All language subtitles for Three.Girls.S01E03.WEBRip26ION10

This programme contains some
strong language from the start

and scenes which some viewers
may find disturbing

The judge will be sat there.

The jury's going to be over there.

And the defendants,

they're going
to be behind a screen there.

But you won't be in here.

You'll be in a separate room
with me.

Can I go out for a fag, on the day?

Course you can.
When there's a break.

What if I need the toilet?

GIGGLING: Have I got to hold it in?

If you need to stop,
all you have to do is ask.

Ruby is pregnant.

13-year-old on the
Child Protection Register.

Pregnant by a mid-30s man
with a family of his own.

I can tell you his name,
his address, his licence plate.

'We can get convictions here,
Maggie,

'if we can re-engage the girls.'

So, you want me to help you?

Yeah, we do. You never helped me.
Why would I do that?

If a jury's not going
to believe her?

Why are we making that assumption?

'Holly was fully aware that this
would be the outcome.

'She'll be in foster care
while we assess the situation.'

I can't do no more.

You can.

They're not using Amber,
but they're going to use Ruby.

I'm not using anyone.

'Nine not-guilty pleas.

'Which means
nine cross-examinations,

'which means
nine different barristers

'telling these girls that every word
they're saying is a lie.'

Are they up to it?

Bye.

Bye.

It is mad there.

What is?

Court!

But I won't be in
the actual court on the day,

I'll be in a room on me own.

YASMIN BABBLES

Come on.

Let's go and get some
of Nana's cake.

Mmm.

SHE CHUCKLES

It's all about supporting me
through the process.

Well, that's what the copper kept
on saying.

And I can go out for a fag, too.

If they didn't want me
to be a witness,

why did they, like,
beg me to do in first place?

I don't want her doing it.

It's her saying she don't want all
them interviews going to waste.

Mine did. Months of them.

Do you know what?
I really, really, really...

don't give a fuck.

CROCKERY CLATTERS

I thought I'd see Hell freeze over
before this got to trial.

Today's going to be
about swearing in the jury

and Rachel,
our prosecution barrister,

standing up and outlining our case.

Holly, you're the first witness for
the Crown,

so you'll be called first.

So, depending on what gets
done today,

in all likelihood
you'll be going in

to start giving
your evidence tomorrow.

We'll need to phone Suzanne.

Who's Suzanne?

I have to do stuff.

Go to AA meetings and that
to get Ella back.

They write it down if you miss one.

You're not going to see any of them.

You know that, don't you?

It'll all be by video link
and you're just going to carry on

doing what you've been doing
for years.

Telling the truth.

And those 12 ordinary men and women

are going to believe you.

Right.

I'll see you bright
and early tomorrow.

ANGRY SHOUTING

Scum! Paedo!

ALL SHOUT

MAN: Get back to your own country!

You're going down, you Paki bastard!

He's the Paki bastard who brought
the prosecution, you dickhead.

SHOUTING

Cheers, but don't call me
a "Paki bastard" again. Sorry.

CLERK: All rise.

It's started.

It's on BBC website.

Front page of
Manchester Evening News. Jim.

Let's keep busy today, eh?

Fancy going down the shops
for a few bits and bobs?

I might just go upstairs.

Holly Winshaw is now 19.

At the start of the time period
with which you are concerned,

she was 15 years old,

and at the end of that period,
she was 17.

Ruby Bowen is now 16.

Her 13th birthday was two days
before the start

of the indictment period,

and at the end of that period,
she was 15.

You will hear evidence about these
girls' personal circumstances

and their behaviour.

Holly Winshaw had fallen out
with her parents

and was mostly living away from home

when the sexual exploitation
of her began.

Ruby Bowen had had a difficult
and troubled childhood

and has a number of problems
as a result.

You will have to decide,

having heard their
own descriptions of themselves

and the descriptions
of other people,

whether their characters
and their behaviour

makes them unreliable witnesses

as some of the defendants may say.

Or whether as the prosecution say,
it simply confirms

that they were exactly
the sort of children

who were easy to identify,
target and exploit

for the sexual gratification
of these men.

'Amber Bowen, the older sister
of Ruby Bowen, is now 19.

'The prosecution will argue

'that she's an important person
in this case.

'She was also having sex
with adult men

'and getting food and alcohol
for doing so,'

but she moved on to playing
an active role in helping men -

including some of these defendants -

to sexually exploit
the other girls.

