Commenting on the statement from Gwent Police that eight British nationals have been charged with more than 30 offences as part of an investigation into group-based child sexual exploitation, Darren Millar MS, Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, said:
"These are horrific allegations representing an unforgivable betrayal of children who should have been protected by the care system.
“We now have reports of abuse in Gwent, Swansea, Rhyl and rural Wales. It is essential that the Welsh Government commissions a Wales-wide inquiry to ensure that no stone is left unturned in exposing the extent of these crimes.
"That inquiry must examine the actions of schools, local authorities, the NHS and other public bodies in Wales and their failures to protect vulnerable children. We need to understand why opportunities to intervene were missed and whether institutional failings allowed abuse to continue unchecked.
“We must ensure justice for victims, hold perpetrators to account and get to grips with any systemic failings that allowed such abuse to take place.”
Peter Fox MS, Shadow Minister for Local Government and Communities, said:
“I was deeply shocked when I heard this news. These poor girls were in care and had no family to turn to.
“Our hearts go out to the victims who have bravely come forward during this investigation. We all feel so much for them. What they had been subjected to is sickening and abhorrent.
“They have suffered so much and for too long. Justice must now prevail and the evil people who carried out these crimes must feel the full weight of the law.”
