unbelievable numbers. and yes the council has behaved in an unimaginably cowardly fashion, but tbh the fact that even here all that anyone can comment on is the inaction of social services as opposed to the clear, cultural issue with sections of the Pakistani community just falls into exactly the same trap. anyone who's lived or worked anywhere near these areas can testify to the frankly barbaric attitudes which are quite widespread. non-Muslim girls are seen, quite broadly, as subhuman. there is nothing but contempt for values which don't ascribe to a strict religious orthodoxy, which in turn has no particular concern for whatever particular depravity someone might want to engage in so long as it's not turned against one of the 'in' group.
in Rochdale you had hundreds of blokes involved from across the community, respectable Mosque-goers, local businessmen, every generation. i can't imagine it's anything different here. this is different from a paedo-ring, where fuck-ups seek eachother out and make a secret syndicate - this is collaborative activity tolerated across an entire community based upon a backwards cultural dross which has no place in the 21st century.
yes this is about social services and the council and class and everything, but it is also clearly a cultural issue too and that gets ignored at everyone's peril.