Failure to report child sex abuse to become criminal offence amid grooming gangs row
Professionals who work with children will face criminal sanctions if they fail to report claims of sexual abuse, the home secretary has announced.
Yvette Cooper promised to implement the key recommendation from Professor Alexis Jay’s child sexual abuse inquiry after Sir Keir Starmer faced down calls from Elon Musk, the Tories and Reform UK for a new investigation into paedophile grooming gangs.
Ms Cooper said the mandatory reporting measure will be put in the Crime and Policing Bill due to come before parliament this spring, with professional and criminal sanctions for those who fail to comply.
She attacked the Tories for failing to introduce the law while they were in government, saying she first called for it in 2014 after it emerged around 1,400 girls were abused in Rotherham between 1997-2013.
“This is something I first called for in response to the reports and failings in Rotherham 10 years ago,” Ms Cooper told MPs.
“It’s something that the prime minister first called for 12 years ago, based on his experience as director of public prosecutions, and the case was clear then. But we’ve lost a decade and we need to get on with it now.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Grooming gangs: What happened?
Ms Cooper said this was one of three “key recommendations” the government would implement from the Jay report, alongside making grooming an aggravating factor in the sentencing of child sexual offences and creating a new performance framework for policing “so these crimes are taken far more seriously”.
She also announced a new “victims and survivors” panel to help with work around child sexual exploitation and abuse.
The panel will come alongside a “significant package of measures” to be outlined next week, including strengthening the law on AI-facilitated child sexual abuse images, Ms Cooper said.
Prof Jay’s Independent Inquiry Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) was set up in 2015 by the then Conservative government and carried out 15 investigations, including into grooming gangs and abuse in schools and the church.
The IICSA’s final report was published in 2022 and set out 20 recommendations it said were necessary to reduce child suffering, but charity The Survivors Trust say that two years later, none have been fully implemented.
Musk’s attacks on Starmer
The issue has come back into the spotlight following a slew of social media posts from Mr Musk, the world’s richest man, who has accused Sir Keir Starmer of being “complicit in the rape of Britain” during his time as director of public prosecutions (DPP) between 2008 and 2013 in relation to grooming gangs.
The billionaire owner of X has also suggested Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, “deserves to be in prison” for denying requests for the Home Office to lead a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham, Greater Manchester.
Girls as young as 11 were groomed and raped across a number of towns in England – including Oldham, Rochdale, Rotherham and Telford – over a decade ago in a national scandal that was exposed in 2013.
In a letter to Oldham Council dated last October but which emerged this week, Ms Phillips said that while she recognised the “strength of feeling” over the matter, she believed it was for “Oldham Council alone to decide to commission an inquiry into child sexual exploitation locally, rather than for the government to intervene”.
The row prompted by Mr Musk’s comments has also seen Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch call for a “full national inquiry” into rape gangs and defend shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick after he tweeted that “importing hundreds of thousands of people from alien cultures, who possess medieval attitudes towards women” had led to the grooming scandal.
Reform UK are also calling for a national inquiry, while the Tories are seeking to put the issue to a vote later this week.
Shadow policing minister Chris Philp said the previous investigation was mainly directed at other child sexual abuse and exploitation issues and “we need to get to the truth” on grooming gangs specifically.
However, Yvette Cooper said it was the Conservatives who set the terms of reference of the IICSA inquiry and provided “substantial funding for it”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
PM on Musk: A line has been crossed
The debate in the Commons also heard from the Labour MP for Rochdale, Paul Waugh, who said some people were treating child rape as a “political game” rather than as an “appalling crime”, and said they were “exploiting” what happened in his town.
On Monday, Sir Keir accused the Tories of “amplifying what the far-right is saying” and “jumping on the bandwagon” to gain attention, saying the party had failed to implement the recommendations of Prof Jay’s report during their final years in office.
He also hit out at “those that are spreading lies and misinformation” in response to attacks on Ms Phillips, saying they are “not interested in victims only themselves”.
Read more:
Why PM decided to finally take on Musk’s ‘dangerous’ disinformation – analysis
European leaders hit back at Musk
The prime minister is not the only European leader to criticise Mr Musk.
In a speech on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron referenced his backing for Germany’s far-right AfD party and increasing interventions in European politics, framing it as a challenge to democratic values.
France’s Emmanuel Macron also criticised Mr Musk’s interventions. Pic: Reuters
“Who could have imagined, 10 years ago, that the owner of one of the world’s largest social networks would intervene directly in elections, including in Germany?” Mr Macron said.
Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has said he is staying “cool” after Mr Musk criticised him after his coalition collapsed in November.
The Tesla boss also backed AfD in an opinion piece in a German newspaper.
On Saturday, Mr Scholz told magazine Stern there was “nothing new” in criticism by “rich media entrepreneurs who do not appreciate social democratic politics and do not hold back with their opinions”.
He added: “I find it much more worrying than such insults that Musk is supporting a party like the AfD.”
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
Wrexham AFC have been promoted for the third season in a row.
