The Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police has issued an apology to grooming gang victims in Rochdale. His apology comes following a report into grooming in the town found police failed to protect hundreds of young girls. In a statement on Monday (15 January), Stephen Watson said: “It remains a matter of profound regret that victims of child sexual exploitation in Rochdale in the early 2000s were failed by Greater Manchester Police – to them, I apologise.” Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham said the report into grooming in Rochdale was “hard to read”.