The Scottish Government has moved closer to ordering a grooming gang inquiry after agreeing to a new national review into how public bodies have responded to claims of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation.

However, there was confusion over who was going to lead the review, what exactly it is going to look at and how independent of government it will be.

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Professor Alexis Jay — the former chair of the Rotherham grooming gang investigation and of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in England and Wales — will advise on methodology and provide expert guidance to ministers as the review progresses.

However, despite claims made in the media and by a number of MSPs during a debate on Wednesday, she will not take charge or oversee the review.

Instead, she wi

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