Latest news with #Casey
Irish Independent
7 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
‘Lit up like a Christmas tree' – Calls for vape shop restrictions in south Dublin
The motion, brought by Sinn Féin councillor William Casey, said that the 'proliferation of vape shops" in the centre of villages and near schools was an 'undesirable development' that should be tackled with a ban. During the Clondalkin, Newcastle, Rathcoole, Saggart and Brittas Area Committee meeting, Mr Casey said the growing number of vape shops were targeted at school-going children. "It's our children that they're aiming at. They're no longer aiming them at the adults who have taken to vaping because they couldn't get off cigarettes, they're being aimed directly as a first-choice product for children,' he said. Other councillors agreed, with Independent Francis Timmins saying that he wasn't only worried about the number of vape shops, but also their lengthy opening hours. "At 11 or 12 at night, a vape shop open in the middle of Clondalkin is a bit bizarre to me. I don't get it, I don't understand it,' he said. "I'm concerned about the opening times, I'm concerned about the litter of the vapes around the shops, we've had an issue with that, we've had an issue with signage, particularly the signage around the ACA (architectural conservation area). 'One of the vape shops is lit up like a Christmas tree, and it's lit up from early morning to late at night, and it's just diabolical to be quite honest with you for a heritage village,' he added. Mr Timmins said he thought there were four or five such shops in Clondalkin village, with several selling vapes and sweets alongside one another, a tactic that 'really worries' him. Independent Ireland councillor Linda de Courcy said 'nothing good is going to come' from the number of vape shops now open in Clondalkin, and said she had seen children buying sweets in them. A response from SDCC given to Mr Casey said that no policy on vape shops existed in the County Development Plan 2022-2028. ADVERTISEMENT Even if it were in the plan, the council said it would have a 'very limited effect' on the ground because shops benefit from significant exemptions under the Planning and Development Act 2001. "This means a wide range of commercial and retail premises in our villages and communities could be changed to vape shops without planning permission. This makes the planning system unsuited to the management of vape shops.'
Spectator
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Spectator
Will Emily Maitlis now apologise to Rupert Lowe?
The News Agents podcasters appear increasingly less focused on facts and more on taking a pop at people who hold different views to them. Ex-Reform man Rupert Lowe was a recent casualty. He was invited onto the podcast to speak to Maitlis – who wasted no time in tearing into him, going so far as to suggest the independent parliamentarian was 'racist' after he spoke about Pakistani grooming gangs. But after the publication of Baroness Casey's review this week, it would appear Maitlis is due a rather large slice of humble pie… On the episode, Maitlis asked Lowe quizzically: 'Why do you only talk about Pakistani grooming gangs? There are ten times as many white grooming gang suspects.' She then added: 'You are focusing on Pakistani grooming gangs because, probably, you're racist.' Er, right. Mr S wonders what exactly Maitlis made of Casey's review this week, then. It suggests that, where ethnicity data was logged (in around a third of the cases of group-based child sexual exploitation) there was an overrepresentation of Asian and Pakistani men. And, as Mr S has written before, Pakistani men are up to five times as likely to be responsible for child sex grooming offences than the general population, according to figures from the Hydrant Programme, which investigates child sex abuse. Around one in 73 Muslim men over 16 have been prosecuted for 'group-localised child sexual exploitation' in Rotherham, research by academics from the universities of Reading and Chichester has revealed. How very interesting… So will Maitlis now apologise to Lowe over her attack? Don't hold your breath…
Spectator
a day ago
- Politics
- Spectator
NSPCC refuses to apologise to Braverman
Baroness Casey's landmark review into Britain's grooming gangs published some truly horrific findings on Monday. The damning audit revealed that disproportionate numbers of Asian men were responsible for child sexual exploitation gangs and, shockingly, that the authorities failed to crack down on them for fear of being racist. It has prompted outrage from those who had been vilified for suggesting particular groups of people were more likely to be perpetrators than others – and Mr S is curious about whether the organisations who were quick to cry racism will now retract their criticism. It seems the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is not quite there yet. In May 2023, the organisation signed a joint letter – alongside 64 other groups – in which they huffed and puffed about comments made by Suella Braverman and Rishi Sunak on grooming gangs, rebutting ex-Home Secretary Braverman's claim that perpetrators of group-based offending were 'almost all British-Pakistani'. (IPSO deemed this to be misleading, but did not uphold the complaint after it accepted the Mail on Sunday's clarification, published some days later. The press regulator added: 'The Committee was not asked to, and did not, make a finding on the general issue of whether these offences are disproportionately committed by British-Pakistani men.') The letter blasted the 'misinformation, racism and division' spread by the politicians and claimed that 'partial, inaccurate or divisive claims' about child sexual abuse