UK’s Cameron says child sex abuse to be classified ‘national threat’

British Prime Minister David Cameron will make child sexual abuse a national priority on a par with organised crime on Tuesday, as he announces a series of measures to prevent systematic abuse. Britain has been rocked by a series of child sex abuse revelations, including a case in Rotherham, northern England, where some 1,400 children, some as young as 11, were abused by gangs of predominantly Asian men. Classifying child sexual abuse as a national threat will create a duty for police forces to collaborate across regions to safeguard children, Cameron’s office said.

Today, I am sending an unequivocal message that professionals who fail to protect children will be held properly accountable and council bosses who preside over such catastrophic failure will not see rewards for that failure.

Prime Minister David Cameron

The government has begun an inquiry into decades of child abuse and whether powerful public figures covered it up. On Monday, British police charged 10 men with sexual offences, including several involving children, as part of a wider police investigation into child sexual exploitation in Rochdale, another northern English town. Cameron will also announce other measures to improve coordination between public bodies and a helpline to encourage whistleblowers.

Child sexual exploitation is everywhere - when I first started on the team I wondered if we would find enough work and I have been overwhelmed by the amount of work that is coming in.

Detective Inspector Laura McInnes

Europe child abuse jail