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Manchester – Parents Against Grooming

28 October 2025, categories: Child abuse, Manchester, Meetings

On Tuesday 28th October 2025, Politics in Pubs Manchester welcomed guest speaker Billy Howarth.  Billy is the founder of Parents Against Grooming, which he set up to raise awareness and educate people about child abuse and grooming, and to warn that children are still being failed by the authorities which are meant to protect them. He campaigns against all child abuse, regardless of the race, religion or background of children or their abusers.  Earlier this year, Billy stood as an Independent candidate in the Balderstone and Kirkholt local by-election in Rochdale.

Introduction

Billy Howarth has been fighting against child abuse since the age of 11.  As a survivor of abuse himself, and having spent time in the Rochdale care system, Billy has been campaigning for almost 20 years to expose the cover ups of abuse at Knowl View School, Cambridge House and Foxholes children’s home.  He described how child abuse in Rochdale has been allowed to continue for decades.  Children in the care system are not being protected by the authorities: when children run from the care system seeking safety they often find themselves in even greater danger.   But it is not just the care system which puts children at risk – Billy explained that groomers endeavour to abuse any vulnerable child they encounter, for example, a young person waiting at a bus stop.  Children and their families often feel powerless to prevent the abuse and the authorities are failing them. Billy described how politicians and officials are among the abusers.

Parents Against Grooming (PAG UK)

Billy and his friend, the late Linda Phillips, have been fighting Rochdale Council for accountability and justice for two decades.  In 2012, when he could no longer sit by and witness the abuse of children through the current grooming gang epidemic, Billy founded Parents Against Grooming.  As a Rochdale man, father, son, brother and grandfather he saw – and still sees – it as his duty to protect his kin and yours.  Billy’s biggest goal is to raise awareness and to educate people about what is really happening,  exposing the real risks to loved ones.  It is essential to speak out about abuse in order to prevent it.

Initially, PAG UK aimed to network parents together and push for action and accountability for failures by the Local Authority.  It also aimed to protect children from harm by the sharing of information, alongside exposure of those who seek to harm children.  PAG UK has evolved over the years into something more of a survivor community which offers a walk-in hub in Rochdale, designed to be a safe environment for empowering people to come and seek support –  secure in the knowledge that they will be listened to and they will be believed.

PAG UK, which is financed by retail, fund-raising and donations from the public, offers Peer to Peer programmes for male and female survivors.  It also leads guided patrols at night in problematic areas where children are extra vulnerable.  Billy has learned that homelessness and addiction are often linked to childhood trauma so other PAG UK services in the pipeline include:

  • Survivor Art and Chat group
  • Self-defence classes
  • Internet awareness group
  • Domestic abuse groups
  • Parental awareness group
  • Family groups
  • Drugs and alcohol awareness groups for kids
  • Hypnotherapy sessions

Changing the world for the better

As well as directly supporting survivors and their families through PAG UK, Billy also has links with others working to address child abuse and grooming and seek justice.  One of them is lawyer Richard Scorer, who acts for victims and survivors of abuse and, whilst doing so, tries to achieve changes in the law and the system so that past failings are not repeated.  In a statement on the law firm’s website Richard pays tribute to the survivors:

I’m always inspired by the courage and determination of my clients to secure justice and change the world for the better.  I deal with some truly dreadful cases, but I’m lucky to have wonderful clients and colleagues which makes it all worthwhile.

Richard Scorer, Head of Abuse Law, Slater and Gordon.

Discussion

Q. Are some of the politicians you believe to be involved in child abuse still alive? Is there any sign of prosecuting the officials who failed to protect children from abuse?

Yes and some are still active in politics. But from some quarters there has been more talk of protecting officials from exposure of their failings rather than protecting children.  Things are getting better now that some of the grooming gangs have been prosecuted and people are becoming more aware. Minshull Street Crown Court is currently conducting its fifth Rochdale grooming gang trial.  Another 50 men are still to be tried.

Q.  Although it is painful to watch, would you say that the docu-drama ‘Three Girls’ provides some insight into some of what has been going on in Rochdale?

Yes, although there were actually 49 identified victims of those grooming gangs – it was a much bigger problem than was shown in the programme.

