The BBC Sounds series Stalked is thrilling and worrying

Photo by Tim Robinson/Millenium
It all started with a selfie. It was 2015 and Hannah Mossman Moore, a 23-year-old graduate, had just arrived at her first London Fashion Week, bristling with excitement. Mossman Moore was interning with Alighieri, a jewellery start-up. Her job involved rubbing shoulders with models, fashion insiders and journalists. She was searching, among the hordes of well-dressed somebodies, for a cash-rich foreign buyer. And it wasn't long before she found one.
Mossman Moore was introduced to an elegant Hong Kong national who seemed, to her, to be a big player in the Asian fashion market. The pair took a selfie together, and swapped contact details. This seemingly innocuous chance meeting would change her life, forever.
Stalked, a ten-part podcast series on BBC Sounds, tells how Mossman Moore's life was upended after meeting the man. For most of her twenties, she was stalked by a barrage of faceless creeps: each day, she received thousands of emails, texts and messages from unknown accounts who seemed to know everything about her. These anonymous tormentors somehow knew details of her private life, her family, her job and her location. She had to change her phone number over and over again – but still the messages kept coming.
Mossman Moore was the stepdaughter of the journalist Carole Cadwalladr, who joins her as the co-host of this podcast. Cadwalladr has had her own experience of vicious cyber-stalking, following her investigation of Cambridge Analytica and the weaponisation of social media in the wake of the 2016 Brexit referendum. In this thrilling yet deeply worrying series, Mossman Moore and Cadwalladr work together to uncover the stalker's identity. They are fearless in their pursuit. Using sensitive reporting of an extraordinary personal story, they highlight the shocking lack of care being taken to safeguard victims of stalking.
Stalked
BBC Sounds
[See also: Misogyny in the metaverse]
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Scottish Sun

3 hours ago

• Scottish Sun

Our proud city is scarred by grooming gang scandal – monster paedo still lives on OUR street… kids play outside his home

The Sun spoke to a mum who claims grooming by Asian gangs was "rife" in the Greater Manchester town, admitting she was one of its victims EVIL STAIN Our proud city is scarred by grooming gang scandal – monster paedo still lives on OUR street… kids play outside his home IT was a scandal that shocked and appalled the nation and has left what residents call a 'permanent stain' on a once proud northern town. From as early as the late 90s, a child sex abuse ring preyed on vulnerable girls as young as 12 in Rochdale, with victims claiming they felt 'betrayed' by police and social workers who 'turned a blind eye'. 12 Grooming gang leader Qari Abdul Rauf is living a comfortable life in Rochdale Credit: NB PRESS LTD 12 The former taxi driver and mosque teacher now works as a food delivery driver Credit: nb press ltd 12 Rauf (top left) was part of a nine-strong gang of Asian men who abused up to 47 vulnerable girls in Rochdale Credit: PA:Press Association 12 The street in Rochdale where Abdul Rauf lives Credit: Zenpix Now, as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has finally agreed to a national inquiry into the scandal - months after dismissing calls for one as a "far-Right bandwagon" - angry locals say they fear the Greater Manchester town will be forever tarnished, and worry it may never recover. What makes it worse is the fact a prominent grooming gang leader is still resident on one of its tree-lined streets - much to the disgust of his neighbours. Qari Abdul Rauf, a former taxi driver and mosque teacher, lives a comfortable life behind net curtains with his wife and children, working as a food delivery driver. He was part of a nine-strong gang of Asian men convicted of sex trafficking and other offences including rape, trafficking girls for sex and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child in May 2012. Read More Features WOKE JUSTICE Sex beast killed my cousin…why is PM ignoring victims to let sickos out early? Up to 47 girls as young as 12 were plied with booze and drugs and gang-raped across Rochdale during the gang's two-year reign of terror. Child sex fiend Rauf trafficked a 15-year-old girl, using his taxi to drive her to secluded areas to sexually abuse her and ferry her to a flat where he and others abused her. The 55-year-old was caged for six years but released in November 2014, after serving just two years and six months of his sentence. Then-Home Secretary Theresa May ordered him and fellow gang member Adil Khan, who got a 13-year-old girl pregnant, to be sent back to Pakistan in 2014, as it would be "conducive to the public good". But Rauf used human rights law to evade deportation, and successive governments failed to deport him. Pakistan has also refused to take him back. Over a decade later Rauf and Khan remain in Rochdale, where their victims are forced to live alongside them. Ethnicity of child sex abuse suspects will be logged after truth about Asian grooming gangs was 'dodged for YEARS' Sickened neighbours have dubbed Rauf the "monster paedo" and wish he would be deported - while even he has admitted he cannot believe he is still living in the former mill town. David Carter, 69, who lives a few doors away from Rauf, told The Sun: "I'm horrified he's living near us. "He's a monster - he should never be in this country, never mind living in the same town where he caused so much misery. "It's appalling he's not been sent back to Pakistan. My grandchildren come to visit, so we always keep a close eye on him. "You see kids play in the street near his home. It's disgusting he's still here - he makes my skin crawl. 12 Abuser Abdul Rauf is noow living in an ordinary house in Rochdale Credit: Zenpix 12 David Carter lives a few doors down from Rauf says the paedo "makes his skin crawl" Credit: Zenpix "You only see him jump in the car - I think he knows everyone hates him. "An Asian man who lives in the street has said that he would be stoned to death if he ever made it back to Pakistan." Retired train driver David added: "The whole grooming scandal is a stain on our town. It's scandalous what happened." Mum-of-two Sharon Hughes, 32, added: "I can't believe this monster paedo is still here. "I tell my kids not to cycle near his house. It's terrifying this man still lives in our street." One mum told The Sun that grooming by Asian gangs was "rife" in the Greater Manchester town, admitting she was one of its victims, plied with booze, cannabis and ecstasy and driven to darkened flats. They would give us booze, weed and ecstasy. They would take us to flats and we would be in scary situations... They preyed on poor white girls Melissa Walking near a tram stop in the town centre, 37-year-old Melissa recalled: "It nearly happened to me when I was 13. "Two Asian men, who were in their 30s or 40s, would pick us up and drive us around. "They would give us booze, weed and ecstasy. They would take us to flats and we would be in scary situations. "They would try and kiss you. I knew it was wrong and that I had to get out of there. "Thankfully I was never abused or raped, but they gave us drugs all the time. "I didn't go to the police. It feels like we were abandoned to these men. They preyed on poor white girls." Scathing review 12 Baroness Casey's bombshell report found that councils and police deliberately covered up the abuse Credit: PA 12 The national inquiry was prompted by the recent convictions of another grooming gang in Rochdale during a five-year reign of terror between 2001 and 2006 (pictured) Credit: GMP The subject of grooming gangs has been thrust back into the spotlight this week following the bombshell report by Baroness Casey. The scathing review found councils, police and the Home Office repeatedly "shied away" from dealing with uncomfortable questions on the ethnicity of rapists who targeted young white girls. It revealed police and council leaders deliberately covered up the abuse - predominantly by men of Pakistani origin - because they feared being called racist. Baroness Casey's review also found that asylum seekers and foreign nationals are involved in a "significant proportion" of live investigations into grooming gangs across the UK. The national inquiry was prompted by the recent convictions of another grooming gang in Rochdale during a five-year reign of terror. The seven men "passed" victims around for sex and preyed on them in squalid flats and car parks in the town between 2001 and 2006. They groomed the girls from the age of 13, and made them their "sex slaves" by plying them with gifts, including alcohol and drugs. Last week Mohammed Zahid, 64, Kasir Bashir, 50, Mushtaq Ahmed, 66, Roheez Khan, 39, Mohammed Shahzad, 43, Nisar Hussain, 43, and Naheem Akram, 48, were convicted. Three of the abusers - Zahid, Ahmed and Bashir - were born in Pakistan and worked as stallholders on Rochdale's indoor market. Father-of-three Zahid - known as Boss Man - gave free underwear from his lingerie stall to victims. 'Betrayed a generation' One Rochdale victim previously stressed her belief that police and social workers ignored the horrifying crimes because of ­political ­correctness. Girl A, as she was known in court, was raped multiple times by sick grooming gang leader Shabir Ahmed, known as 'The Daddy' to his victims. He plied her with alcohol above a dingy takeaway. Ahmed, 72, who was in the same gang as Rauf, was caged for 22 years. Now 24, she told the BBC: "The police and social workers betrayed a generation of girls by turning a blind eye. "They knew exactly what was going on — they just didn't want to stop it. "They knew the girls were under-age, they knew the men abusing them were Asian. They were just too politically correct to admit it. "They thought they'd be called racist if they told the truth." The police and social workers betrayed a generation of girls by turning a blind eye. They knew exactly what was going on — they just didn't want to stop it... They thought they'd be called racist if they told the truth Girl A A government report in August 2014 found that 1,400 girls were groomed and abused between 1997 and 2013. Other estimates have put the figure as high as 2,000. In 2017, BBC1 drama The Girls, starring Shameless actress Maxine Peake, featured the shocking child sex abuse in Rochdale and the fact that it was ignored for years. It prompted major criticism of the authorities as police, prosecutors and Rochdale Council were forced to apologise for their failings. 'We should all hang our heads in shame' 12 Taxi driver Karamat Hussain thinks it will take a long time for the town's reputation to recover Credit: Zenpix When The Sun visited Rochdale this week, residents told of their shame that the abuse went unchecked under their noses. Grandmother Beryl Jones, 64, said: "It's sickening what went on. "The town has been shamed by it and the fact that no-one believed these girls. We should all hang our heads in shame." Taxi driver Karamat Hussain, 59, told The Sun: "What happened was disgusting. "It was shocking that it was ignored for so long. I didn't know anything about it and was stunned when I read about it. "I think it is going to take a long time for the town's reputation to recover. "When people talk about Rochdale they now think about grooming gangs which is so sad. "Much more should have been done to help these girls and stop all the abuse." 12 BBC1 drama The Girls, which starred Maxine Peake, covered the grooming gang abuse that happened in Rochdale Credit: BBC Handout 12 Rochdale residents fear the town's reputation is forever stained Credit: Zenpix 12 Local residents are disgusted that the paedophile was never deported Credit: Zenpix

The Herald Scotland

9 hours ago

• The Herald Scotland

Going live was 'baptism of fire' for STV news legend Shereen Nanjiani

Ach well, she certainly deserves it. Worked hard but it paid off, as she came to be 'much loved', as every newspaper profile acknowledges, on account of everyone finding her warm, nice and trustworthy. One imagines that's what everyone thought on 4 October 1961 when she was born in Elderslie, in the sunshine state of Renfrewshire. She cut her broadcasting teeth on Hospital Radio Paisley in the late 1970s, reading local news cuttings gathered during the week. After graduating from Glesga Yoonie, where she studied philosophy – makes you think, doesn't it? – she became a trainee journalist with STV in 1983, at the age of 22. However, hardly had she got her Biro out of her pocket than she was asked to present the evening bulletin after the regular presenter, Sheena McDonald, called in sick. 'I was aghast and immediately said I couldn't possibly do it,' she told The Herald in 2017. 'This was the main news programme, the big one, with a million viewers.' However, her boss told her reassuringly: 'Don't worry, if you f*** it up you won't be doing it again.' She didn't flip it up. In fact, she was a natural. And she loved it. Live TV: what a buzz! 'It really was a baptism of fire,' she recalled. 'I still hadn't had any training when I started doing the job for real – but I surprised myself how much I enjoyed it.' (Image: Yui Mok) MAKING THE NEWS SOON, she was appointed joint anchor of the main evening programme, and that was her for the next 20 years, reading all the news fit to blurt, as happy families gathered sociably in front of the television. She was Scotland's first Asian-heritage newsreader and, at first, was not chuffed at the channel's press releases majoring on that. 'I remember thinking, 'Oh, is that what you're seeing?' I was quite upset about it. I … wondered whether that was why I got the job. I thought it reeked of tokenism. 'I actually believe I did get the job on my own merits, but I thought it was a bit cynical of them to present me in that way. I spent much of my career railing against it, not wanting that tag to follow me around. And, of course, I was only half-Asian.' However, her feelings on the issue changed when she realised she'd become a role model for a whole generation of Asian Scots. 'So many young Asian people were coming up to me and saying, 'You've no idea what a difference it made seeing your face on TV.'' Of course, she suffered from imposter syndrome. Every genuine professional does. Anyone who doesn't suffer from imposter syndrome is an imposter. Shereen went on to present many programmes for STV, including religious affairs series Eikon, documentary series Secret Scotland, and a number of live debates and election programmes. She also hosted many of The Herald's Scottish Politician of the Year awards. At STV, she covered Lockerbie, Dunblane and the new Scottish Parliament. She also reported from Romanian orphanages after the fall of Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, from South Africa after the election of Nelson Mandela, and from Pakistan after the 9/11 terror attacks. However, after 20 years of presenting in the studio, she told The Herald, 'it was beginning to feel like Groundhog Day and I just wasn't enjoying it so much'. READ MORE: Robert McNeil: I detest yon Romans but I dig excavating their wee fortlets RAB MCNEIL'S SCOTTISH ICONS: John Knox – the fiery preacher whose pal got burnt at the stake Rab McNeil: All this talk about celebs and their neuroses is getting on my nerves GAGA FOR RADIO IN 2006, along with colleagues Jane Lewis and Sarah Heaney, she accepted voluntary redundancy from STV She was looking forward to other exciting projects away from live television, she said. This turned out to be live radio, and it was on the BBC, hitherto her rivals. Nanjiani helmed, as they say, Radio Scotland's Friday lunchtime programme, Scotland Live. She then went on to present Shereen, a live news and current affairs programme broadcast every Sunday morning with a 'lively panel' of commentators, a guest in the headlines, and reviews of the latest TV and streaming releases. Last weekend, having by now earned the double-edged adjective 'legendary' (it hints of both achievement and, er, maturity), she announced she was stepping away from the mic. For noo. She said she'd loved being part of BBC Radio Scotland, where she'd made so many good friends. 'They made me laugh and they made me think' – see, that old philosophy degree was not a total waste of time, after all – 'and it's always been a joy to come to work in the morning.' However, she felt now was the time to 'get my weekends back again, have a lie in, and explore new adventures'. BBC Radio Scotland commissioning editor Heather Kane Darling said it had been a pleasure to work with Shereen over the last 19 years, adding: 'I know our teams will miss working with her, and we thank her for her professionalism and dedication during her time with us.' Outwith her professional career, Shereen has undertaken several voluntary sector roles, including Ambassador for St Vincent's Hospice, Children's Hearing panel member, Tron Theatre board member and chair, and National Theatre of Scotland board member. COPPING LAUGHS SHE once appeared as herself in a memorable episode of BBC police spoof comedy Scot Squad, in which she tried – and failed – to present a harassed Officer Karen with a certificate declaring her one of Scotland's community heroes. The first comment under the relevant YouTube clip reads: 'SHEREEN!!!! LEGEND!!!' My understanding is that the number of exclamation marks indicates the strength of emphasis. In 2019, Shereen was invited to join the British Empire, receiving an MBE at Buckingham Palace from Charles, Prince and later King of England and the Other Bits. Asked by The Herald's Marianne Taylor if she'd ever been tempted to move to London, following in the footsteps of other Scots like Selina Scott, Kirsty Wark and Lorraine Kelly, she replied: 'I've always been very comfortable in Scotland. I suppose I was always comfortable with the Scottish people, too … I like my life here. Maybe I could and should have spread my wings, but I have no regrets.' That's the spirit. Truly a woman with her talking head screwed on.

