Hull grooming gang: Alleged female victims complain after police officers diverted to deal with summer riots
Two young women who claim to have been repeatedly raped as part of an organised child sexual abuse ring have complained to Humberside Police after being told officers from their investigation have been diverted to deal with cases from the summer riots.
‘Anna’ and ‘Sarah’ – not their real names – were teenagers when Sky News first interviewed them in the summer of 2021.
Now young women they are still waiting for justice and say sometimes, when in town, they still see the men who abused them as children.
The investigation into their allegations was originally wound down in 2021 but was reopened after a Sky News investigation revealed evidence the police seemed to have overlooked.
After submitting the investigation to be reviewed by an independent body, Humberside Police promised to put fresh eyes on the case.
Victims ‘Sarah’ and ‘Anna’ are still waiting for justice two years after police reopened their case
That was two years ago, but in a meeting last month Anna and Sarah were told that officers were only just starting.
“They said they’ve just finished reading through all the evidence from the previous investigation and now they are starting at the beginning, which I think two years is a long time for it to be only at the beginning of the investigation,” Sarah says.
Anna adds: “I was really angry because it made us think ‘how long is it going to go on for?’ This all started in 2016/2017, so it’s been going on long enough already.”
Adding to their frustration is that they’ve been told some officers have been taken off their case to deal with the riots as well as the investigation into a funeral parlour in Hull over the treatment of bodies.
“It’s frustrating because obviously it is serious what they’re looking into, but I do believe that men going around raping and abusing young girls is more important than the riots,” Anna says.
“Why are they so concerned that a couple of people have set a bin on fire in the middle of the town centre, but young girls are out there being raped and forced to do things that they should never, ever have to do,” adds Sarah.
‘Sarah’ and ‘Anna’ often still see the men who abused them as children
“It’s not like it ends with us. It carries on with all the other people after us, after we left the grooming gangs. It’s still going on with the next generation of young girls that they’ll find and it’s never going to stop.”
In a letter to the interim chief constable of Humberside Police, Judi Heaton, the two women say they feel like their case “is neither a priority nor being taken very seriously”.
They add: “It was reopened two years ago after the initial investigation was found to be inadequate. We therefore assumed this error would be rectified with a full and thorough investigation second time around. This hasn’t happened.”
Sarah says she sometimes still sees the men who abused her, one of them very recently.
“He was so close to me, and I felt so sick I that he’d been anywhere near me. It’s a horrible, horrible feeling that comes over you.
“I can see them sometimes in my local Tesco. I can be doing a food shop, and I’ll see them, and they just ruined your day because all day you think is – ‘they’ve seen me’. So are they going to tell their friends that they’ve seen me and is there going to be someone waiting outside for me – all these emotions and thoughts run through your head.”
Anna says one of her abusers has since been convicted of raping a teenager.
She says: “He’s been put in prison for that now. If they’d have listened when I first reported it, then that probably wouldn’t have happened.”
Humberside police told Sky News that this is a complex investigation with victims at the heart of it
Humberside police told Sky News that this is a complex investigation with victims at the heart of it, and some aspects of the investigation are “well advanced”.
Deputy Chief Constable Dave Marshall said: “Child sexual abuse and exploitation is a deplorable and condemnable crime.
“I can offer my utmost assurance that regardless of any other investigation or incident which occurs, Operation Conference remains a priority for Humberside Police.
“We are determined to thoroughly examine every piece of information and evidence available, to ensure we are in a position where we can hold those responsible to account.
“Over the last two years, an untold amount of work has taken place. We are unable to share specific details in order to protect the integrity of the investigation and to not jeopardise any future criminal or judicial proceedings.
Some officers have been taken off the case to deal others including the summer riots
“There is still a way to go, but we are determined that we do the right thing by our victims and seek the justice they deserve, they are survivors of truly horrific experiences. We will continue to do all we can to support and help them in any way we can.”
The government also says combating violence against women and girls is a priority, but for Anna and Sarah – it doesn’t feel like it.
