncomfortable truths. The same force that orchestrated Operation Hexagon – a vendetta masquerading as justice, targeting those of us who dared to speak up about their failures.

Watson speaks of justice, but where was that justice when survivors were told they were prostitutes? When victims were sent home to their abusers? When whistleblowers were threatened, smeared, or worse – prosecuted?

This sudden change of tone isn't a moral awakening. It's damage limitation.

The rats are turning on each other. Senior officers and public officials are starting to talk accountability – but only now, now that the heat's on. Don't mistake this for courage. It's just the instinct of self-preservation.

Over 1,000 Suspects – And How Many More Hidden?

According to the latest report, GMP is currently investigating over 1,000 grooming gang suspects. That's right – 1,099 suspected abusers, across 59 active investigations involving over 700 victims.

And those are just the ones they admit to.

Ask yourself: how did things get this bad? These aren't crimes committed in the shadows. These are systematic, prolonged, organised atrocities, often carried out in plain sight. You don't end up with a thousand suspects without thousands of failures – failures of duty, failures of courage, failures of conscience.

While the force now has a dedicated Child Sexual Exploitation Major Investigation Team, we must remember – it was created in 2021. That's over a decade after the Rochdale scandal broke. A decade. That's how long it took the police to admit this crisis even existed on the scale we all knew it did.

Burnham's Whitewash

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham was quick to praise the "widespread culture change" he claims to have ushered in. He speaks of assurance reviews, new procedures, and a newfound resolve to protect children.

But this is the same Burnham who, when pushed to call for a fully independent inquiry, dragged his feet. The same Burnham who tried to control the narrative, commissioning reviews written by people already embedded in the system. Reviews that downplayed the role of ethnicity, that tiptoed around the real failures, that prioritised political messaging over accountability.

Let's not pretend Andy Burnham is a saviour. He's a PR man trying to survive a scandal.

The real push for justice has never come from men like Burnham or Watson. It has come from the parents who refused to be silenced. From the survivors who broke down in interviews to tell their stories again and again. From the campaigners who have been threatened, doxxed, and demonised – for having the audacity to demand justice.

The "Difficult" Conversation They Still Won't Have

Sir Stephen Watson acknowledged that the role of ethnicity in grooming gang crimes is a "legitimate question." He even suggested it could be addressed in a future national inquiry.

This, again, is too little, too late.

We already know what the data shows. We've had report after report confirming the overrepresentation of British Pakistani men in group-based grooming cases. We've had warnings from former Home Secretary Sajid Javid, and from reviews that explicitly criticised the "denial" and political squeamishness surrounding this issue.

And yet, even now, we're told to wait. To be careful. To keep the conversation within certain bounds. Why? Because the truth is still politically inconvenient.

What's needed isn't more delay or deflection. What's needed is honest, unflinching national reckoning. One that doesn't sanitise the demographics or twist the language into meaningless euphemisms.

Councils Still Covering Up

The report also revealed that local councils are still obstructing police investigations. Manchester City Council was cited as taking months to hand over documents, and when they finally did, the files were so redacted they were "barely legible."

Let that sink in.

Even now, in 2025, with the public watching, they are still covering up. Still more concerned with their own liability than the safety of children. Still dragging their heels when it comes to transparency. This isn't incompetence. This is complicity.

Real Change or Just Another Smokescreen?

The inspectors claim GMP has made "significant improvements." That may be true in operational terms – new teams, better data collection, stronger oversight.

Maggie Oliver is right to describe this as a smokescreen. A better-organised cover-up is not justice. Real change doesn't come from internal memos or media briefings. It comes from consequences.

• Where are the prosecutions of those who covered up abuse?
• Where are the sackings of officers who ignored victims?
• Where are the resignations of council leaders who destroyed evidence, or labelled victims "child prostitutes"?

Until we see that – until the enablers face the same scrutiny as the abusers – this "progress" is nothing more than a rebranding exercise.

The Truth Is Simple

Greater Manchester Police didn't change because they saw the light. They changed because we turned up the heat.

Because victims kept speaking. Because whistleblowers wouldn't be silenced. Because communities, white working-class and ethnic minority alike, refused to be lied to any longer. Because campaigners forced the issue into the public square and refused to leave.

So don't be fooled by their press conferences and polished statements. And don't let them rewrite history to make themselves the heroes of a story they tried everything to bury.

We haven't won. But we've made them afraid. Afraid of the truth. Afraid of us. And that's exactly where we need them.

What happens next is not up to them. It is up to us.

I'm Raja Miah. I spent six years leading a small team that exposed how politicians protected the rape gangs. I am responsible for leading the team that forced the national inquiry into the cover up of the Pakistani Rape Gangs.

If you’ve followed my work, you’ll also know they’ve tried, again and again, to silence me. They’ve failed. I’ve exposed the evidence of how they sold children for votes. I’ve laid bare the mechanics of the cover-up.

Now the question is: will enough of you stand with me?

If we act together, we stand a real chance of not just of holding every complicit official to account, but of ensuring this never happens again.

Join the campaign that forced this inquiry into existence. If enough of us stand up, then politicians will go to prison, this government will fall and the Labour Party will be finished.

If there’s even a one-in-a-million chance of achieving that, would you not take 10 seconds to stand with me?
🔴 Subscribe – it’s free. If you can afford it, support the work with just 75p/week: £3/month or £30/year.

This is the fight.
This is the moment.
There will not be another.

🔴 Prefer a one-off contribution?
👉 http://BuyMeACoffee.com/recusantnine
👉 http://paypal.me/RecusantNine

No corporate sponsors. No political party backing. Just you and thousands of ordinary people who know what’s at stake. Look how far we’ve come already. We are this close. Help finish this.

- Raja Miah MBE