That, ladies and gentlemen,

is the outline of the prosecution
case that we'll put before you,

starting with the first witness,
Holly Winshaw, tomorrow morning.

QUIET MURMURS

Hiya.

Is she ready?

I can't say she is, no.

Do you want to...?

JULIE: She won't get dressed.
I'm sorry.

Hiya.

Have you had any breakfast?

Well, I've not.

What are we having?

Bacon butty.

Two of them, then, please, Julie.

The whole bloody country's
waiting on this trial...

..and she's up there having a
lie-in! Nina knows what she's doing.

No point pushing her
until she's ready.

ALL SHOUT

Where is she?

Worth giving Nina a ring?

Andrew Norfolk, from The Times.

Looks like the first witness hasn't
turned up. I'll phone back later.

Andrew,
every time I open The Times,

there's your by-line on grooming.

It's a big story. Is it?

Is it a big story?
Or does it just seem that way

because there's so much reporting
on it?

You must admit, it's a gift for
the BNP and all that lot out there.

"Innocent white victims",
"dark-skinned abusers".

It's uncomfortable, isn't it?

I just don't see what it achieves.

PROTESTERS SHOUT OUTSIDE

She's here.

LOUD, ANGRY SHOUTS

Ignore them, ignore them,
ignore them and ignore them.

QUIET MURMURS

Take a seat.

They need to hear you,
but they don't need to see you.

Would you like a curtain?

No.

Hello, Holly.

Can you see and hear me?

Yes.

OK, that's a good start.

The usher should help you
to swear an oath.

Has that been explained to you?

Er, rather than gestures, Holly,

you'll have to speak words
for ease of the transcribers.

Yeah.

"I swear, by Almighty God,
that the evidence I shall give

"shall be the truth, the whole truth
and nothing but the truth."

Members of the jury,

the prosecution will now present
its evidence in chief,

which takes the form
of recorded interviews

with the witness, Holly Winshaw.

'Now do you understand what it is

'that you've come to speak
to me about today?

'Yeah.

'OK, and what do you think
that's about?

'About what happened at, um...

'with...the men...at Top Curry.

'About what happened
with the men at Top Curry.

'OK. Obviously,
I've got to ask you some questions

'about what they actually
did to you during the sex, OK?

'It hurt.

'Because I didn't want to do it.

'Tariq started taking us places.

'He started picking us up and...

'..Amber thought
that he was her boyfriend.

'So, what did you think was going
to happen when he picked you up?

'I didn't actually know
he was taking us to have sex.

'He said, "Don't cry" and he said,
"You're beautiful".

'NINA: And so, when he got
on top of you,

'what was you doing?

'I were trying to move...

'..but I just gave up.

'Because what was the point
in trying?

SHE SNIFFLES

'And what did you think
about the fact

'that it started then
with different men?

'I weren't even bothered any more.

'Right, what do you mean by that?

'I didn't feel anything about it.

'Why do you think you felt
like that?

'Because it had been going on
for so long.'

I want to ask you
some questions today

on behalf of Shabir Ahmed,

who you were introduced to
by a nickname

Before I ask you about
what you say Daddy did,

I want to ask you something
about your background.

What caused the big falling out
you had with your parents,

in around June 2008?

I didn't really stick to the rules.

And you were going out with a gang
of girls at night, were you not?

Yeah.

You were free

Getting free booze.

So, alcohol and money?

Yeah.

And then, mocking them.

Creating problems in
Speedy Kebab and Top Curry?

I wouldn't say that
I was creating problems.

Was there not a crowd of you
that was going to Speedy Kebab,

drunk and loud

and behaving very badly?

There's wasn't a crowd of us.

There was about two or three
at a time

and it was the men in
the takeaway shop

that bought us the alcohol
to get drunk on.

I want you to understand
that I am going to be suggesting

that Daddy never gave you
or bought you

any alcohol at all
over that period or any other time.

That is the truth of the matter,
is it not?

No.

You told the police that
when he was trying to rape you,

you were trying to,

"like, laugh it off,
giggling and saying no."

Is that right?

Well, yeah.

I was trying to say no in, like,

a giggly way.

Because I didn't want to say it
in, like, a stern way, cos...

..I didn't want to offend him.

And I was scared.

Because if I said it,
like, nastily to him,

I didn't know what he would do,
so I just, like...