Sarah says they both need to see an end point.
“It’s been nearly six years, and we’ve stopped and started and stopped and started. We are trying to move on with our lives – trying to better ourselves and this is just holding us back.
“We want to be able to live our lives and be able to walk down the street without looking over our shoulders, thinking somebody is going to hurt us.”
Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield has resigned from the Labour Party.
The 53-year-old MP is the first to jump ship since the general election and in her resignation letter criticised the prime minister for accepting thousands of pounds worth of gifts.
She told Sir Keir Starmer the reason for leaving now is “the programme of policies you seem determined to stick to”, despite their unpopularity with the electorate and MPs.
In her letter she accused the prime minister and his top team of “sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice” which are “off the scale”.
“I’m so ashamed of what you and your inner circle have done to tarnish and humiliate our once proud party,” she said.
Rosie Duffield. Pic: UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via Reuters
Sir Keir has faced backlash after a Sky News report revealed he had received substantially more freebies than any other MP since becoming Labour leader.
Since December 2019, the prime minister received £107,145 in gifts, benefits, and hospitality – a specific category in parliament’s register of MPs’ interests.
Ms Duffield, who has previously clashed with the prime minister on gender issues, attacked the government for pursuing “cruel and unnecessary” policies as she resigned the Labour whip.
Read more:
The Westminster Accounts: Check how much your MP has received
She criticised the decision to keep the two-child benefit cap and means-test the winter fuel payment, and accused the prime minister of “hypocrisy” over his acceptance of free gifts from donors.
“Since the change of government in July, the revelations of hypocrisy have been staggering and increasingly outrageous,” she said.
“I cannot put into words how angry I and my colleagues are at your total lack of understanding about how you have made us all appear.”
Ms Duffield also mentioned the recent “treatment of Diane Abbott”, who said she thought she had been barred from standing by Labour ahead of the general election, before Sir Keir said she would be allowed to defend her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat for the party.
Her relationship with the Labour leadership has long been strained and her decision to quit the party comes after seven other Labour MPs were suspended for rebelling by voting for a motion calling for the two-child benefit cap to be abolished.
“Someone with far-above-average wealth choosing to keep the Conservatives’ two-child limit to benefit payments which entrenches children in poverty, while inexplicably accepting expensive personal gifts of designer suits and glasses costing more than most of those people can grasp – this is entirely undeserving of holding the title of Labour prime minister,” she said.
Ms Duffield said she will continue to represent her constituents as an independent MP, “guided by my core Labour values”.
UK
King Charles hails ‘uniquely special’ Scotland as it marks Holyrood milestone – before being hugged by woman
The King has paid tribute to Scotland as a “uniquely special place” for the Royal Family as he marked the 25th anniversary of the Scottish parliament.
At the ceremony to commemorate a quarter of a century since parliament opened at Holyrood, the King said: “Speaking from a personal perspective, Scotland has always had a uniquely special place in the hearts of my family and myself.
“My beloved grandmother was proudly Scottish, my late mother especially treasured the time spent at Balmoral, and it was there in the most beloved of places, where she chose to spend her final days.”
He said we are all “united by our love of Scotland”, paying tribute to its “natural beauty”, “strength of character”, “diversity of its people”, “passions and frequently deeply held beliefs”.
“From the central belt to the north Highlands, across the islands in Ayrshire, in the Borders, the cities, towns and villages, all the coastal communities, who I wonder, could not fail to be moved by this complex Caledonian kaleidoscope?,” he asked as presiding officer Alison Johnstone and the Queen sat beside him.
After he gave the speech, the King was hugged by a member of the public – who said she did so “because of him being unwell”.
The 75-year-old was diagnosed with cancer in February but has since returned to public duties.
Yvonne Macmillan, 59, from East Renfrewshire, attended the anniversary ceremony with her husband Russell who is registered blind and chosen as a “local hero” for work in their area.
“I asked him if he was feeling better and if I could give him a hug. I actually said to him: ‘Can I hug you?’,” she said.
