Front page of today’s Times:

Rotherham: politicians and police ‘abused girls’

Andrew Norfolk Chief Investigative Reporter

Published 22 minutes ago

A corrupt police officer and two councillors have been accused of having sex with victims of one of Britain’s worst child abuse scandals, The Times can reveal.

The claims relate to politicians and a constable in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, where an estimated 1,400 girls were subjected to serious sexual offences over 16 years.

The explosive allegations are revealed by The Times on the day that long-awaited findings from an independent inspection of the local authority are due to be published. The report is expected to make damning criticism of the council, which risks being stripped of its powers.

Complaints against the two Rotherham councillors are understood to have been sent to the National Crime Agency, which is investigating child-sex crimes in the town. One of the councillors is still serving.