Grooming gangs whistleblower Maggie Oliver hailed a “victory for every child in the UK” after her foundation forced the Government into a full judicial review over its handling of child sex abuse.

Four years after a £200million probe issued its final report, successive administrations have failed to implement the majority of its recommendations. Ms Oliver said the lack of action had “horrified” survivors, many of whom gave evidence to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IISCA), having been promised it was a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to enact change.

“I feel that I was misled and I’m not a victim or a survivor who has been re-traumatised by reliving my abuse for a national inquiry in the belief that this will bring change for future generations,” she told the Express.

“The victims and survivors that we support, who were part of the IICSA, feel horrendously let down and failed. For me, it’s inhumane [and] immoral.”

But, after a hearing at the Old Bailey, the Maggie Oliver Foundation was granted permission to take the Government to court over its refusal to accept the inquiry’s recommendations.

Among its demands were a commitment to ensure children in care have access to justice and an end to pain-inducing restraint on children in custody, described by IISCA as “amounting to torture”.

Asked if the Government’s decision to fight the charity in court cast doubt over promises made by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on child sexual abuse, Ms Oliver responded by saying it was not political, but a matter of “right and wrong.”

She added, “In this day and age, a government should not be fighting not to implement these recommendations.

“IICSA was about all victims of any kind of sexual abuse, so as a mother, as somebody who believes that children should be safeguarded, these recommendations are only the start of change.

“We really need change in this country. This is the starting point. It’s not the end of the road. And if they won’t even take the first step, it doesn’t bode well for the children of the future.”

Ms Oliver said the ultimate hope for the legal challenge is that the Government implements all the recommendations.

She said: “I hope that this will shame those in power and make them re-examine their principles and their conscience and that they will bring in the 20 recommendations that were the result of a seven-year inquiry.

“We can’t force them to do anything, but they are meant to represent the country and the country wants this.

“Victims want this, children want this, and to safeguard future generations of children, these recommendations need to be the starting point for change.

“If the Government still refuse, then at least the whole country will know that these are just empty words.”

She also pointed out that this did not bode well for the upcoming inquiry, specifically looking at grooming gangs, already been beset with controversy after multiple resignations from the victims panel over the focus being watered down.

“Why are we going to put ourselves through another three years of a grooming gang inquiry and all the trauma that that brings up if at the end of it the Government can just say ‘oh no we don’t want to do this, we don’t care, we’re not going to bother implementing these either?’” she said.

A government spokesman said:“The Government is committed to tackling the horrors of child sexual abuse and exploitation and getting justice for victims and survivors. There can be nowhere for these evil perpetrators to hide.

“As part of this work, we have set out a clear strategy for delivering IICSA’s recommendations, including the introduction of legislation which is now going through Parliament.

“This includes introducing mandatory reporting, reforming the disclosure and barring system, removing the three-year limitation for victim personal injury claims, and making grooming a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing.”