OXFORD MP Nicola Blackwood has been granted a debate in Parliament over the problem of child sexual exploitation.

It comes as nine men are due to stand trial in January accused of involvement in a suspected child sex trafficking ring in Oxford.

The Conservative MP for Oxford West and Abingdon called for the backbench business debate in the House of Commons to take place on Tuesday. It will start at about 12.30pm.

Last night she said: “We are almost daily reading of child sex abuse scandals both historic and current, from the Savile allegations to the widely reported cases of child sexual exploitation gangs in Rochdale, Derby and Rotherham. In my own constituency of Oxford West and Abingdon, a suspected large scale child exploitation gang, with more than 60 victims – underage girls – from Oxford, was recently discovered.”

Ms Blackwood sits on the Home Affairs select committee inquiry into localised grooming.