Prosecutors told a Telford grooming victim's father they couldn't prosecute the alleged abuser because the 13-year-old had consented to have sex with the man, according to uncovered documents.

The letter was discovered after papers were handed over to the Home Office as part of the ongoing investigation into what may be Britain's 'worst ever' child abuse scandal.

It was sent from the Crown Prosecution Service to a father in 2016, and stated the branch couldn't prosecute the man because although the young girl may not have wanted to have sex, she agreed she would.

Prosecutors told a Telford grooming victim's father they couldn't prosecute the alleged abuser because the 13-year-old had consented to have sex with the man, according to documents

Telford sex scandal: Timeline of abuse 1980s Girls in Telford are targeted by groups of mainly Asian men 1996 A resident goes to police with information about a key abuser selling underage girls for sex Late 1990s Social workers learn of the problem but do little to help 2000 Lucy Lowe, 16, is killed alongside her mother and sister in an arson attack by abuser Azhar Ali Mehmood 2002 Abuse victim Becky Watson, 13, is killed in a road accident described as a 'prank' 2010-2012 Police probe Operation Chalice identifies potential 200 abusers but only nine are jailed 2016 MP Lucy Allan calls for public inquiry but police and council officials in Telford write to Home Secretary Amber Rudd saying this isn't necessary March 2018 As many as 1,000 victims are believed to have been abused Advertisement

The existence of the letter was first reported by Sky News, and read: 'The defence that was put forward in this case was that she willingly met the suspect and had consensual sexual intercourse with him.

'Also at the time this took place the suspect held a reasonable belief that she was over the age of 16.

'In her statements to the police she was clear that although she may not have wanted sexual intercourse with the suspect, she agreed to do so.'

Last Monday, it was announced that the National Independent Inquiry into Child Exploitation would talk to grooming victims as part of its 'Truth Project'.

It came about due to claims that cases were mishandled by authorities in the Shropshire town, with many perpetrators going unpunished, and reports that similar abuse was continuing in the area.

MP for Telford Lucy Allan has slammed local police and the Crown Prosecution Service in wake of the letter, saying the evidence she's compiled from victims and their families shows 'a failure to understand the nature of grooming' on the officials' parts.

Pointing to the letter, she said using the defence of consent suggests the departments don't understand how 'a young person of 13 or 14 does not have the capacity to consent in a situation like that.'

A CPS spokesperson said the case didn't meet the evidence test and a separate review confirmed the decision not to prosecute.

In early March, it was revealed a pair of whistle-blowers, who raised fears over the Telford child sex abuse scandal which affected up to 1,000 girls, were both punished and silenced.

MP for Telford Lucy Allan has slammed local police and the Crown Prosecution Service in wake of the letter, saying the evidence she's compiled from victims and their families shows 'a failure to understand the nature of grooming' on the officials' parts

According to the Mirror, police chaplain Keith Osmund-Smith was suspended after he passed papers to the newspaper and a report commissioned by the council revealed social workers knew of the sex crimes before the turn of the millennium.

Meanwhile, a woman who was hired by sex abuse charity Axis Counselling, based in Shrewsbury, was forced to leave her role after she tried to speak up.

The town in Shropshire - population 170,000– is at the centre of a probe following claims as many as 1,000 girls have been victims of sexual abuse dating back to the 1980s.

A police investigation in 2010 identified more than 100 potential victims, most of whom were young white girls, who had allegedly been abused between 2007 and 2009.

The inquiry - Operation Chalice - was closed after seven Asian men were jailed in 2012 for a total of 49 years for charges against four girls including rape, trafficking and prostitution.

But the scale of the abuse is believed to much greater than these seven men and there have been claims that it has been mishandled by the authorities.

It is alleged that social workers first knew of abuse in the 1990s, but police took a decade before launching a probe.

Previously unseen files apparently showed that council staff viewed abused and trafficked children as 'prostitutes', not victims, and that the authorities had failed to keep details of abusers from Asian communities for fear of 'racism'.

Victims are now being asked to share their experiences with the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

The sexual abuse inquiry, led by Alexis Jay, is examining 13 areas of public life for child protection failings over decades.