Thousands of sex offenders prosecuted for changing personal details without telling police

Published

2 years ago

March 2, 2023

admin

Thousands of sex offenders are changing their details without notifying police, new figures reveal, as campaigners call for an end to a “loophole that is making a mockery of the legal system”.

Between January 2019 and June 2022, there have been almost 12,000 prosecutions made against people on the sex offence register who have failed to tell authorities about a change in their personal information, such as name and location, despite a legal requirement to do so.

The figures – obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) Request by The Safeguarding Alliance and shared exclusively with Sky News – are “just the tip of the iceberg in this epidemic” and do not reflect those who have not been caught, campaigners say.

Labour MP Sarah Champion, who led a debate in parliament on Thursday about tightening the laws, told Sky News: “By changing their name that makes a lot of the schemes that we have around safeguarding completely redundant.

“For example women who’ve experienced domestic violence, they can call up, check the name of their new partner against that (sex offence) register. If they’ve got a different name, that’s not going to flag those dangers.”

Ms Champion said the process of changing a name for a sex offender is “so simple to do”.

“You can do it online. I’ve found offenders that have done it in prison. I’ve found offenders that do it just before they get charged to keep their birth name protected.”

She said a new name allows criminals to get a new driving licence and passport and with those documents “you can then get a clean DBS check in that new name”.

“And we’ve found examples of offenders that have done that. And then have gone on to re-offend almost without any form of detection being available,” she said.

The MP for Rotherham said police already have tools to put markers on driving licences and passports electronically which could be used to flag attempts by sex offenders to change their details.

However, she claimed the Home Office have said it could only be applied in the most extreme circumstances because of cost.

Ms Champion said: “What price is put on protecting a child or a vulnerable person from a sexual offender? What price is the consequence of not doing that? Colossal. I would imagine it’s going to be a couple of hundred pounds each time they do the check.”

Asked if sex offenders should be stopped from changing their name in the first place, Ms Champion said “you still then have the same problem of trying to enforce it”.

“The problem we have at the moment is all of the onus is onto the sex offender to tell the police if they change their name, if they change their location, if they go abroad, and by nature, they’re not,” she said.

She said sex offenders are “disappearing” after changing their details and “the government can’t just sit on its hands on this. It needs to put proper protections in place”.

Can sex offenders legally change their name?

Data previously obtained by Sky News shows more than 900 sex offenders have disappeared off the police radar with many thought to have disguised their identities by changing their names and not telling officers.

From January 2017 to December 2019, 1,349 registered sex offenders notified a name change – but 913 were reported missing during the same time.

Case study: How easily can sex offenders change their name?

A deed poll process takes 15 minutes online and costs £42.44.

Campaigners are warning that while it is an offence for people on the sex offenders register to change their names without telling officials, that’s not incentive enough for them not to do it – as it’s easy to do and common practice.

A rapist called Terry Price conducted a string of sexual offences over three decades and has changed his name five times in an effort to cover up his recurring pattern of behaviour.

Della Wright, who was abused by Price as a child, recently found the courage to report the crimes – but she discovered her attacker was called Robert McEwan (also a sex offender).

Ahead of his trial in 2016, her attacker changed his name again to Mr Mac, so he was unable to enter a plea because the charges were against Robert McEwan. The process was disrupted for several weeks and Ms Wright believes he did it in the hope she would lose her nerve.

Ms Wright has waived her right to anonymity to highlight this issue in the hope that the laws will change to make it impossible for sex offenders to change their identities.

While sex offenders who fail to notify face up to five years in prison, campaigners say that is not enough of an incentive to stop them.

Ms Champion and the Safeguarding Alliance want a tagging system placed on the passport and/or driving licence on all registered sex offenders to stop them from using official documents as a way to evade justice.

They are also calling for the onus to be put on authorities who manage violent or sexual offenders to check if criminals have changed their details.

The government carried out a review of the issue in 2021 but the findings have not been made public.

Government ‘carefully considering’ review findings

Speaking in the Commons on Thursday, Home Office minister Sarah Dines said she was “carefully considering the findings”, stressing some of the content is “very sensitive”.

