Sarah Champion MP reacts to today's guilty verdict in the trial of eight men who have been convicted of sexually abusing three girls in Rotherham between 1999 and 2003

Reacting to today's guilty verdict at Sheffield Crown Court in the trial of eight men who have been convicted of sexually abusing three girls in Rotherham between 1999 and 2003, Sarah Champion, MP for Rotherham, said: 

I would firstly like to state my absolute admiration and thanks to the survivors for coming forward. These young women have been trying for years to be heard, now a judge, and indeed the country, has heard the horror you endured and justice has been served. Their courage and bravery will inspire others and we should all be grateful for that.

Today's verdict has hopefully given closure for the three survivors. But we should not rest until we have justice for every survivor of child sexual abuse in Rotherham and across the UK. More than that, we need to focus our efforts on preventing future abuse, not just see it as inevitable.

I would like to thank the police for their hard work in forensically piecing together information, some of it decades old, and the CPS for pursuing a successful prosecution.