SHE SNIFFLES

But he just didn't stop.

Have you got a tissue there, Holly?

Thanks.

Had you not tried to shout for help

if this was happening?
You were being raped.

I didn't want to say anything
because I was scared.

This incident did not happen,
did it, Holly?

Yeah, it did.

You say that you were shouting,
"Get off me"? Yeah.

It could not have been the case

that what you were
actually shouting was,

"Tell that bastard
to give me my money"?

No.

No, because that would suggest,
would it not,

that what you were upset about

was not being paid,
rather than the sex.

Do you remember calling my client
a "Paki bastard"?

I wouldn't.

I wouldn't say something like that.

I suggest to you, Miss Winshaw,
that at the time of these events,

your life was a bit of a mess,
was it not?

You were out getting drunk
regularly, were you not? Yeah.

And you had been in
so many different places

on so many different nights
with so many different men,

that you simply made a mistake,

did you not? No.

Can you describe the man you call
"Tiger" to me, Holly.

You said, "He's Asian, obviously.

"He's got, like,
a side parting in his hair.

"Like a lot of them, small."

I think that's his height you're
talking about there, is it not?

CHUCKLING AND MURMURING

Not long to go now.
You're doing great.

Just hold your nerve. One more day.

CHEERING
My lovely girls!

'You're beautiful.

'When you going to let me
have sex with you?

'I'm not.'

You're going with him.

You're going with him.

Holly, you're going with him. No...

I'm the barrister for Abdul Aziz.

Who you knew as "Tariq".

Of all the girls that you knew who
were conducting that sort of
lifestyle,

without doubt,
you were the prettiest.

You're much prettier
than Amber,

are you not?

MURMURING

Yes. Well, I will...

HE CLEARS HIS THROAT

..spare your blushes, and we can
deal with this in a different way.

Amber Bowen.

Now, she was the one who
introduced you

to this...lifestyle
that you complain of?

Yeah. She was.
She was the one who introduced you

to the men that
you complain of, yes? Yeah.

She was the one who was getting
payments

for the men that you
make these complaints against?

Yeah, she was,
but some of them were getting...

..some of the men were
getting payments, as well.

So, in the scheme of things,

Amber was worse than the men
that you accuse,

and at any rate,
she was no less culpable

than the men that you accuse?

How do you mean? She was
at least as bad as they were?

In some ways.

In other ways, they were worse.

If I've understood your evidence
correctly, Holly, is that...

..you would go to an address

knowing that sex was about to
take place, sex would take place.

Amber would collect money.

Tariq would be called,
he would collect you and Amber,

and money would be given to Tariq.
Is that what happened?

Yeah. Yes.

So, it was Amber who was
controlling the arrangement.

It was Amber who was arranging sex.

It was Amber who
was arranging transport.

I think it were both of them
together. And that is because...?

Because if it was just her doing it,
why would she give him the money?

The reality is this,
is it not, Holly?

That you feel profoundly very
guilty about what's gone on.

I don't feel guilty
because I didn't do anything wrong.

It may just be that I've read
your evidence badly,

but you do say, at a number
of places,

that you feel guilty...

..because you
didn't stand up for yourself.

Did not defend your corner.

Yeah, I didn't.

I feel ashamed.

And I feel angry
that I didn't try more.

Because, obviously, at my age,
a few years later...

..if something like that
were to happen again,

I would do everything in my power

to make sure
it wouldn't happen again.

NOW you feel ashamed.

Guilty for what's gone on, yes?

I don't feel guilty, I feel ashamed.

And you've been the subject,
over the years,

of ridicule for this lifestyle
that you entered with Amber.

People were calling you names.

And this is a way, really of just
cleansing all of that.

Of saying to them,
"Well, you know what,

"in fact, I've got nothing to be
ashamed of, because I was raped."

That's what this is really all
about, is it not?

I don't care about them.

I don't care about what people say.

It's four years later now.

Four years.

I've got a daughter.

I've got a life.

I...don't need "cleansed".

I want justice.

HE EXHALES

Do I look all right?

Really nice.

Proper smart.

I'm going to go wait in 'ere. OK.

Police'll be here in five minutes.

Why don't you go for a walk
round the block

if you don't want to see them.
I don't care.

It's just going to make you angry.

It'll upset you, and that'll upset
her. No, it won't.

I don't care if they've decided

I'm not a good enough, like,
victim or whatever.

Cos I'm a good mum.

I'm actually good.

And that's where my head's going.

Not on all this
that happened years ago.

YASMIN GURGLES

SHE CHUCKLES

ANGRY SHOUTING

SILENCE

MURMURING

CLERK: All rise.

MAGGIE, ON CLIP: 'Go on, Ruby.

'They pass you around like a ball.

'Um...

'They, like, get your number,
and then, there's like...

'..50 people you don't know
ringing you.

'What do you mean, Ruby?
"They pass you around like a ball"?

'Um...

'They'd, like, be in a flat

'in...in a massive circle...

'..and then, they put
the white girl in the middle.'

White girl in the middle...

'And then you'd get sent off
with one of them.

'And then, when you come back,

'you just...

'just get passed and passed again.'

Passed and passed again...
Passed and passed...

'And where was the flat?'

Passed and passed...

'There weren't one.

'There were loads.'

There weren't one...
There were loads...

There were loads...

There were loads...

Ruby, can you see me all right?
Yeah.

And can you hear me OK?

Yes.

I am the barrister who is helping
the man that you call Billy,

and I'd like to ask you some
questions for him, please.

Now, you told us that you were in
a relationship with Billy

for a few months and that
he was your boyfriend, yes?

Yes.

And that you told him you were 16?

Yeah.

And as time went on, you felt like
you were in love with him,

did you not?

Um...

You're nodding.

And did it seem like he really
liked you a lot, as well?

Yeah.

Now then, when you have talked about
when you have been with Billy,

and you have had sex with him,
you have talked about

cuddling up with him,

having a laugh and having nice sex,
have you not?

Yeah.

And that Billy, he was different
from the other men that you met,

because you told us,
the other men, they were...

..one-night stands,

whereas Billy,

he was a proper boyfriend, yes?

Um...

Yeah.

I have no more questions.

QUIET MURMURS

Ruby!

You met Ruby Bowen before your
son was born, is that right?

Yes.

And you had a sexual relationship
with her from October 2008,

is that right? Yes.

Two photographs in the jury
bundle were taken

when Ruby Bowen was in Year 9.

That is the girl with whom you had
a sexual relationship, is it not?

I don't deny the fact,
from looking at the picture,

that that's the same girl.

These photographs were taken
when she was 13 and 14.

Are you seriously saying
to this jury

that you thought she
was 20 to 25 years old?

Mr Ahmed,
do you deny all of the allegations?

I deny everything.

But you accept,
as you've told this jury,

that the forensic evidence has your
semen on those items of underwear?

HE GRUNTS

Where did Holly Winshaw
get your semen from?

I had a sexual relationship
with Amber,

and, if Amber took a condom,

this Winshaw girl,

very clever,
very sharp, intelligent,

knows everything,

who knows what she did.

Why would Holly fabricate
evidence against you?

They get into
this business together.

They decide on this joint
venture together

and they carry it out very well.

They're making a lot of money,

and then she falls
out with Amber, and...

It's very nice
and very easy for policemen,

because they want to climb
the ladder of their career.

Fuck the Pakistanis.

Mr Ahmed, can we stick to...? No.

No, we can't.

Where are your white people?

They train them in sex,

they train them in drinking
from very young age,

and then, when they come to us, by
that time, they're fully trained.

You should look in mirror.

Look at yourself first.

Look at your community.

Where's school?

Where's Social Services?

Where is everybody else?

MURMURING

You're lovely with her.

How do you see your future together?

I'd like to go to college.

I'd like to move away from Rochdale.

Does that feel achievable?

Yeah.

We'll not keep you in suspense
any longer, Holly.

We're going to keep
the care order in place,

but we'll have joint
responsibility with you.

What does that mean?

Ella's going to be coming
home to you.

We want it to be
a smooth transition for her,

so we'll liaise
with the foster family

and start making arrangements
next week.

SHE SNIFFLES
Sorry.

You've worked really hard, Holly.

We've got every confidence in you.

In a complex case like this one,

where we'd expect the jury
to be out for some weeks,

this briefing is an opportunity
for members of the press

to ask any questions that may have
arisen during trial.

Yep, over here, yep.

Why didn't the CPS prosecute
this case in 2008

when Holly Winshaw first
went to the police?

At that time, it was considered

that there was an unrealistic
prospect of conviction.

What changed?

The key evidence used in this
trial, you had in 2008.