“As I hugged him I said, ‘God bless you’, so it was like God giving him a hug.”
The King listens to the presiding officer of the Scottish parliament at Holyrood. Pic: PA
The Queen sits alongside the King as he makes his speech on Saturday. Pic: PA
Read more
King hugs women’s rugby team
King and Queen will not visit New Zealand
Charles has ‘got his mojo back’
While Sir Tony Blair’s Labour government legislated for Scottish devolution in 1997 – parliament officially opened at Holyrood on 1 July 1999.
The King has made six visits to the parliament since 1999 – while his mother Queen Elizabeth II made 10 visits during her lifetime.
The King arrives at the Scottish parliament on Saturday. Pic: PA
Scottish First Minister John Swinney is one of a number of MSPs who have been at Holyrood since the start of devolution.
He said in his own speech in Edinburgh on Saturday that the parliament has “placed itself at the very heart of the nation”, describing it as a “vessel of enlightenment, invention and creativity”.
The King shakes hands with First Minister John Swinney in Edinburgh on Saturday. Pic: PA
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The SNP’s Christine Grahame is another MSP who has been there since the start.
“Free tuition, free prescriptions, game-changing policies to tackle child poverty, the ban on smoking, the baby box, ScotRail back in public ownership – none of this would have been possible without the Scottish parliament and the strength of our commitment to self-determination,” she said on Saturday.
The King said the devolved parliament has the ability to “touch and to improve the lives of so many individuals”.
Former first ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf take a selfie as they wait for the King. Pic: PA
But he added that “there remains much more to be done” for Scotland, the rest of the UK, particularly with regards to climate change.
“Let this moment therefore be the beginning of the next chapter,” he told those assembled.
“The achievement of the past and the commitment shown in the present give us the soundest basis for confidence in the future.”
A moped riding phone thief was caught red-handed after police tracked the device down hours after he snatched it from a woman’s hand.
CCTV footage released by police showed a masked moped rider mount the pavement in Croydon, south London, to swipe a phone from a woman’s hand on 6 March, while another victim had theirs stolen while they waited for a bus an hour later.
Amari Scott, 20, looked surprised when confronted by officers inside a shop, where he was found with two mobile phones.
Amari Scott was caught red-handed. Pic: Met Police
“We’ve just had a moped rob a mobile phone off the pavement and the phone is pinging in this location,” one of the officers told him in body-worn camera footage before Scott was handcuffed and led away.
Police also recovered a stolen motorbike and Scott, from Sutton, south London, was later jailed for four years.
Two teenagers who committed four robberies in the space of just half an hour were also arrested as part of a crackdown in Croydon.
Aged 16 and 17, the teens were issued with referral orders after pleading guilty to charges of robbery, attempted robbery and attempted grievous bodily harm.
Amari Scott was jailed for four years. Pic: Met Police
Read more from Sky News:
Are killers getting younger?
Wind warning issued after heavy rain
They were behind a spree of eight robberies across Croydon and nearby Bromley, including four within 30 minutes on the morning of 5 August.
Their crimes, which included the knife point robbery of a rough sleeper outside Croydon library, were caught on CCTV.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
One of the teenagers tried to discard a knife before she was arrested after a foot chase, telling officers: “The knife wasn’t mine”.
The other ran away, leaving a knife and his bag, but was lying in bed at home when he was arrested shortly after.
Two teenagers committed four robberies in 30 minutes. Pic: Met Police
The Metropolitan Police said officers are intensifying efforts to tackle robbery and theft, encouraging victims to report incidents as they happen to increase the chances of catching the criminals.
Chief Inspector James Weston said: “We understand the impact that robbery has on victims – it is invasive and frightening.
“That’s why our teams are working so hard to deter and catch offenders to reassure our local community.
“Thanks to the hard work of officers, our partners and community grassroots organisations, we are stepping up our efforts and tackling the issues that matter most to the people of Croydon.”
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports6 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports11 months agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway