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The Independent
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Grooming gangs report author says word ‘Pakistani' was ‘tippexed out' of a child's file
The author of a damning report into grooming gangs has revealed she found the word 'Pakistani' 'tippexed out' in archive files about child victims. Louise Casey, whose national audit on grooming gangs was published on Monday, said 'do-gooders' had covered up information on race and ethnicity believing that otherwise 'all the racists are going to be more racist'. Speaking to Sky News after the publication of her report, she said: 'I was following through on a children's file in archive and found the word 'Pakistani' tippexed out. 'I thought whoever did that inadvertently was giving ammunition to the English Defence League that were every week, in and out, campaigning and doing their stuff in that town. "I think the problem is that people are worried about being called racist.... if good people don't grasp difficult things, bad people will, and that's why we have to do it as a society." She said not collecting more data on the ethnicity of grooming gangs does a "disservice" to the British Pakistani community and could leave them at risk, saying it was only helping perpetrators not to bring a fuller picture to light. Baroness Casey's highly critical report called for tougher prosecution of men who have sex with under-16s to ensure their charges are never downgraded from rape. And she said the UK 'failed in its duty' to properly understand this kind of group offending as she hit out at an 'appalling' lack of data over offenders' ethnicities. 'If we'd got this right years ago – seeing these girls as children raped rather than 'wayward teenagers' or collaborators in their abuse, collecting ethnicity data, and acknowledging as a system that we did not do a good enough job – then I doubt we'd be in this place now,' she wrote. Yvette Cooper accepted and vowed to immediately act on the 12 recommendations in Baroness Casey's report, including holding a time-limited national inquiry and mandatory collection of data on the nationality and ethnicity of perpetrators. The home secretary described Baroness Casey's findings as 'damning', adding: 'She has found continued failure to gather proper robust national data despite concerns being raised going back very many years. 'In the local data that the audit examined from three police forces, they identify clear evidence of overrepresentation among suspects of Asian and Pakistani heritage men, and she refers to examples of organisations avoiding the topic altogether for fear of appearing racist or raising community tensions.' The national inquiry into grooming gangs will aim to tackle 'continued denial, resistance and legal wrangling', she added. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the probe 'must start with known hot spots' such as Bradford and Rochdale as she hit out at the prime minister for 'dithering and delay'.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Grooming gangs report author reveals how she found word 'Pakistani' tippexed out of file
Ignoring the ethnicity of grooming gang perpetrators gives racists "more ammunition", the author of a new report has said. Baroness Louise Casey told Sky News' there was a particular issue with some British Asian men that was "abundantly clear" in data analysed from three police forces; West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Greater Manchester; which showed a "disproportionately" in child sexual exploitation. Politics latest: But she added: "Just to give some sort of balance, in Greater Manchester I asked for data on child sexual exploitation that took me to Asian heritage. I asked for data on child abuse and that took me to the general population, which is largely white." Baroness Casey said "if we just establish the facts, then you can take the pain out of this". "I think you've got sort of do-gooders that don't really want this to be found because, you know, 'Oh, God, then all the racists are going to be more racist'," she added. "Well, actually, people that are racist are going to use this anyway. All you're doing with the hate mongers and the racists is giving them more ammunition." Asked if people were worried about being seen as racist, the cross-bench peer said she came across direct examples of this in Rotherham - one of the towns at the centre of the grooming gangs scandal. "I was following through on a children's file in archive and found the word 'Pakistani' tippexed out," Baroness Casey said. "I thought whoever did that inadvertently was giving ammunition to the English Defence League that were every week, in and out, campaigning and doing their stuff in that town. "I think the problem is that people are worried about being called racist.... if good people don't grasp difficult things, bad people will, and that's why we have to do it as a society." The government has announced there will be a , as recommended by Baroness Casey's report. The government has also accepted her recommendations to introduce compulsory collection of ethnicity and nationality data for all suspects in grooming cases, and for a review of police records to launch new criminal investigations into historic child sexual exploitation cases. Baroness Casey was asked to