Greater Manchester Police ran Operation Hexagon for nearly two and a half years, linked to online claims about historic child sexual exploitation in Oldham. It was not the operation investigating the alleged abusers.
Instead, Hexagon looked at the “community impact” of people making claims online. In plain English, police were watching what happened when people talked publicly about the scandal, which could mean threats, harassment or fears about public disorder.
But GMP has never clearly explained what the operation actually did.
Oldham had already seen serious failures. An independent review later found that some children had been failed by the council and by police officers meant to protect them. One victim, known as Sophie, repeatedly reported being raped and did not get the protection she needed, as ITV News reported in June 2022.
While those failures were still being argued over, police were also looking at the people discussing them.
Operation Hexagon ran from September 2019 until February 2022, and Oldham Council confirmed it supported the operation. In a freedom of information response, GMP confirmed those dates. Neither GMP nor the council has clearly said who was investigated, what crimes were suspected or what the operation achieved.
That leaves a serious gap.
Raja Miah, a well known Oldham campaigner, was arrested by GMP in July 2021 while Hexagon was active. Miah had used social media to make claims about grooming, local politicians and failures by public bodies. He was later charged with harassment over posts about a woman, and the charge was dismissed in May 2024 after prosecutors offered no evidence when the complainant did not attend court. The dismissal was reported by the Manchester Evening News and The Oldham Times.
There is no public document proving Miah’s arrest was part of Operation Hexagon. But GMP has not released enough information to rule it out.
Andy Burnham was Mayor of Greater Manchester during the whole operation, and also had responsibility for holding Greater Manchester Police to account. He could not order police to arrest someone or choose who detectives investigated. But he could ask what the operation was doing, whether campaigners, victims or whistleblowers were being watched, and whether police powers were being used fairly.
There is no reliable evidence that Burnham ordered Operation Hexagon or personally targeted anyone. That claim should not be made without proof.
But he was responsible for police oversight, and the public still does not know when his office learned about Hexagon, what he was told or what questions he asked.
Operation Hexagon may have been a proper response to threats, harassment or fears of disorder. If it was, GMP should explain what it did.
In a town where children had already been failed, the police found time to investigate what happened when people spoke about it.