She suggested there are several tools to help the government manage “the risk” of sex offenders, but added: “I do accept and concede that there is always more work to be done.”

Ms Dines also faced pressure to take action from Conservative MP Mark Fletcher, who wants to make a new law to stop sex offenders from changing their identities.

The MP for Bolsover also said it is “unacceptable” and a “tremendous slap in the face” for victims for the government not to publish a review into the issue, and it feels like “we are prioritising the rights of sexual offenders over the rights of the general public”.

Miss Dines said: “As I’ve made clear, public protection and safety is our number one priority and we’re committed to ensure that the police and other agencies have more and better tools to assist them to more effectively manage registered sex offenders.

“So in a nutshell, a lot has been done but there is more to do. We need more joined-up systems and I’m going to try and do my little bit in my short time to address these issues.”

UK

Southend Airport remains closed after ‘fireball’ plane crash

Published

59 mins ago

July 14, 2025

admin

Southend Airport remains closed after 'fireball' plane crash

Southend Airport has been closed until further notice after a small plane crashed – as video footage emerged showing the aftermath of a huge fireball.

Images posted online showed large flames and a cloud of black smoke following the incident on Sunday afternoon.

Essex Police said it responded to “reports of a collision involving one 12-metre plane” shortly before 4pm.

“We are working with all emergency services at the scene now and that work will be ongoing for several hours,” the statement said.

“We would please ask the public to avoid this area where possible while this work continues.”

Southend Airport said it would be “closed until further notice” due to the “serious incident”.

“We ask that any passengers due to travel (on Monday) via London Southend Airport contact their airline for information and advice,” it added.

Zeusch Aviation, based at Lelystad Airport in the Netherlands, confirmed its SUZ1 flight had been “involved in an accident” at the airport and its thoughts were with “everyone who has been affected”.

It has been reported that the plane involved in the incident is a Beech B200 Super King Air.

According to flight-tracking service Flightradar, it took off at 3.48pm and was bound for Lelystad, a city in the Netherlands.

Pilots ‘waved’ to families watching planes

One man, who was at the airport with his wife and children, told Sky News the plane crashed within seconds of taking off.

John Johnson said the pilots “waved” at his family as they taxied the aircraft.

“We all waved [back] at them,” he continued. “They carried on taxiing to their take-off point and turned around.

“Then they throttled up the engines and passed by us. The aircraft took off and within a few seconds it had a steep bank angle to its left.”

The aircraft then “almost seemed to invert and unfortunately crashed,” he said. “There was a large fireball.”

‘Airport was in lockdown’

Wren Stranix, 16, from Woodbridge in Suffolk, was in another aircraft waiting to take off for Newquay, Cornwall, with her family and boyfriend when the plane came down.

They watched from their aircraft as the emergency services arrived and were not able to leave their seats.

“The flight attendant didn’t know what was going on,” she told Sky News. “They said the plane had exploded and they didn’t know if it was safe or not. The airport was in lockdown.”

They were eventually allowed back in the terminal to wait before all flights were cancelled.

Southend Airport said the incident involved “a general aviation aircraft”.

After the incident, EasyJet – one of just a few airlines that uses the airport – said all of its remaining flights to and from Southend had been “diverted to alternative airports or are no longer able to operate”.

The airline said it has contacted customers who were due to travel on Sunday. Anyone due to fly on Monday should check online for up-to-date information, it added.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said four crews, along with off-road vehicles, have attended the scene.

The East of England Ambulance Service said four ambulances, four hazardous area response team vehicles and an air ambulance had been sent to the incident.

David Burton-Sampson, the MP for Southend West and Leigh, asked people to keep away from the area and “allow the emergency services to do their work” in a post on social media.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was “monitoring the situation closely and receiving regular updates”.

Essex Police have set up a dedicated public portal and phone line where people can contact them about the crash at https://esxpol.uk/LIbaz and on 0800 0961011.

Chief Superintendent Morgan Cronin said: “In these very early stages it is vital we gather the information we need, and continue supporting the people of Essex.”

He added: “We are working closely with all at the scene, as well as the Air Accident Investigation Branch, to establish what has happened today and why.”

