Paedophiles are starting to use virtual reality headsets to view child abuse images, data shows

Published

2 years ago

February 22, 2023

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Paedophiles are starting to use virtual reality headsets to view child abuse images, according to police data.

Use of this technology was recorded in eight cases in 2021/22 – the first time this technology has been specifically mentioned in crime reports.

During that period, police recorded 30,925 offences involving obscene images of children – the highest number logged by forces in England and Wales.

Of these, a social media or gaming site was recorded in 9,888 cases – including Snapchat 4,293 times, Facebook 1,361, Instagram 1,363 and WhatsApp 547.

NSPCC, which collated the data, is calling for a number of amendments to the Online Safety Bill to prevent more children becoming exposed to abuse.

Sir Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC, said: “These new figures are incredibly alarming but reflect just the tip of the iceberg of what children are experiencing online.

“We hear from young people who feel powerless and let down as online sexual abuse risks becoming normalised for a generation of children.

“By creating a child safety advocate that stands up for children and families the government can ensure the Online Safety Bill systemically prevents abuse.”

The NSPCC also wants a change to the law that would mean senior managers of social media sites are held criminally liable if children are exposed to abuse.

Sir Peter said: “It would be inexcusable if in five years’ time we are still playing catch-up to pervasive abuse that has been allowed to proliferate on social media.”

A government spokesperson said: “Protecting children is at the heart of the Online Safety Bill and we have included tough, world-leading measures to achieve that aim while ensuring the interests of children and families are represented through the children’s commissioner.

“Virtual reality platforms are in scope and will be forced to keep children safe from exploitation and remove vile child abuse content.

“If companies fail to tackle this material effectively, they will face huge fines and could face criminal sanctions against their senior managers.”

A spokesman for Meta – which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – said: “This horrific content is banned on our apps, and we report instances of child sexual exploitation to NCMEC (National Centre for Missing & Exploited Children).

“We lead the industry in the development and use of technology to prevent and remove this content, and we work with the police, child safety experts and industry partners to tackle this societal issue.

“Our work in this area is never done, and we’ll continue to do everything we can to keep this content off our apps.”

A Snapchat spokesperson said: “Any sexual abuse of children is abhorrent and illegal. Snap has dedicated teams around the world working closely with the police, experts and industry partners to combat it.

“If we proactively detect or are made aware of any sexual content exploiting minors, we immediately remove it, delete the account, and report the offender to authorities. Snapchat has extra protections in place that make it difficult for younger users to be discovered and contacted by strangers.”

‘I had no control’

Roxy Longworth was 13 when a 17-year-old boy she didn’t know contacted her on Facebook, before coercing her into sending images via Snapchat.

She said it left her feeling isolated and full of guilt, and soon a friend of his started using the images to push for more explicit pictures.

“My whole life was about doing what he told me, and hiding it from everybody,” Roxy said. “And then obviously the more photos he had, the more he had to blackmail me with until eventually he asked me to send a video. Him and his friend, they just completely owned me at that point, I had no control.”

It had a devastating effect on her mental health.

“The shame of it buried me,” she said. “I ended up becoming very ill. I self-harmed a lot, I stopped sleeping and eventually I was hospitalised with a psychotic episode. I was on suicide watch for about a year.”

She’s written a book called When You Lose It as a means of coming to terms with what happened, but says it is still haunting to know the photos exist.

Roxy added: “It’s just like a creeping feeling that you try and forget about, and then you realise those photos are still out there.

“They were on group chats with hundreds of people on them, they were everywhere.

“And the thing is – those photos are of a 13-year-old girl. That is so messed up. That’s disgusting.”

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK.

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League table of foreign criminals awaiting deportation and their offences set to be published

Published

4 hours ago

April 22, 2025

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League table of foreign criminals awaiting deportation and their offences set to be published

A league table of foreign criminals and their offences is set to be published for the first time.

The plans, due to be announced on Tuesday, will reportedly focus on those offenders awaiting deportation from the UK.

The latest data shows there were 19,244 foreign offenders awaiting deportation at the end of 2024, a rise from 17,907 when the Conservatives left office in July and 14,640 at the end of 2022.

