Rishi Sunak has pledged that “political correctness” will not get in the way of a crackdown on grooming gangs, as ministers promised tougher sentences and a new police taskforce to protect children from sexual abuse.
It comes as Labour accused home secretary Suella Braverman of “dog whistle” politics after she singled out British Pakistani men and claimed Labour councils had “turned a blind eye” to signs of abuse over fears of being labelled racist.
The new taskforce, led by police and supported by the National Crime Agency, will be made up of officers with “extensive experience” of grooming gang probes, the government said.
Controversially, the plan will also see ethnicity data used to assist the police investigating grooming gangs – something ministers will argue is necessary to ensure “cultural sensitivities” are not used to prevent criminals being caught.
Mr Sunak claimed that for too long “political correctness has stopped us from weeding out vile criminals who prey on children and young women”, adding: “We will stop at nothing to stamp out these dangerous gangs.”
The PM, who will travel to Leeds and Greater Manchester on Monday, will also promise that grooming gang members will receive tougher sentences, with the introduction of new legislation that would make membership an aggravated factor in sentencing.
Ms Braverman repeatedly alluded to high-profile cases including in Rotherham and Rochdale that involved groups of men of mainly Pakistani ethnicity during her media appearances on Sunday.
“What’s clear is that what we’ve seen is a practice whereby vulnerable white English girls, sometimes in care, sometimes who are in challenging circumstances, being pursued and raped and drugged and harmed by gangs of British Pakistani men who’ve worked in child abuse rings or networks,” she told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday.
Despite the high-profile cases, a 2020 Home Office report found that group-based sex offenders are “most commonly white” – concluding that there was no evidence that any one ethnic group is over-represented in cases of child sexual exploitation.
Her language was criticised by some campaigners, while the NSPCC emphasised that an excessive focus on race could create new “blind spots”.
Challenged on Sky News about her own department’s report, the home secretary said: “There have been several reports since about the predominance of certain ethnic groups – and I say British Pakistani males – who hold cultural values totally at odds with British values, who see women in a demeaned and illegitimate way.”
It came as Ms Braverman announced a consultation on a mandatory duty on professionals working with children in England to report concerns about possible sexual abuse, as she attacked authorities who “turn a blind eye to signs of abuse”.
Asked on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg which authorities had failed when it came to grooming gangs, Ms Braverman pointed to Labour-run councils.
She said: “If we want to get political about – I didn’t want to get political – but some of these councillors, senior politicians in Labour-run areas, over a period of years, absolutely failed to take action because of cultural sensitivities.”
Lisa Nandy, the shadow communities minister, told the BBC she accepted that, in the cases of Rochdale and Rotherham, the official reports “were clear that there were politicians and [police] officers who didn’t report, sometimes for fear of political correctness”.
Ms Nandy said she had been calling for mandatory reporting of sexual abuse for years, accusing the government of allowing the number of convictions for child sexual exploitation to half in the last four years.
She added: “I have to say the home secretary is an absolute joke – for her to turn up in the TV studios talking about a wilful blind eye, near-complicit silence, talking about a lack of action, she’s basically talking about herself.”
On Sky News, she also criticised Ms Braverman for “trying to single out one particular profile and one particular group”.
Labour’s West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin told Laura Kuenssberg that Ms Braverman’s comments were “dog whistle” politics and “the blame game is not helpful” when practical solutions were needed.
Nazir Afzal, former chief crown prosecutor in the northwest, had previously warned of the danger in “focusing entirely on the ethnicity of the offender” rather than how best to protect victims.
On Sunday, Mr Afzal cited the 2020 Home Office report and tweeted: “Suella Braverman knows that 84 per cent of child sex offenders are white British, but chooses to focus on those who are not”.
Jessica Simor KC, a human rights lawyer, claimed the Tory government was using “fear” tactics to attract votes. “In 2019 they used antisemitism. In 2024 they will use grooming gangs, Pakistani men, trans people and small boats. Their only strategy is hatred, deflection and fear.”
Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the government’s response to grooming gangs was “hopelessly inadequate, belated and narrow” – saying the government had “dragged their heels” on Labour calls for mandatory reporting a decade ago.
“Only 11 per cent of child sexual abuse cases ends with a charge – down from 32 per cent seven years ago, and the court delays have got far worse with victims waiting years for justice,” said Ms Cooper.
The government said data analysts would work alongside specialist officers, promising “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”.
The NSPCC said Ms Braverman’s plan to legally compel people to report abuse was a “step in the right direction”, but called on ministers to overhaul support and said more needed to be done to improve the understanding of who was at risk.
On plans for tougher sentencing, justice secretary Dominic Raab called grooming gangs a “scourge on our society”, saying he wanted “to send a clear message to anyone who exploits vulnerable children that they will face the full weight of the law”.
The announcements come after the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse last year described sexual abuse of children as an “epidemic that leaves tens of thousands of victims in its poisonous wake”.
The seven-year inquiry into institutional failings in England and Wales concluded that people in positions of trust should be compelled by law to report child sexual abuse.
Professor Alexis Jay, who chaired the inquiry, welcomed the announcements.
She said: “The commitment to mandatory reporting is very encouraging, and I look forward to working with the Government to ensure that the full package of the inquiry’s recommendations in its final report is taken forward to better protect children from sexual abuse in the future.”
Children’s Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza also welcomed the plans, but urged the Government to “extend this same focus to children arriving in the UK who often face similar dangers”.
