Vera Baird: ‘Brave people who’ve come forward are being held back’

Many survivors of sexual exploitation committed crimes while they were under the control of grooming gangs. One proposal for helping to minimise the long-term impact on them is to have their criminal records expunged – some senior police officers are backing a change to the law to offer them pardons. Speaking about this is Sammy Woodhouse – who was also abused in Rotherham and who is behind the campaign for a so-called “Sammy’s law” and Vera Baird, the lead Police and Crime Commissioner on Victims.