Rochdale sex ring: David Cameron says case was 'truly dreadful'

Image caption, Nine men were jailed for the sexual exploitation and trafficking of young girls

The Rochdale sex ring case was "truly, truly dreadful" and must be investigated further, the prime minister has said.

David Cameron was responding to a Commons question regarding last week's jailing of nine men for sexual offences against young girls.

The question came from Rochdale's Labour MP Simon Danczuk.

Rochdale Council has announced a review into its handling of the grooming of vulnerable young girls.

Mr Cameron said England's Children Commissioner Maggie Atkinson would investigate the girls' plight and he would consider launching a serious case review.

'Inspection issues'

"It is very important we get to the bottom of a truly, truly dreadful case," he told the Commons.

"I think we need to ask why information wasn't passed more rapidly from children's homes to police.

"There are issues around inspection and also why action wasn't taken."

Rochdale Council's review will look at all case files dating back to 2001 to see if staff missed early signs of abuse.

The men were jailed for a total of 77 years for grooming and sexually exploiting five young girls - one of whom was in council care.

All five of the girls had been known to the council's social services at some time in their lives.

The council review, which will be carried out by an independent body, will look at how the council shares information on vulnerable children with other bodies such as the police.

Jim Taylor, who has just taken over as the new chief executive at Rochdale Council, said the review would help the authority to improve the safety of young people in the borough.

"We have already developed different ways of working, and I need to be confident that our improvements have gone far enough, that we are doing everything we can to ensure that young people are protected and supported and that abusers are brought to justice quickly."