The Passion Project Foundation is delighted to congratulate Baroness Anne
Longfield CBE on her appointment as the Chair of the Independent Inquiry into
Grooming Gangs. Announced by the Home Secretary on 9 December 2025, this
statutory inquiry represents a vital step toward transparency and justice for those
who were failed by the systems meant to protect them.
Baroness Longfield’s work has been central to the Passion Project Foundation’s
mission; she previously led the Commission on Young Lives, an independent body
proudly sponsored and hosted by the Foundation to develop new protections for
vulnerable teenagers. In her new role, she will lead a three-person panel under the
Inquiries Act to investigate group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse. The
inquiry will focus specifically on why warning signs were ignored for decades and
whether factors such as ethnicity, religion, and culture influenced the response of
authorities.
Having worked closely with Anne during her tenure as the Children’s Commissioner
and throughout the Foundation’s support of the Commission on Young Lives, we
have witnessed her unwavering commitment to putting the experiences of children
and survivors at the heart of public policy. We believe her leadership will be
instrumental in identifying uncomfortable truths and driving the national safeguarding
reforms necessary to protect future generations.
Home Office: Update on Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs (Published 9 Dec
2025)
Centre for Young Lives: Baroness Anne Longfield to chair the National Independent
Inquiry into Grooming Gangs (Published 10 Dec 2025)
