In 2004, Maggie joined Operation Augusta, an investigation into child sexual exploitation in Hulme and Rusholme, both inner-city areas of Manchester.
This followed the death of 15-yr-old Victoria Agoglia, who had been in the care of the council age 8.
Victoria died in 2003 from a heroin overdose. While in care, police and social services were aware she was being sexually exploited by adult men.
They were also aware that she was being injected with heroin by a 50-year-old man.
Operation Augusta identified numerous child gang r*pe victims, disproportionately by Pakistani men. The investigation uncovered 67 potential victims and 97 potential "persons of interest."
The following year, while Maggie was on leave caring for her terminally ill husband, Norman, authorities abruptly shut down the operation. She was astonished. She had interviewed the victims and saw the evidence. But authorities deemed it useless.
Only 7 men were ultimately “warned, charged, or convicted”—one of whom was an illegal immigrant. Dozens upon dozens of leads were never followed up, leaving the perpetrators free to reoffend.
In 2010, Maggie joined Operation Span, focusing on Rochdale where a Pakistani Muslim gang operated. The department assured her that what happened in Operation Augusta would not happen again.
Here, she worked closely with vulnerable girls, conducting video interviews, ID parades, identifying locations, times, phones numbers and names of the abusers. Maggie told Manchester Evening News in 2018, “(the victims and witnesses) couldn’t have helped us more”.
Yet, history repeated itself.
7 months later, the policing hierarchy informed Maggie that one victim, Amber, would "not be used" in the case. They didn’t believe her and even accused her of participating in the grooming rather than being a victim.
“She’d been abused since the age of 14. It made me sick to my stomach,” Maggie recalled. “This vulnerable girl had been failed. She was treated as collateral damage. Social services eventually even tried to take her child away from her.”
9 gang r*pists from Rochdale were eventually prosecuted and jailed in 2012 as a part of Operation Span—but, again, police dismissed so many other leads.
Maggie spent the next year knocking on doors within Greater Manchester Police (GMP), raising her concerns with the chief constable and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). It all came to no avail.
In 2011, she resigned from the force in disgust.
Maggie went public with her criticisms. Her revelations gained widespread attention, culminating in the BBC drama ‘Three Girls’ in 2017, which depicted the Rochdale scandal, finally bringing the issue into the national spotlight.
By result, Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, commissioned an independent review of child sexual exploitation. Published in 2020, part one of the review acknowledged that the police had failed victims but stopped short of assigning specific responsibility.
The report said there was much to “commend in the investigative phase” and that “the scoping phase of Operation Augusta had delivered its objectives successfully”.
In recent interviews, Maggie relayed how immense the emotional and psychological toll was. She suffered from sleep deprivation, depression and even lost her home because of financial strain.
After resigning, her former colleagues at GMP accused her of being a troublemaker and reportedly even threatened her with jail time for “breaching confidentiality”.
In the public arena, her actions made her a target for both praise and criticism. While many lauded her bravery, others claimed she stirred racial tensions, despite her focus being on crime, not ethnicity.
In a recent GB News documentary, she claimed that grooming/r*pe gangs are STILL operating and being ignored.
“This is going on today. We've been approached by 60 victims in the last three days who are currently being failed by the police”.
Last week, she praised Channel 4 for finally airing a short documentary in December 2024 on the grooming, rape, and abuse of children in Barrow, Cumbria.
Turns out, Maggie had introduced members of the production team to a victim, Ellie Reynolds, several years earlier.
Maggie’s relentless pursuit for justice not only directly brought gang rapists to account, but forced the government and councils to act. Her story continues to be one of courage against a backdrop of institutional resistance.
She now works as a campaigner and supports child sex abuse victims through her The Maggie Oliver Foundation.
You can find her here on X @MaggieOliverUK
Highly recommend watching her interview w Andrew Gold on YouTube
The Sentencing Council's recent actions caused a storm online and in the press.
Last night, they backtracked.
But it wasn't necessarily the rules that were the most worrying aspect of the whole saga.
Here's an honest attempt to breakdown the situation.
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On March 5th, 2025, the Sentencing Council released updated guidelines on community and custodial sentencing that stunned both citizens and politicians alike.
The guidance instructed magistrates and judges to “normally consider” ordering pre-sentence reports (PSRs) for offenders from “ethnic minority, cultural minority, and/or faith minority communities.” Women and trans-identified individuals were also included.
Once again, British Gas stands accused of "forcing" them on Brits.
At the centre of it all? CEO Chris O’Shea.
The story runs deeper than many might expect—speaking to abuses of power, coercion and control.
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Chris O’Shea has been the CEO of Centrica since 2020.
Centrica, the parent company of British Gas, is one of the major players in UK’s gas and electricity market—supplying over 10 million households.
It emerged from the breakup of British Gas plc in 1997.
Earlier this month, The Telegraph revealed that British Gas and other major providers are now “forcing” customers to accept smart meters—part of an aggressive push to meet net zero targets.
These meters encourage reduced consumption and usage during off-peak times.
There's been an interesting update in the Southport story...
Key reporter Charlie Astor-Bentley broke her two-month-long silence today.
Revelations and context.
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In a disturbing twist to the already grim story, journalist Charlie Astor-Bentley has spoken publicly for the first time in nearly two months—revealing her X account was hacked and her viral thread on Southport child-murderer Axel Rudakubana’s sentencing was deleted.
This was no ordinary thread.
Bentley had live-posted courtroom details as Rudakubana, the man responsible for one of the most horrifying massacres in modern British history, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 52 years.
The Online Safety Act came into full force on Monday.
It started as a child safety measure.
But what it’s become? Few saw coming.
The origins, the players involved, the powers buried within, and the alarming future ahead.
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The Online Safety Act has been in the works since 2017.
It all began, as so much invasive, wide-reaching legislation does, with tragedy.
In 2017, a 14-year-old girl by the name of Molly Russell started consuming dark content online. Themes of self-harm and suicide relentlessly bombarded her feed, pulling her further and further into despair.
Something went very wrong with Britain’s medical watchdog.
At the heart of it? One career civil servant.
Meet Charlie Massey, the man who transformed the General Medical Council beyond recognition.
How did he do it? And at what cost?
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Massey became chief executive and registrar of the GMC in 2016.
He is a career civil servant, having previously worked in HM Treasury, the Cabinet Office, Department for Work and Pensions, the Pensions Regulator and the Department of Social Security.
The GMC regulates doctors in the UK, ensuring they are properly trained, competent, and held accountable.
It is supposed to be independent, funded by doctors via fees and managed by an ethical head to safeguard patients.