The North Wales-based side has gone from the National League to the Championship in just three seasons, under its Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Wrexham were second in the table and had a run of eight games unbeaten ahead of their match against Charlton Athletic on Saturday, which they won 3-0.
Wrexham’s James McClean lifts the League One trophy. Pic: PA
Wrexham’s Dan Scarr celebrates with the fans on the pitch after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
It is the first time any club has been promoted for three consecutive seasons within the top five tiers of English football.
The third oldest association football club in the world, Wrexham AFC was bought by Reynolds and McElhenney in 2020, and has since been the subject of a Disney+ documentary, Welcome To Wrexham.
Reynolds, wearing a Wrexham sweatshirt, and McElhenney were pictured celebrating each goal, and after the game, as the fans came onto the pitch at the SToK Cae Ras (Racecourse Ground) to celebrate the victory with the players.
Wrexham co-owners Rob McElhenney (L) and Ryan Reynolds and Ryan’s wife Blake Lively, before the match. Pic: PA
Both stars came onto the pitch after the supporters returned to the stands.
Speaking to Sky Sports, McElhenney praised those behind the scenes, referring to “so many that don’t get the credit they deserve, people who aren’t talked about”.
Reynolds said bringing success back to the club “seemed like an impossible dream” when they arrived in North Wales in 2020.
Wrexham’s Sam Smith celebrates in front of the fans after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
He put the three promotions down to “the coaching staff, the greatest dressing room” and an “all for one, one for all” attitude throughout the club, adding he was “speechless with their commitment and their emotion”.
As for the mouth-watering prospect of another promotion to the promised land of the Premier League, the pair agreed it was “for tomorrow”, before ending the interview with a joint mic-drop.
Veteran striker Steven Fletcher said, “as soon as I came to this club, I knew it was something special. We want to go again. We’ll reset in the summer, take a break and go again”.
“It has been a success.”
Just Stop Oil (JSO) insists it’s been “successful” – as its members ceremoniously hang up their orange high-vis vests during a march in central London.
Since the group formed three years ago, it’s drawn attention and criticism for its colourful, controversial protests, which ranged from disrupting sporting events to throwing soup on Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, and climbing on gantries over the M25. It sprayed orange paint over Stonehenge, and cost police forces tens of millions of pounds.
Those days are now behind it; to the relief of many.
Read more
JSO co-founder wins court appeal
Activists target grave of Charles Darwin
77 year old JSO activist recalled to prison
As a few hundred activists marched through London on Saturday, blocking roads as they went; taxi drivers blared their horns and football fans shouted abuse from the pavement.
The PA News Agency filmed the moment a white minivan seemed to drive towards a group of protesters blocking the road.
Protesters shouted “I’m being pushed back!” to police, while the driver could be heard shouting “What about my right to get home?” to the officers gathered.
But JSO never set out to be popular. And it believes its tactics – though hated – have been successful; thanks to the new Labour government’s commitment to not issue new oil or gas exploration licences.
That’s why, it says, its ceasing direct action.
JSO hangs up its high-vis jackets in central London on Saturday
A washing line of high-vis jackets signifies JSO’s disbanding
“This moment marks the success of the JSO campaign – our demand was to end new oil and gas licences and that is now government policy.
“As a result of which four billion barrels of oil are being kept under the North Sea. The campaign has reached a natural end.”
Dr Oscar Berglund, senior lecturer in international public and social policy, disagrees that JSO is disappearing because it’s been “successful”.
He told Sky News policing strength and public perception might have more to do with it.
“They have very low levels of popularity. About 17% of the British population are kind of broadly supportive of what Just Stop Oil do. And that’s too low to recruit.
“It’s difficult to recruit members to something that is that unpopular, and then that a lot of people for good reason I think have kind of stopped believing in that kind of disruption as a means to achieve meaningful change.”
Group triggers specific new protest laws
One thing it did change is the law.
Policing commentator Graham Wettone tells us: “Obstruction of the highway, obstruction of rail networks for example, these are specific offences now.
“It’s given the police more tactics, more methods, more offences they can consider, even stopping and searching somebody who may have something to either lock themselves on or glue themselves to something.”
A JSO activist holds a picture of an imprisoned colleague
Emma Smart was held in prison for her activism with both Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil.
“The high-vis might be going away,” she tells me, “but we aren’t.”
“These people aren’t going anywhere, we are still committed, dedicated, terrified by the failings of this government and governments around the world.”
JSO activists throw orange paint at van Gogh’s sunflowers
Orange smoke set off by JSO protesters at Stonehenge
She hopes for a time of reflection before it returns in a new form but says the need for climate activism is stronger than ever.
She also believes that while most people dislike JSO tactics, it still raises awareness of the cause and might even push people to more moderate campaign groups.
Just Stop Oil came behind other, similarly controversial climate campaign groups like Insulate Britain and Extinction Rebellion, and as it says goodbye, its disruptive methods have been seized upon by other organisations like the Pro-Palestinian Youth Justice.
The infamous Just Stop Oil orange vests might be going away, but the individual activists, their cause and campaign tactics feel here to stay.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway