Police and other authorities cannot “turn a blind eye” to child sex grooming, Rishi Sunak warned today as he launched a new taskforce to crack down on abuse gangs.
Opening the first meeting of the special unit in Leeds alongside Home Secretary Suella Braverman, the Prime Minister urged officers and experts to root out exploitation in communities.
Vowing to “leave no stone unturned”, he said: “Nothing is more important than the protection of our children and I know that all of you here today are absolutely committed to stamping out grooming gangs and the sickening abuse of young people.
“It is an absolutely horrific crime - and the fact that grooming gangs are preying on young people across our country and across our communities is a huge failing, both morally and practically.
“The problem is more prevalent in our communities than people have been comfortable in acknowledging, and that's why as Prime Minister I vowed a major crackdown to bring the perpetrators of this awful crime to justice.”
He added: “In general, we can’t turn a blind eye to this type of offending.”
Earlier, Mr Sunak insisted “political correctness” would not block the fresh crackdown on grooming gangs, as he unveiled the new set of measures the Government says will protect young women and girls from sexual abuse, which will also see ethnicity data used to support police investigations.
Under the plan, specialist officers will assist local police forces to boost child sexual exploitation investigations.
Mr Sunak warned that for too long "political correctness has stopped us from weeding out vile criminals who prey on children and young women".
He vowed: "We will stop at nothing to stamp out these dangerous gangs."
The taskforce will be led by police and supported by the National Crime Agency, with membership made up of officers with "extensive experience" of undertaking investigations into grooming gangs.
The plan will also see ethnicity data used to assist the police in investigating grooming gangs - something ministers will argue is necessary to ensure "cultural sensitivities" do not hamper prosecutions.
The Prime Minister denied that the Government had been slow to act on tackling child sexual exploitation.
He told reporters in Rochdale: "We're responding to the recommendation of an independent inquiry to introduce a legal duty on those working with children to report abuse.
"Now, it's important that we get that right and we will work with all the agencies involved to make sure we implement that in a way that is practical and effective but it is right that we respond to the independent inquiry's recommendation and I'm pleased that we're putting that in place today."
Home Secretary Mrs Braverman yesterday singled out British Pakistani men over concerns about grooming gangs as she accused authorities of turning a "blind eye" to signs of abuse over fears of being labelled "racist" or "bigoted".
Home Office-commissioned research has previously found most group child sex offenders are men under the age of 30 and the majority are white - and said there is not enough evidence to suggest members of grooming gangs are more likely to be Asian or black than other ethnicities.
NSPCC chief executive Sir Peter Wanless said it is "vital we remember that any child can be a victim of child sexual exploitation and adult perpetrators do not just come from one background.
"Sexual predators will target the most vulnerable and accessible children in society and there must be a focus on more than just race so we do not create new blind spots that prevent victims from being identified."
Labour leader Keir Starmer agreed "political correctness should not get in the way of prosecutions".
But he added: "The vast majority of sexual abuse cases do not involved those of ethnic minorities and so I am all for clamping down on any kind of case, but if we are going to be serious we have to be honest about what the overlook is."
Downing Street rejected criticism that the Government was resorting to dog-whistle politics by singling out people from a British Pakistani background.
The PM's spokesman said: "No, I think the Prime Minister thinks it's right to be clear-eyed and to take an evidence-based approach and to not allow fear of political correctness to hold back taking action in this area."
Asked whether ministers should be careful with their rhetoric, the spokesman said: "Certainly it's always right to use correct tone when talking about sensitive topics.
"Equally, the Prime Minister has been very clear that we must not shy away from calling out any type of harm to children wherever and whenever it occurs."
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