UK

Gregg Wallace: Half the allegations against MasterChef presenter substantiated, including one of unwanted physical contact

Published

2 hours ago

July 14, 2025

admin

Gregg Wallace: Half the allegations against MasterChef presenter substantiated, including one of unwanted physical contact

An investigation into Gregg Wallace’s “inappropriate behaviour” on MasterChef has found that more than half of the allegations against him have been substantiated, including one of “unwanted physical contact”.

MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK shared a summary of its report into historical allegations of misconduct against the 60-year-old presenter, carried out by independent law firm Lewis Silkin over seven months.

The report also said the number of sustained allegations made Wallace’s return to MasterChef “untenable”.

The investigation heard evidence from 78 witnesses, including 41 complainants.

There were 83 allegations against Wallace, and 45 of them were substantiated. All were related to MasterChef.

While the majority of the substantiated allegations related to inappropriate sexual language and humour, a smaller number of allegations of other inappropriate language and being in a state of undress were also substantiated.

One allegation of unwanted physical contact was substantiated.

Nearly all the allegations against Wallace were related to behaviour which is said to have occurred between 2005 and 2018, with just one substantiated allegation taking place post-2018.

Ahead of the publication of the summary, Wallace had said he had been “cleared of the most serious and sensational accusations” made against him.

Additionally, the report summary found that there were also 10 standalone allegations about other people between 2012 and 2018/2019, two of which were substantiated. Those people were not named in the summary.

The investigation found that complaints had previously been raised with the production company between 2005 and 2024.

While the report flagged inadequate reporting procedures prior to 2016, when Endemol merged with Shine ahead of Banijay acquiring Endemol Shine in 2020, it said there were significant improvements to HR processes and training after 2016.

While the investigation said some formal action was taken by the BBC in 2017, it also noted the corporation held no information regarding concerns raised over Wallace centrally, resulting in issues being addressed as a first offence.

Sky News has tried to contact Gregg Wallace for contact today.

UK

Palace confirms dates of Trump’s state visit – as King and Queen to host him at Windsor Castle

Published

10 hours ago

July 14, 2025

admin

Palace confirms dates of Trump's state visit - as King and Queen to host him at Windsor Castle

The dates for Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK have been announced, with the US president due to be welcomed by the King from 17 to 19 September.

Buckingham Palace also confirmed that President Trump and first lady Melania will be hosted by the King and Queen at Windsor Castle.

It was expected that the three-day state visit would take place in September after Mr Trump let slip earlier in April that he believed that was when his second “fest” was being planned for.

Windsor was also anticipated to be the location after the US president told reporters in the Oval Office that the letter from the King said Windsor would be the setting. Refurbishment works at Buckingham Palace also meant that Windsor was used last week for French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit.

This will be Mr Trump’s second state visit to the UK, an unprecedented gesture towards an American leader, having previously been invited to Buckingham Palace in 2019.

He has also been to Windsor Castle before, in 2018, but despite the considerable military pageantry of the day, and some confusion around inspecting the guard, it was simply for tea with Queen Elizabeth II.

Further details of what will happen during the three-day visit in September will be announced in due course.

On Friday, Sky News revealed it is now unlikely that the US president will address parliament, usually an honour given to visiting heads of state as part of their visit. Some MPs had raised significant concerns about him being given the privilege.

But the House of Commons will not be sitting at the time of Mr Trump’s visit as it will rise for party conference season on the 16 September, meaning the president will not be able to speak in parliament as President Macron did during his state visit this week. However, the House of Lords will be sitting.

In February this year, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer presented the US president with the letter from the King inviting him to visit during a meeting at the White House.

After reading it, Mr Trump said it was a “great, great honour”, adding “and that says at Windsor – that’s really something”.

In the letter, the King suggested they might meet at Balmoral or Dumfries House in Scotland first before the much grander state visit. However, it is understood that, although all options were explored, complexities in both the King and Mr Trump’s diaries meant it wasn’t possible.

This week, it emerged that Police Scotland are planning for a summer visit from the US president, which is likely to see him visit one or both of his golf clubs in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire, and require substantial policing resources and probably units to be called in from elsewhere in the UK.

Precedent for second-term US presidents, who have already made a state visit, is usually tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle, as was the case for George W Bush and Barack Obama.