British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday condemned the political correctness that has prevented action against “vile” criminals behind the sexual abuse of children and young women, as he unveiled plans for a new task force to go after such gangs.
The new Grooming Gangs Taskforce will involve specialist officers parachuted in to assist police forces with live child sexual exploitation and grooming investigations for stricter action against those who groom children for sexual abuse.
Sunak’s announcement came a day after his Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, said that the perpetrators of such crimes are “groups of men, almost all British Pakistani” but authorities have turned a “blind eye to these signs of abuse out of political correctness, out of fear of being called racists, out of fear of being called bigots.”
“The safety of women and girls is paramount,” Sunak said in a statement ahead of a planned visit to Leeds and Manchester to launch the new task force.
“For too long, political correctness has stopped us from weeding out vile criminals who prey on children and young women. We will stop at nothing to stamp out these dangerous gangs,” he said.
Led by the police and supported by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), Downing Street says the task force will consist of officers with extensive experience in undertaking grooming gang investigations.
They will provide critical support to forces countrywide to root out grooming gangs and put more perpetrators behind bars. Data analysts will work alongside the task force using cutting-edge data and intelligence, including police-recorded ethnicity data, to identify the types of criminals who carry out these offences.
“This will include better data on the make-up of grooming gangs, including ethnicity, to make sure suspects cannot hide behind cultural sensitivities as a way to evade justice,” Downing Street said.
It follows Braverman’s announcement to make “mandatory reporting” for adults working with children if they suspect or identify that a child is being abused. Mandatory reporting was a key recommendation in a crucial independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.
“The protection of children is a collective effort. Every adult must be supported to call out child sexual abuse without fear,” Braverman said. “And the despicable abusers must be brought to justice.