The perpetrators were allowed
to continue offending

for a further two years.

Why did the CPS drop the case?

Was there an issue around the
ethnicity of the perpetrators?

There was an issue around the
witness, not the perpetrators.

What happened is that, initially,

a CPS lawyer formed the view that
the witness would not be credible.

That's why the case
didn't progress to court.

I came here last year
and I reversed that decision.

I looked at it afresh

and I formed a different view.

That she was ABSOLUTELY credible.

Mr Afzal, would you say that
Holly Winshaw was betrayed?

I have no difficulty in
apologising to her.

She was let down
by the whole system

and we were part of that system.

MURMURING

VEHICLE APPROACHES

They're here! They're here!
Holly! Holly, come quick!

They're here!

She decided to dress herself
this morning...

..in case you're wondering
why she's got on that hat.

Mummy.

Mummy...

Will the foreman please stand?

Have the jury reached
a verdict on any count?

Yes.

On the charge of trafficking
within the United Kingdom

for sexual exploitation,

do you find the defendant,
Shabir Ahmed,

guilty or not guilty?

Guilty.

You're a biased jury!

Racist!

On the charge of rape of a child,

do you find the defendant,
Shabir Ahmed, guilty or not guilty?

Guilty.

Ya bastard! YA BASTARD!

Take him to the cells.

Get off me!

Get your hands off me!

Get off me!

Kabeer Hassan?

On the count of rape of a child,

do you find the defendant
guilty or not guilty?

Guilty.

Abdul Rauf?

Guilty.

Mohammed Sajid?

Guilty.

Mohammed Amin?

Guilty.

Adil Khan?

On the count of conspiring to engage
in sexual activity with a child?

Do you find the defendant guilty
or not guilty? Guilty.

Abdul Aziz?

On the count of trafficking
within the United Kingdom

for sexual exploitation.

Do you find the defendant
guilty or not guilty?

Guilty.

On the count of rape of a child.

Do you find the defendant guilty
or not guilty?

Guilty.

MOBILE RINGS

Would you watch Ella for me?

CHILDREN CHATTER

All right?

SARA: 'All right?'

Dunno, yet. Depends what you're
going to say next.

'I'm going to say guilty.

'Every single one of them
involved with you.

'Guilty.'

You there?

Look to your right.

I called your house.
Your mum said you were here.

You can't take it in, can ya?

SHE SIGHS

Neither can I.

I don't feel anything.

You will do. You'll be bathing Ella
or making some pasta,

I don't know, watching telly...

..and it's going to hit ya.

Like, "Fuck,
this actually happened"?

No, like,
"Fuck, I actually did this".

It were you, Holly.

It were you speaking up again
and again and again to me

and to your dad and to the police

and holding your own
against nine bloody barristers!

It were you.

19 years.

Shabir Ahmed...

19 years...

HE SOBS
Sorry.

I'm sorry.

I had all these ideas about you...

..since you were that high.

What you were going to be,

what you were going to do
and all that.

And how people would say,

"Oh, Jim's daughter,
yeah, the smart one.

"She's gone on to do this,
that and the other." Jim!

But seeing you do...

..what you've done

over them months in court.

Finding the strength
to do what you did in there...

..after everything
you've been through,

after everything
that's happened to you.

That's the proudest moment
of my life.

I have got so much respect for you.

I take my hat off to you.

HE SOBS

You are so messy. I'm going to get
a cloth to wipe that up.

'This has been a fantastic result
for British justice.

'These victims have been through
the most horrendous of crimes

'and I just want to commend
their bravery

'in relation to the ordeal
they've had to go through.

'A long number of weeks in court

'and they've had to go through
a lot of trauma.

'I would also like to thank
my officers

'for the professionalism
and dedication they have shown

'in a very complex inquiry.

'This is the first time in
UK history

'that we've had trafficking
within the UK.'

I've gone down
60% since the verdict.

Cos people would rather wait for
a white driver than get in me cab.

That's why we set up this group.

To bring the people
of Rochdale together.

This is a great place to live

and it's time, now, to focus
on the positive.

People in the community must have
known was what going on.

Are you saying that I knew about
this? No, what I'm saying is...

Cos, believe me, if I had, I'd have
rounded 'em up meself

and took 'em down to police
station meself.

You see the people who won't get in
your cab now, that's just racist.

That's them saying that
all Pakistanis are the same.

