A child in silhouette superimposed over an aerial view of the city of Hull (Image: -)
A major police probe into a grooming gang accused of targeting schoolgirls in Hull could be reviewed by Britain’s FBI after the Express intervened. Humberside Police closed its probe into the alleged child sex gang, centred around takeaways and taxi drivers in the port city in East Yorkshire, for a second time without any charges last month.
It followed almost seven years of investigation and more than 44 potential suspects being identified. Now, after we made enquiries into whether the case was viable for inclusion in a national review of closed grooming gang cases, Humberside Police has made a referral.
Read more: Keir Starmer savaged for failure to tackle child grooming in furious resignation
Read more: Furious grooming gang survivors hit out as police close Hull investigation
Operation Beaconport was set up by the National Crime Agency (NCA) to review cases where police forces in England and Wales, or the CPS, took no further action against suspects and is running alongside The Statutory Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs.
When Beaconport was announced last November, the NCA said 1,273 cases relating to allegations of group-based Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSAE), identified by 23 police forces, had already been referred to the investigation team.
At the time the NCA said Beaconport would only look at cases that were closed by police between January 1, 2010 and March 31 last year, ruling out the Humberside Police investigation as it was axed over a year outside those dates.
However, after we made enquiries with the NCA about any subsequent closures, such as the Hull case, it said it would “review cases where a decision to take no further action against suspects was made after March 31, 2025,” subject to certain criteria.
This prompted Humberside Police to explore if it could make a referral in this case. A force spokesperson said: “Having reviewed the criteria, we will be referring Operation Conference (its name for the case) to Operation Beaconport.”
Last Wednesday the force met with the victims and told them it has now made that referral. A force spokesperson said: “We have had confirmation that the referral has been made to Operation Beaconport.”
Former detective Maggie Oliver helps bring grooming gangs to justice (Image: Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)
After years with no justice, one of the victims, now in her 20s, still fears it may not lead to anything, but is determined to fight on. She said: “I am torn, as I really do want justice, but don’t think we ever will get it or maybe just one conviction.
“In one way I want to let go of it as much as I can, as it’s a lot of stress, but I also want to carry on fighting.”
Former Greater Manchester Police detective Maggie Oliver resigned from her force in 2012 over its handling of similar investigations into grooming gangs to become a key whistleblower, setting up the Maggie Oliver Foundation, which supports survivors.
She said: “We’re still supporting these young women today and we will again be fighting their corner to get answers to the questions they have which have not been answered as to why, once again, their cases were closed down despite a mountain of evidence and their trauma continues as many questions remain unanswered.”
The NCA has yet to confirm it will take the Hull case under Beaconport. Its spokesperson said: “Every referral made by police forces to Operation Beaconport will be looked at on a case-by-case basis to determine if it is in scope for review.”
The Express first broke the story of Hull grooming gangs in October 2019 after a social worker, working for the city council, claimed allegations made by girls were not being treated seriously enough by police and social services.
A victim of a child grooming gang in Hull tells her story (Image: Katie Pugh)
At the time the case was being investigated by Humberside Police for the first time under Operation Marksman from mid 2019. Within a few weeks of our first contact with Humberside Police it made six arrests, with a further 28 arrests made over following months.
However, the investigation was later closed with no charges for the first time in July 2021, leading us to publish a special report detailing three alleged victim’s harrowing ordeals. One disclosed being raped by more than 100 men, including some who filmed her in balaclavas, from the age of 13.
Another disclosed being raped by at least 22 men from 2017, including one in his 30s said to have taken her to a hotel while in her school uniform aged 16 and considered as vulnerable while under a social services protection plan.
It was then re-opened in August 2022, after being looked at by the National Police Chiefs’ Council Operation Hydrant programme which supports police with child abuse investigations, before the latest closure.
Operation Beaconport will review cases to assess whether they can be reinvestigated and identify learning, which will be shared with all police forces. For each case, a specialist panel of officers will identify actions that should be taken to thoroughly reinvestigate any cases as required.