Rotherham grooming victim 'abused by police officer still on active service'
PM Keir Starmer says he is "deeply concerned" after MP Suella Braverman raised claims a Rotherham grooming survivor was abused by a South Yorkshire Police officer.
Rotherham survivor allegedly abused by serving officer, PM told
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he is "deeply concerned" after claims were raised in Parliament that a Rotherham grooming survivor was subsequently abused by a serving South Yorkshire Police officer, bbc.com reports.
Reform UK MP Suella Braverman brought the case to Prime Minister's Questions, citing the experience of a woman known only as Elizabeth, who holds lifetime anonymity. Braverman said Elizabeth was 14 years old when she was first raped in Rotherham, and alleged she was later abused by officers within South Yorkshire Police — one of whom "remains on active service today".
Elizabeth was raped twice at a flat after being given alcohol and drugs before the assaults. Asghar Bostan was convicted of the rape in 2018 and jailed for nine years. He was released on parole in August 2022 but recalled to prison in January 2024 for breaching his licence conditions.
Braverman, the former Conservative home secretary, told the Commons she had recently met with Elizabeth and described her as "one of the bravest women I know". She said Elizabeth was "one of the survivors of the rape gangs, one of the biggest national scandals in our history."
The MP said Elizabeth had raised a complaint through Operation Linden — a long-running Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation into how police responded to child sexual abuse in Rotherham — but that "none of them were followed up". Braverman called on Starmer to meet with Elizabeth personally and to ensure that anyone who covered up offences faces imprisonment.
Responding at the despatch box, Starmer said: "I'm deeply concerned about the facts she's just outlined, and if she could give us all the details of that, I'll make sure that there is a relevant meeting and follow-up in relation to those concerns."
An IOPC spokesperson said the organisation had "searched our records" and was "not aware of reports of any identified officers sexually abusing children being raised by the victim-survivors we had contact with during Operation Linden". The spokesperson confirmed the IOPC "continued to direct an investigation into reports, first referred to us in October 2024, relating to non-recent child sex abuse complaints against three former South Yorkshire Police officers", and stated that "no reports of this nature have been received to date about any serving South Yorkshire Police officers".
South Yorkshire Police said it was "acutely aware of how difficult it can be to report such crimes, particularly when the suspects are serving or former police officers". A force spokesperson said the matters were subject to an independent IOPC inquiry and that the force would "fully cooperate with all inquiries".
Source: The Sun