The two-week public investigation into child exploitation by organised networks in east London and elsewhere opens at 10.30am today (Monday) looking into grooming and sexual abuse.
Hearings are being held by the Independent Inquiry examining how Tower Hamlets and five other local authorities around the country respond, which run till October 2.
Evidence is being heard from victims and survivors of child sexual exploitation and representatives of the Met and other police forces, local authorities, government departments and charities.
The investigation focuses on the six separate local authority areas of Tower Hamlets, St Helens in Lancashire, Swansea in South Wales, Durham in the North East, Bristol in the West and Warwickshire in the Midlands.
These have been chosen because they represent a range of population sizes, demographics and institutional practices.
The hearings assess the extent to which safeguarding services have learned lessons from recent high profile cases such as Oxford, Rotherham and Rochdale.
They are online from 10.30am to 4.15pm each day, streamed live on the independent inquiry’s Child Sexual Abuse website, with transcripts available a few hours after.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here