Ethnicity is not an issue here.

It's not an issue. It's a fact.

The vast majority of sex
offenders are white male.

90% are British white males
acting on their own.

But in this particular type
of crime, on-street grooming

of vulnerable girls,
it's overwhelmingly

British-Pakistani men
acting together.

Right, and that's
my responsibility, is it?

Cos I'm a British

Are white people
ever asked to account

for the deviant behaviour
of other white people?

No.

It isn't about whether the guys
that did it are Pakistani.

It's what the hell was a 13-year-old
girl doing in that flat?

You're blaming the victim.

That victim could have been your
sister or your daughter.

No. Cos my sister or my daughter -
our daughters -

aren't hanging about on street
corners in short skirts

with their chests hanging out.

They were in trackie bottoms, these
girls were in school uniform.

These men had disgusting attitudes
to women.

Not just white women. ALL women.

That is a tiny, tiny proportion
of British-Pakistanis. I know.

But as long as that attitude
exists at all, here,

in Rochdale, in our community,

there'll be repercussions
for all of us.

MURMURS

RADIO: 'Now as you may have
heard in the news,

'the Rochdale Borough Safeguarding
Children Board

'has published its report
this morning

'on the catalogue of failures
in the police and Social Services

'which led to the continued grooming
and rape of a number of girls.

'The report is very clear
about the failings

'from all the
organisations involved

'with the young people.
There was more

'that could and should have been
done to protect them.

'But The Guardian reports this
morning

'that 83 referrals were made by
a worried NHS Sexual Health Team,

'who had obviously seen these girls.

'Why were they ignored
and why are they not in your report?

'When professionals
have got concerns

'and they're not getting the
response that they need,

'there is a board policy that
says it should be escalated

'within their own organisation
and within social care

'and that wasn't done
satisfactorily, obviously.'

DOOR SLAMS

What's the matter with you?

Driving in, just heard someone

from Rochdale Council Safeguarding
Children on the radio...

Saying what?
Have they "learnt lessons"?

Have they "been on a journey"?

There's no spin on earth
that they can put on this

to make themselves look good.

TEARFULLY: They're saying...

we never shared information...!

STUNNED SILENCE

What?

We didn't "escalate our concerns".

They're saying they didn't know

because we didn't tell them.

No way.

No way is this happening.

Management's not going to bat
for us.

She's saying,
"Oh, don't worry about it, Sara,

"the truth will come out at
some point."

SHE SIGHS

Right. We're going to the union.

I feel like I'm going mad.

It's not you. It's everybody else.

That's what mad people think.

You do look a bit...

It's the hood.
Let's take the hood down.

I'm not cut out for this, you know?

Whistle-blowing.

Erin Brockovich in an anorak!

Erin Brockovich
could have done with an anorak.

Seven years.

I've been telling people
for seven years.

And even now,
they just don't want to know.

OFFICE BUSTLE

SHE KNOCKS

Sir.

I watched the ACC on the steps of
court tie it up in a bow.

Well, it was a very successful
operation, Maggie.

But that's not the whole story,
is it?

You can be sure that whatever
went on down in Rochdale in 2008

will be fully dealt with
by the IPCC.

Yeah, but I'm talking about 2005.

GMP has known that they have
a problem

with on-street grooming since 2005,

at least.

And, um, I know

because I was part of a...

of a scoping exercise in 2005

to see whether or not

we had a problem in Greater
Manchester with child grooming.

And it found that we did.

But nothing was done about it.

The investigation was dropped.

There were no arrests.

There were no prosecutions.

Sorry, Maggie.

Is that a question...

..or a grievance?

I'm not comfortable with what we're
claiming we knew and didn't know.

And I'm not comfortable with the way
we're treating victims.

I wasn't comfortable in 2005
and I'm not comfortable now.

Is this about Amber Bowen?

This is about the ethics of
subjecting vulnerable witnesses

to months of questioning and then
dropping them with no explanation,

and no further action
against anyone that they've named.

Amber Bowen
is a very particular case.

No. She wasn't.

She was a victim,

just like the other girls.

But no-one was ever arrested

or even interviewed in relation
to what they did to her.

Look, I know you've had this
explained to you many times before.

Yes, but not in a way that makes me
feel any better about the decision.

But I will go over it
with you again.

There was no way that girl
was going in the witness box.

CPS was absolutely clear about that
and it was their call to make.

But...