Scotsman

10 hours ago

• Scotsman

Euan McColm: Issue of child sex exploitation must be put ahead of party politics

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper makes her statement to the House of Common on Baroness Casey's findings on grooming gangs. Picture: House of Commons/PA Wire Point-scoring over public inquiry is petty, while Scotland must also face the issue head on Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... There are some issues that truly – necessarily – transcend party politics. Matters where cooperation across all existing divides is the only option. The need to address the failure of police and local authorities to recognise and then intervene in the systematic rape of children by members of grooming gangs – and the men to whom they were sold – clearly qualifies as such an issue. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad There are no points to be scored here. Or, at least, there shouldn't be. Home secretary Yvette Cooper's announcement, last week, that an inquiry into grooming gangs would go ahead, came after months during which the Government's position was that no such thing was required. If it appears politicians have been dragged to this point against their will it's because they have. It suited the Prime Minister not to have an inquiry into the state's failure of vulnerable children right up until the point that position became untenable. Speaking to the BBC after Cooper's announcement, Sir Keir Starmer defended his decision to hold an inquiry into grooming gangs in England and Wales after previously accusing those calling for one of jumping on a 'far right' bandwagon. He had commissioned a report into the issue by Dame Louise Casey in order to 'double check' the issue and, having read her conclusions, he believed an inquiry was now necessary. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This, said the Prime Minister, was a 'practical common sense way of doing politics'. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch fired shots at the PM over his past position. He had made things political with those 'far right' claims. But Badenoch went on to concede that her party had not done enough, while in power, to address the problem of grooming gangs. This was something she had apologised for. The truth is that, when it comes to the inadequacy of their responses to the widespread abuse of children by grooming gangs, Labour and the Conservatives share a fragile glass house. Both are guilty of past inaction. Both have amends to make. Their petty 'he-did-it-no-she-did-it' sniping is an indulgence. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Concerns about the sexual exploitation of children by grooming gangs south of the border emerged in 2010 when five men from the Asian community in Rotherham were jailed for sexual offences against a number of underage girls. Those convictions sparked a local inquiry which uncovered systematic abuse on a horrifying scale in the town, with an estimated 1,400 children exploited between 1997 and 2013 by men predominantly of Pakistani heritage. A later report by Baroness Alexis Jay warned of 'endemic' abuse in communities across England and Wales. Here in Scotland, reports of grooming gangs – involving both Asian and white men – began appearing almost quarter of a century ago. This was never a problem solely for communities south of the border. But it was that high profile Rotherham case which finally brought focus on to an issue to which authorities had previously turned a blind eye. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad We know that a number of factors played into this appalling betrayal of children being put through unimaginable horror. There was the fear that to raise to concerns about the behaviour of certain men would be to invite accusations of racism. There was also the characterisation of victims as complicit. Some children were viewed as 'sex workers' – as if they possessed even a grain of agency. While details of cases across England emerged, Scottish politicians began looking at the situation north of the border. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In March 2013, Holyrood's public petitions committee announced the launch of an inquiry into the sexual exploitation of children. In November 2014, SNP ministers were lambasted for failing to come up with a promised action plan for tackling the problem. The failure of victims by the state is a UK-wide phenomenon. While the inquiry announced by Yvette Cooper will look at cases in England and Wales, it is up to First Minister John Swinney to decided how the Scottish Government should approach this matter. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Asked about his plans, Swinney said the ongoing Scottish child abuse inquiry – currently examining the appalling treatment meted out to some children while in the 'care' of the state – had 'extensive scope and ability to explore many or all of these issues'. There would, he added, be 'other processes of inquiry that are undertaken when that's appropriate'. What a lot of hot air. The current child abuse inquiry is looking at similar but different issues to those thrown up by the cases of the victims of grooming gangs. Swinney is quite wrong to think otherwise. And he is complacent, indeed, if he seriously thinks that the possibility of 'other processes' is enough to satisfy understandable public anger over the abuse of children. The UK Government cannot force a public inquiry into grooming gags onto Scotland. It is up to Swinney to decide whether to ask for the inquiry announced to by Cooper to be extended to cover cases here, to announce an independent Scottish inquiry, or to do nothing. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad When he comes to his senses and realises this is an issue that won't go away, the First Minister should choose the first option. The things that allowed grooming gangs to get away with their crimes – fear of being branded racist, an institutionally misogynistic view of victims as responsible for their circumstances – exist across these islands. Scotland is not exempt from this horror. The public inquiry announced by the UK Government is needed. Scotland's inclusion is essential. If ever there was a moment for the UK and Scottish Governments to come together, this is it. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad