ParliamentThose who cover up child sexual abuse or fail to report it could face professional or criminal sanctions under a new offense to be introduced this year, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said.
The proposal was one of 20 recommendations made by Professor Alexis Jay following her seven-year investigation into child sexual abuse, which concluded in 2022.
Cooper said the change would be added to the Crime and Policing Bill this spring.
Conservative Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp welcomed the move but urged the Home Secretary to announce a national statutory public inquiry into child sexual abuse through gang grooming.
He said the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), led by Professor Guy, was “primarily directed” at other child sexual abuse cases and only covered six towns involved in the “gang rape scandal”.
“We need to get to the truth,” he told MPs, adding that an investigation was needed with powers to compel witnesses to come forward and give evidence under oath.
He added that if the government did not agree to an investigation, the Conservatives would try to amend the Child Welfare and Schools Bill to force the government to hold an investigation.
Cooper did not commit to holding a new investigation and instead stressed the importance of implementing the recommendations of investigations that have already been completed.
Introducing mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse was one of the key recommendations of the IICSA report.
She said there should be a legal requirement for those engaged in “regulated activity or working in a position of trust” to report abuse in certain circumstances including if they “observe recognisable indicators” of child sexual abuse.
The report also said it should be a criminal offense not to report abuse if a child or perpetrator tells them about it, or if they witness a child being sexually abused.
The previous Conservative government had committed to mandatory reporting, however No penalties were set for failure to do so.
Speaking to the House of Commons on Monday afternoon, Cooper said she would introduce mandatory reporting and a new offense targeting those who fail to report abuse or cover it up.
The Home Secretary also promised to make grooming an aggravating factor in sentencing assault cases and to “reform” how information and evidence relating to child sexual abuse is collected.
Earlier today, Professor Guy, who now chairs the IICSA Act campaign group, urged ministers to adopt a “clear timetable” for accepting all of the report’s recommendations.
Cooper said Protection Minister Jess Phillips met Professor Guy last year and convened a cross-government group to “drive change forward”. She said she would set timelines after working with a new committee for victims and survivors.
Maggie Oliver, a former Greater Manchester Police detective who resigned in 2012 over the mishandling of assault cases in Rochdale, told BBC Radio 4’s World Tonight programme, that the Home Secretary’s statement on child abuse was “a sort of knee-jerk reaction to… “International horror at what happened.” It happened in our country.”
The topic of grooming gangs has come under the spotlight, in part due to Elon Musk’s social media interventions.
The tech entrepreneur and adviser to US President-elect Donald Trump has described Protection Secretary Jess Phillips as a “rape genocide apologist” and accused Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer of being “complicit in the rape of Britain”.
Speaking at a press conference, Sir Keir defended his record as DPP, saying that when he left office “we had the highest number of child sexual abuse cases ever prosecuted”.
He said he enjoyed a robust debate but said it had to be “based on facts and truth, not lies.”
“What I will not tolerate is politicians jumping on the bandwagon just for attention, when these politicians have sat in government for 14 years, tweeting and talking, but not doing anything about it. Now, they are so desperate for attention that they are amplifying what the far right is saying.” ”