JUSTICE Secretary Chris Grayling yesterday told one of the Bullfinch victims in person that he wanted to make giving evidence easier.

Mr Grayling spent more than an hour with one of the six girls who were raped, abused and prostituted by a gang of men in Oxford, trying to understand how she had felt at the Old Bailey earlier this year.

He outlined the Government’s trial of pre-recording the evidence and cross-examination of vulnerable witnesses away from the live courtroom environment. And he told the Oxford Mail he would discuss the case – which last month saw seven of the gang given sentences totalling 95 years – with other cabinet members including Home Secretary Theresa May.

The meeting was set up by Oxford West and Abingdon MP Nicola Blackwood, who was also in attendance.

Neither politician would say which of the victims he met, but Mr Grayling explained: “This was an example of one of the most difficult cases where from the point of view of the victim it was an unbelievably difficult ordeal to go through in court; multiple defendants, multiple barristers, horrendous personal circumstances and the difficulty of cross-examination.

“One of the things I wanted to ask her was how the approach we are going to trial would have impacted on her ability to give evidence. What was encouraging was she felt it would have helped her.”

Mr Grayling said the victim had given insight into the effect of having to wait to give evidence. He added: “She said it was immensely difficult [to give evidence]. “She also highlighted shortcomings in court proceedings we need to take away.”

Mr Grayling said he would discuss the meeting with Ms May and the judiciary, including the next Lord Chief Justice. Asked how he could prevent failings by police and social services during the years of abuse in Oxford from being repeated, he said: “The most important thing we can do is understand the scale of the problem. “It was a horrendous crime, clearly a wilful and deliberate act of criminality.”

Prerecording vulnerable witness evidence will shortly start being trialled in Leeds, Kingston and Liverpool.