undermined crime prevention. The organisations fumed: We are extremely concerned that recent public communications about child sexual abuse from Government Ministers have been based on misleading information and risk creating division, rather than keeping children safe. But recent events have altered the accepted facts somewhat. The complex picture by the Casey report suggests that, where ethnicity data was logged (in around a third of the cases of group-based child sexual exploitation) there was an overrepresentation of Asian and Pakistani men. Take Manchester, for example: according to the report, over a three-year period 52 per cent of suspects involved in multi-victim, multi-offender child sexual exploitation cases were Asian compared to 38 per cent who were white. And, as Mr S has written before, Pakistani men are up to five times as likely to be responsible for child sex grooming offences than the general population, according to figures from the Hydrant Programme, which investigates child sex abuse. Around one in 73 Muslim men over 16 have been prosecuted for 'group-localised child sexual exploitation' in Rotherham, research by academics from the universities of Reading and Chichester has revealed. None of this is enough to make the NSPCC row back, however. Instead the organisation pointed Mr S towards its statement made on Monday in response to Baroness Casey's review, which said: Any child can be a victim of child sexual exploitation and adults who commit these horrific crimes come from different backgrounds and communities. Perpetrators target the most vulnerable and accessible children in society and if we narrow our focus, we risk missing those hiding in plain sight, whatever their ethnicity. When Steerpike pressed the society, it said it had no plans to put forward a retraction or apology. How very interesting. Perhaps some of the letter's other signatories may choose to distance themselves from that rather dated memo instead. Talk about aging badly, eh?
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
MP who first blew whistle on child rape gangs was smeared as a racist, says son
Labour peer Lord Cryer said those who were complicit at the time and knew of the child abuse by a group of older men from the Pakistani community, but chose to cover it up, should face prosecution. He was speaking after a nationwide inquiry was announced by the Prime Minister into grooming gangs following a major review by Baroness Casey. Baroness Casey (House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA) Her report, published on Monday, found the ethnicity of perpetrators had been 'shied away from', with data not recorded for two-thirds of offenders. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper claimed officials had dodged the issue of ethnicity among the groups of sex offenders for fear of being called racist, even though available data showed suspects were disproportionately likely to be Asian men. The Government has accepted all 12 recommendations made by Lady Casey, including the establishment of a national inquiry. Mrs Cryer was MP for Keighley when she was alerted to the problem in her constituency by a group of concerned mothers, who said their young daughters were being sexually exploited by a group of older Asian men and the police and social services were refusing to act. After going public she faced accusations that she was a racist and also received threatening notes and phone calls, leading police to install a panic alarm in her house. She stood down as an MP in 2010. In the years since, a series of high-profile grooming scandals have been exposed, including in Rotherham and Rochdale. All followed a similar pattern with the large-scale exploitation of mainly white girls by groups of men of predominantly Pakistani heritage, which the authorities failed to tackle. Responding to a ministerial statement on the Casey review, Lord Cryer said: 'I rise to speak principally because the first person who raised the issue of the rape gangs, in other words the first whistleblower, happens to be my mum, Ann Cryer MP, who started raising this in 2003. 'She was then smeared and attacked, particularly by Labour figures, I've got to say, for being a racist. 'I'm not talking about ministers in the then government, many of whom actually supported her, and in the case of David Blunkett, as then home secretary, went out of his way to make sure that prosecutions happened, which they did. 'I'm talking about councillors, councils and other institutions who went on the attack and lied and smeared about the rape gangs.' He added: 'I think some of them were complicit. Some of them knew it was going on, and they decided to cover up. 'And in those cases, if there is evidence to that fact, then they should be brought before the courts and prosecuted.' In reply, Home Office minister Lord Hanson of Flint said: 'Can I pay tribute to his mother. I served in Parliament with Ann and I know she raised these matters and faced extreme difficulties locally as result, and took a very brave stand at that time.' Stressing the need to address the issue, he added: 'My party hasn't been in government for 14 years, but we have been in control of some of the councils. 'My party wasn't in control of government when a lot of these issues happened, but I have still got a responsibility to look at making sure we deal with these in an effective way.' Earlier, he told peers other recommendations made by Lady Casey would be implemented 'in very short order'. These included making it mandatory to collect ethnicity and nationality data of all suspects in child sexual abuse cases, a change in the law so all adult sex with under-16s would be considered rape, and a review of the criminal records of exploitation victims.