They then realised,

a little bit late in the day,
it must be said,

that they needed
the girl's evidence.

So, they had to find a tactical way
to introduce it at trial.

How do you use someone's evidence
if you don't call them as a witness?

By putting them on the indictment.

Amber was named as one of the
co-conspirators with the men.

WHAT?!

It was purely tactical, Margaret.

No-one was interested
in prosecuting her.

Does she know about this? Has anyone
even bothered to tell her?!

I'm sure she was kept
fully informed.

KNOCK AT DOOR

URGENT KNOCKING
All right!

What's all this?
Can you just take it?

Help me! What's happened?

What's wrong with you?

They're trying to take her. Who are?
Who's trying to take her?

Social Services. They called me in.
They're trying to get a court date.

Don't be soft,
they can't do that!

What for? You're a brilliant mum!
What they saying you've done?

They're not saying I've done owt.

They're saying there's
a risk that I could though.

As if I'd do anything to hurt her!

TEARFULLY: Why me, Mum?
Why is it always me?!

KNOCK AT DOOR

Don't open it, Mum. Don't!
It might be Ruby.

No, it's not Ruby. Ruby's got keys.

No, it is her. Please, Mum.

It's OK. All right. It's OK.

They've gone. They've gone.

KNOCKING AT DOOR
Lorna? It's Maggie. >

It's Margaret Oliver. Maggie. >

KNOCKING

What you doing?

Coming here? Now.

Didn't return me calls.
Didn't reply to me texts.

You promised all sorts.

TEARFULLY: Should've known
never to trust the police.

I'm not the police.

Then why you turning up here, then?
Cos no-one can tell me not to.

I've left GMP.

I've resigned.

I, um...

I...
SHE SIGHS

I don't know
what the police told you

about why you didn't get to
go to court. I don't care.

I don't give a shit about that now.
They didn't say nothing.

Just...they're using Ruby,
but they're not using her.

That decision,
I strongly disagreed with it.

But I got taken off the job
after that

and ordered not to have
any contact with you.

But at some point,
the powers that be decided that

though they weren't going
to call you as a witness,

they still needed
to be able to use your evidence.

And as a way of doing that,

you were named by the Crown

on one of the charges.

How do you mean?

The Crown listed you alongside
the men,

on charge of conspiracy to engage
in sexual activity with a child.

What that means...is that you
were as responsible as the men

for what happened to Holly and Ruby
and all the other girls.

So, they're calling me a rapist?

Is that what you're saying?

They're calling me a paedophile?

That's why this is happening.

Why what's happening?

Don't tell her.
Don't tell her nothing.

They're trying to take
Yasmin off her.

Why

Why? Course they want to take her
off me.

Not cos of owt I've done to her,
just cos of...

..me.

Who I am.

What's happened to me.

And they never could.

But now, I've been named
as a fucking sex offender,

I have got no chance.
Well, that's not going to happen.

First thing tomorrow, you're going
to go and get a solicitor.

And I'm going to come with you.
Why do you care?

Why are you even here?

Because I let you down.

I gained your trust and I promised
you things and...

..I betrayed you.

It was ME you trusted.

It was ME
you poured your heart out to.

And...

..I'm sorry.

Because that's not how you
treat people.

That's not why
I became a police officer.

And...

I...

I couldn't help you
as a police officer.

But, maybe, I can help you now. Why?

Because you need it.

And because you deserve it.

And...

When it all comes out...

..what's been done to girls
like you - and it will -

I want to look back and say
I was on the right side of it.

AMBER SOBS

Do you think the failure in
Rochdale was due to

incompetence or indifference?

This is a Select Committee, and
I know you will answer frankly,

Miss Rowbotham.

It was attitudes towards teenagers.

It was absolute disrespect

that vulnerable young people
did not have a voice.

That they were overlooked,

that they
were discriminated against

and they were treated appallingly
by protective services.

I think we need an absolute shift

in what constitutes
a reliable witness.

As I've already explained,

those young people
do not present

as clear-cut victims.

They don't clearly state,
"I am being abused."

They are absolutely entrenched
in a horrible set

of manipulation and coercion.

They are living in absolute fear,

so won't easily fit a box
that allows a judicial system

to easily see that this is
a child that is being abused.

ALL CHATTER AND LAUGH

ELLA SQUEALS

SHE LAUGHS

ALL CHUCKLE

ALL GIGGLE