The National Crime Agency (NCA) will take over an investigation into allegations that South Yorkshire Police officers sexually abused children in Rotherham.

The BBC reported in July on how five women who were exploited by grooming gangs as children have said they were also abused by police officers in the town in the 1990s to early 2000s.

South Yorkshire Police (SYP) initially said it would look at the claims, but subsequently faced calls to be removed from the investigation in the interests of transparency.

The NCA said it would ensure “victims remain at the heart of this investigation”.

Three former police officers have so far been arrested in connection with the allegations.

Assistant Chief Constable Hayley Barnett said the force had requested that the NCA take over the investigation.

ACC Barnett said: “Concerns around the mode of investigation have put the force, and not the victim survivors, at the centre of the narrative, and this fails to align with a truly victim-centred investigation.

“I am also mindful there is a chance that some victim survivors may be suffering in silence and unwilling to make a report as a result of SYP’s involvement.”

The inquiry will be carried out by officers from Operation Stovewood – the NCA’s wider investigation into non-recent child sexual abuse in Rotherham.

Prof Alexis Jay, who led the landmark 2014 report which exposed the scale of offending by grooming gangs in the town between 1997 and 2013, had told the BBC she was “shocked” the force was investigating its own former officers.

The Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp had also called for a separate body to lead the probe, saying there could be no “conflicts of interest”.

Switalskis, the solicitors representing survivors, welcomed the development as a “step in the right direction”.

Among the witness accounts reported by the BBC was the testimony of one woman who said she was raped from the age of 12 by a serving SYP officer in a marked police car.

He would threaten to hand her back to the gang if she did not comply, she said.

Philip Marshall, head of Operation Stovewood at the NCA, said the agency would “continue the extensive work” that the force had begun on the inquiry.

“Though our investigation will be independent of South Yorkshire Police, we will work closely with the force and the Independent Office for Police Conduct to ensure that victims receive the best service and support as the investigation is transferred to us,” he said.

Last month, law firm Switalskis said it had hoped that alleged abuse by officers would have been unearthed following Operation Linden – a long-running, IOPC investigation into how police responded to child sexual abuse in Rotherham.

In 2022, Operation Linden concluded that SYP fundamentally failed in its duty to protect vulnerable children and young people during the period under investigation.

In a statement on Friday, Switalskis said: “We are pleased that SYP has decided to hand the investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse, corruption, and the facilitation of abuse by former SYP officers to the NCA.

“However, we remain concerned that the investigation is still being directed by the IOPC, given the concerns raised by whistleblowers in relation to Operation Linden earlier this year.

“Nevertheless, we view this as a step in the right direction and hope that more survivors will now feel able to come forward to the NCA.”