Q.  Why does Rochdale in particular seem to have such a shameful history in this regard?

It may seem that way but that’s because Rochdale survivors are speaking out.  The same has happened in towns and cities across the country – Telford, Rotherham, Barrow etc. This has been made worse by failure of the press to report on it – they are complicit.  Survivors everywhere need to be supported and their cases heard.

Q. Why is the Labour Party in particular associated with covering up child abuse?

The Labour Party was infiltrated by PIE (Paedophile Information Exchange) which lobbied prominent MPs for the age of consent for boys to be lowered to 12.  Also, 75 Labour MPs and councillors have been convicted of child abuse.  Other parties have been complicit by their silence.  Unfortunately Labour is afraid of losing votes by appearing to be ‘racist’ if it exposes Pakistani grooming gangs.  However, child abuse is not about race, creed or religion – many abusers are white, especially those who target children on-line – Rochdale’s Liberal Party MP (and former Labour councillor) Cyril Smith was the subject of many allegations.  Abusers do not care about the ethnicity or faith of victims – all children are vulnerable, including Asian children.  Politicians and authorities should not be turning a blind eye to abusers because of their ethnicity, faith, voting habits or any other grounds.

Q.  Is there anyone who could be trusted to carry out an independent enquiry into abuse and grooming gangs?

It is difficult to have any faith in the forthcoming national enquiry on grooming gangs because of the link between a Labour government and the Labour-run councils which failed to safeguard children from abusers.  Failures have been highlighted over and over again with reviews like Operation SPAN, Operation Augusta, and the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.  Politicians and the authorities have failed to protect children and then also failed to investigate allegations, so an enquiry would need to be survivor-led and free of party politics. Perhaps a Reform UK government would conduct an enquiry properly because it is a new party which does not bear any responsibility for the failings. The enquiry needs to determine how to protect children from all abuse, not just from grooming gangs.  This includes educating those who originate from cultures which normalise abuse and support abusers within their own families instead of abiding by English laws in order to protect children.

Q.  How was the failure of authorities to investigate grooming gangs enabled by government?

Gordon Brown’s government issued a statement blaming the chaotic lifestyles of children for the abuse, as though they were to blame.  This permeated the authorities and was exposed by Maggie Oliver.  Baroness Casey’s enquiry reported that, over the years, 4000 police cautions for prostitution have been issued to children under the age of consent – blaming the victim instead of the abuser.

Q.  What commitment should politicians make about protecting children from now on?

They should speak out about what is going on and they should hold local enquiries into how children have been failed by the authorities. Officials need to be willing to criticise the failure of their predecessors.  Politicians and officials must be made accountable to ensure that children are protected from all abuse.  Condoms provided by the NHS and a sign prohibiting lewd behaviour under Canal Street in Manchester are proof that the authorities are aware of sexual activity taking place in a public place – in the vicinity of Minshull Street Crown Court – which includes with minors.  What are the authorities doing about it to protect children and public decency?  Stopping and preventing child abuse is neither homophobic nor racist.

Q.  How can the survivors of abuse get justice when the conviction rate is so low?

The bar for evidence is set very high and authorities should be more willing to hear what survivors are saying.  There should be proper prison sentences for abusers.    We need to change the system to ensure proper protection for children by the authorities.  Educating children and their families to forewarn them.  Developing community curiosity in local people about about what is going on in their neighbourhoods and encouraging them to patrol areas of concern as a deterrent.

Q.  Former Scotland Yard detective Jon Wedger is campaigning for the protection of children and states that the majority of people involved in drugs, crime and homelessness were abused a children.  He states that if children were protected from abuse, the other problems would also be fixed – would you agree?

Yes.  Trauma kills, including those who commit suicide.  The risk is even worse when survivors have been comprehensively failed by the authorities.  PAG UK aims to support survivors with the consequences of trauma from abuse, including drug use and homelessness.

Q.  What can people do to support PAG UK?

Fund-raise, donate cash and children’s toys, or give/buy items which retail at PAG UK’s Hub on York Street, Rochdale.

Thank you

Politics in Pubs Manchester would like to thank Billy Howarth for introducing the work of Parents Against Grooming and for all he does to support survivors and protect children from abuse. We would also like to thank our wonderful hosts at The Welcome Inn.  Cheers all!

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