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
Explainer: Why men are having teen rape charges 'downgraded'
In her 2025 audit of group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse, Casey noted that while the legal age of consent is 16, prosecutions involving this age group are often dropped or downgraded—especially when a victim is said to have consented or been 'in love' with an adult perpetrator. READ MORE: Scots legal 'grey area' may let men avoid teen rape charges 'Open to interpretation' 'Although any sexual activity with 13–15-year-olds is unlawful, the decision on whether to charge, and which offence to charge with, is left more open to interpretation,' said Baroness Casey. The peer argues this flexibility is well-intentioned—designed to avoid criminalising young people close in age or those who mistakenly believe someone is older—but warns it is being exploited by adult men who groom children. Her recommendation: make all penetrative sexual activity between adults and under-16s automatically rape, as is the case in countries like France. What the law says in Scotland Age of consent Under the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009, the age of consent is 16. Any sexual activity involving a child under 16 is a criminal offence, even when both parties are underage. Children under 13 The law is unequivocal: sexual activity involving a child under 13 is automatically treated as rape or sexual assault. Consent is not a defence. Scottish Government guidance requires that any such concerns be escalated via local child protection procedures. Children aged 13–15 Sexual activity in this age group is illegal, but prosecution is more discretionary. Decisions may consider age gaps, coercion, grooming, and vulnerability. Cases can be referred to the Procurator Fiscal, the Children's Reporter, or managed through safeguarding rather than the criminal courts. National guidance and crime recording National Guidance on Under-Age Sexual Activity (2010): Advises that not all underage sexual activity is abuse, but significant age gaps or power imbalances should trigger child protection responses. Mandatory reporting applies to under-13s. Scottish Crime Recording Standard: Requires prompt recording of sexual crime reports. Categorisation depends on available evidence, including victim statements and corroboration. Maximum penalties Under the 2009 Act, the maximum sentence for sexual activity with a child under 16 is 10 years. Rape and assault by penetration can result in life imprisonment. Home Secretary announces law change in England and Wales On Monday, Yvette Cooper told MPs she would legislate to tackle this great area: 'We will change the law to ensure that adults who engage in penetrative sex with a child under 16 face the most serious charge of rape, and we will work closely with the Crown Prosecution Service and the police to ensure that there are safeguards for consensual teenage relationships.' Shadow minister calls for reform in Scotland Scottish Conservative shadow minister for victims and community safety, Sharon Dowey, said there could be alarming consequences if the law changes in England but not in Scotland: 'The Casey Review revealed some cases which will have deeply troubled the public and parents, given the age of those involved. 'They will be worried that the same grey area in the law could still exist up here where those who have sexually abused teenagers are not properly punished. 'If the rules down south are changed in light of these harrowing cases, then the law must be tightened up in Scotland as well to avoid any possibility of us becoming a safe haven for child abusers.' Summary The legal grey area flagged by Baroness Casey lies in how sexual activity with children aged 13–15 is handled: illegal by statute, but often inconsistently prosecuted. In Scotland, while the law criminalises all under-16 sexual activity and removes the possibility of consent for under-13s, the approach for 13–15-year-olds is more discretionary, which could lead to some cases being dropped or downgraded.