Despite more offenders being deported since Labour came to power, the number waiting to be removed from the UK has been growing.

Factors are understood to include the early release of inmates due to prison overcrowding, instability and diplomatic problems in some countries and a backlog of legal cases appealing deportation.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the decision to publish the nationalities of foreign criminals showed Labour had “buckled” under pressure from the Conservatives to disclose the data.

The latest government statistics show there were 10,355 foreign nationals held in custody in England and Wales at the end of 2024, representing 12% of the prison population.

The most common nationalities after British nationals were Albanian (11%), Polish (8%), Romanian (7%), which also represented the top three nationalities who were deported from the UK in 2024, according to Home Office figures.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is understood to have ordered officials to release the details by the end of the year, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The newspaper reported Ms Cooper overruled Home Office officials, who previously claimed it was too difficult to provide quality data on foreign criminals.

A Home Office source said: “Not only are we deporting foreign criminals at a rate never seen when Chris Philp and Robert Jenrick were in charge at the Home Office, but we will also be publishing far more information about that cohort of offenders than the Tories ever did.”

The source added that ministers wanted “to ensure the public is kept better informed about the number of foreign criminals awaiting deportation, where they are from and the crimes they have committed”.

In March, the government announced £5m in funding to deploy staff to 80 jails in England and Wales to speed up the deportation of foreign offenders.

Foreign nationals sentenced to 12 months or more in prison are subject to automatic deportation, but the home secretary can also remove criminals if their presence in the UK is not considered desirable.

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick welcomed the news, saying: “We will finally see the hard reality that mass migration is fuelling crime across our country… Frankly, the public deserved to know this [detail on foreign criminals] long ago.”

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Rachel Reeves to head to Washington amid hopes of US trade deal

Published

7 hours ago

April 22, 2025

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Rachel Reeves to head to Washington amid hopes of US trade deal

Rachel Reeves will pledge to “stand up for Britain’s national interest” as she heads to Washington DC amid hopes of a UK/US trade deal.

The chancellor will fly to the US capital for her spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the first of which began on Sunday.

During her three-day visit, Ms Reeves is set to hold meetings with G7, G20 and IMF counterparts about the changing global economy and is expected to make the case for open trade.

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Her visit comes after Donald Trump imposed blanket 10% tariffs on all imports into the US, including from the UK, and as talks about reaching a trade deal intensified.

The chancellor will also hold her first in-person meeting with her US counterpart, treasury secretary Scott Bessent, about striking a new trade agreement, which the UK hopes will take the sting out of Mr Trump’s tariffs.

In addition to the 10% levy on all goods imported to America from the UK, Mr Trump enacted a 25% levy on car imports.

Ms Reeves will also be hoping to encourage fellow European finance ministers to increase their defence spending and discuss the best ways to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Speaking ahead of her visit, Ms Reeves said: “The world has changed, and we are in a new era of global trade. I am in no doubt that the imposition of tariffs will have a profound impact on the global economy and the economy at home.

“This changing world is unsettling for families who are worried about the cost of living and businesses concerned about what tariffs will mean for them. But our task as a government is not to be knocked off course or to take rash action which risks undermining people’s security.

“Instead, we must rise to meet the moment and I will always act to defend British interests as part of our plan for change.

“We need a world economy that provides stability and fairness for businesses wanting to invest and trade, more trade and global partnerships between nations with shared interests, and security for working people who want to get on with their lives.”

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Murder arrest after woman stabbed to death in Enfield – as victim named

Published

13 hours ago

April 21, 2025

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Murder arrest after woman stabbed to death in Enfield - as victim named

A woman who was stabbed to death in north London has been named by police – as a man was arrested on suspicion of murder.

Pamela Munro, 45, was found with a stab wound and died at the scene in Ayley Croft, Enfield, on Saturday evening, the Metropolitan Police said.

A 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder on Monday and is in custody, the force added.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil John said: “Investigating officers have worked relentlessly across the weekend to investigate the circumstances around Pamela’s death.

“We continue to support her family who are understandably devastated.”

The Met Police has asked anyone with information or who was driving through Ayley Court between 6.30pm and 7.30pm on Saturday and may have dashcam footage to contact the force.