Times reporter who exposed grooming gangs dies

Andrew Norfolk, the erstwhile Times writer who exposed the Rotherham grooming pack scandal, has died aged 60.

Norfolk, an award-winning reporter, died connected 8 May aft suffering sick health, the paper announced connected Thursday.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer led the tributes saying Norfolk had been "absolutely integral" successful helping to alteration the instrumentality truthful much grooming pack members could beryllium convicted.

His reporting successful 2011 revealed a signifier of chiefly achromatic teenage girls being groomed by gangs of men of Pakistani practice aft a increasing fig of prosecutions crossed the country.

It led to an enquiry into kid intersexual exploitation successful the southbound Yorkshire municipality dating from 1997 to 2013.

It was estimated that astir 1,400 children were sexually exploited implicit a 16 twelvemonth period.

Sir Keir, who was manager of nationalist prosecutions astatine the time, told The Times helium was "deeply sorry" to perceive of Norfolk's death.

"He wasn't conscionable an incredibly talented reporter, astatine The Times and elsewhere, helium was driven by the tendency to telephone our attraction to injustice and support the astir vulnerable," the premier curate said.

"His passionateness for supporting the victims of grooming gangs shone through, and helium was perfectly integral to making definite we could alteration the rules to summation convictions of the vile perpetrators."

The premier curate said helium hoped "the quality helium made to people's lives are a comfort" to his household and loved ones.

Tony Gallagher, the exertion of The Times, said Norfolk was "without doubt, 1 of the top investigative reporters of our oregon immoderate age.

"His tireless enactment exposing the evils of the predominantly Asian grooming gangs successful and astir towns successful the northbound of England led to agelong overdue acknowledgement of the crimes, aft the radical who had been successful a presumption to enactment a halt to it for years chose to look the different way."

Norfolk studied English astatine Durham University, editing the assemblage insubstantial portion besides playing for the hockey team.

After graduating helium went connected to enactment arsenic a newsman with the Scarborough Evening News successful 1989.

He won the Paul Foot Award and Orwell Prize for his aboriginal groundbreaking enactment with the Times, and was besides named 2014 Journalist of the Year.

Ian Hislop, exertion of Private Eye, which runs the Paul Foot Award, described him arsenic "a terrific journalist", adding Norfolk won the prize successful 2012 for "a truly important communicative that is inactive successful the quality today."

The Rotherham MP who campaigned connected grooming gangs, Sarah Champion, said helium was "just the bravest and astir principled idiosyncratic I person ever known.

"His thrust for the information is simply a uncommon and precious thing, and I anticipation others travel successful his footsteps, due to the fact that we truly request them close now."