The chief constable of South Yorkshire Police has requested a meeting with the former chief social work adviser to the Scottish Government after her ­damning report into the sexual abuse of girls in Rotherham.

Professor Alexis Jay's report makes "painful ­reading" for the force, whose officers have been accused of ignoring the plight of vulnerable young people who made reported sexual abuse, according to its chief David Crompton.

He has requested a ­meeting with the academic to ensure the same mistakes are not made in the future.

Mr Crompton said: "The report into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham laid bare the failings of South Yorkshire Police over a number of years.

"This made for painful reading, however I am determined that we will use the findings of the report to ensure the mistakes of the past are not repeated.

"With this in mind I have written to Professor Jay to request a meeting, which will allow us to fully understand her detailed findings and properly address any concerns both past and present."

He added that more people were coming forward to report child sex exploitation, saying he regarded this as a "sign of confidence amongst victims that the force, as it stands now, will take these matters seriously and investigate them fully".

Meanwhile, the council's former chief executive Ged Fitzgerald is to be questioned by his current boss, the mayor of Liverpool, over what he knew about the town's sex abuse scandal.

Professor Jay's report on the abuse scandal said the reaction of senior police and council figures to a ­critical Home Office report published in 2003 "led to suspicions of collusion and cover-up".