THE Government needs to "get a grip" on the national inquiry into child sexual abuse after the latest judge in charge of it quit, councillors have said.

Ian Hudspeth, leader of Oxfordshire County Council, raised concerns that Dame Lowell Goddard's departure from the investigation would mean lessons learnt in Oxford from Operation Bullfinch would not be shared with the rest of the country quickly.

The landmark operation by police and social services uncovered the rape and abuse of six young girls by seven men in an organised gang, an area the inquiry is expected to look at.

Mr Hudspeth said: "Here, a key part of tackling these vile atrocities was the joint working that developed between authorities to catch things at an earlier stage and stamp it out.

"This inquiry needs to help get those lessons learned in Oxfordshire there to other areas."

Dame Lowell Goddard is the third person to resign as head of the wide-ranging inquiry, which was set up amid claims of an establishment cover-up following allegations a paedophile ring operated in Westminster in the 1980s.

The inquiry's strand on "child sexual exploitation by organised networks" will focus on responses by the authorities to the "systematic grooming and sexual abuse of children by groups of offenders as seen in cities including Rotherham, Rochdale and Oxford".

Andrew Gant, chairman of Oxford City Council's scrutiny committee, said: "The problem with an inquiry like this is it deals with things that happened years ago and so memories can fade, evidence can be lost and that can make it harder to get justice.

"The Government needs to get a grip on this as soon as possible."