produce an audit of sexual abuse carried out by grooming gangs in England and Wales, looking specifically at the issue of ethnicity and the cultural and social drivers for this type of offending. This had never before been done despite multiple local reviews into child sexual exploitation and a known as the Jay Review, which concluded in 2022. The government had previously resisted calls for an inquiry into grooming gangs, after brought the issue back into the spotlight in January, saying it would implement the recommendations of the Jay Review that the Tories didn't. However it changed its position following Baroness Casey's findings. Read more: She found that flawed data has been used repeatedly to dismiss claims about "Asian grooming gangs". Having examined local data in three police force areas, she found "disproportionate numbers of men from Asian ethnic backgrounds" are among suspects for group-based child sexual exploitation, as well as a "significant number of perpetrators of Asian ethnicity" who have been identified in local reviews and child sexual exploitation prosecutions across the country. She said all of this warranted further examination, insisting to Sophy Ridge 👉 Listen to Sky News Daily on your podcast app 👈 Baroness Casey has also called for a tightening of the laws around the age of consent so that any penetrative sexual activity with a child under 16 is classified as rape, which the government has also accepted. She told Sophy Ridge that some perpetrators waited until their victims turned 13 as then it is "much harder to prosecute for rape". She said: "I think we have to be really clear in society that children are children and I don't see the difference between, you know, a four-year-old and a 14-year-old. If somebody is doing to them... what I talk about in my report, it's rape and we need to call it for what it is."
The Sun
05-06-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
UK far-right activist Tommy Robinson pleads not guilty to harassment
LONDON: British far-right activist Tommy Robinson pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of harassing two journalists, as dozens of supporters gathered outside the London court just days after he was freed from jail. Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, 42, pleaded not guilty at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court to two counts of harassment causing fear of violence. He was given the option of a hearing at a lower court, but instead opted for a jury trial at a criminal court. The firebrand anti-Islam campaigner is accused of harassing two Daily Mail journalists, Andrew Young and Jacob Dirnhuber, via his popular X account in August 2024. The prosecutor acknowledged however that the harassment did not contain 'direct threats of violence'. Robinson, who was wearing a cream jacket and jeans, was released on bail and is due to appear at Southwark Crown Court in London on July 3. He has become a champion for far-right and anti-immigrant factions despite several run-ins with the law. On May 27 he was released after spending seven months in prison for breaching a court order barring him from repeating false allegations he had made about a Syrian refugee. On leaving jail, he thanked technology billionaire Elon Musk for his X platform and slammed the UK government in a social media video. After the hearing Thursday he was met with dozens of supporters chanting his name and cheering at the central London court. Many wore Donald Trump-inspired MEGA -- Make England Great Again -- hats, carried English flags and wore 'Free Tommy Robinson' T-shirts. The former football hooligan, who founded the far-right English Defence League in 2009, has repeatedly been convicted for public order and contempt offences. He has also been blamed for helping fuel the country's worst riots in years in 2024, which he denies.
Daily Mirror
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Tommy Robinson pleads not guilty to harassment just days after prison release
The far-right activist has been dragged back to court just nine days after his prison release as he pleads not guilty to harassing two journalists and causing fear of violence Far-right activist Tommy Robinson was bailed today after denying harassing two journalists through his social media accounts. Robinson, 42, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, pleaded not guilty to two counts of harassment causing fear of violence at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday. He is alleged to have harassed MailOnline journalists Andrew Young and Jacob Dirnhuber through his X account between August 5 and 7 2024. Robinson was bailed by Senior District Judge Paul Goldspring. Robinson will next appear for a plea and trial preparation hearing at Southwark Crown Court on July 3. Wearing a cream Stone Island jacket, blue jeans and a shoulder bag, Robinson smiled after he was bailed on Thursday. He spoke to confirm his date of birth and name at the hearing, giving it as "Stephen Lennon". Robinson arrived at the London court to a hoard of photographers and reporters, with dozens of his supporters also present. Some of those outside the building were holding purple placards that read: "Stephen Yaxley-Lennon is the man. Tommy Robinson is the movement." Robinson founded the English Defence League in 2009 and became the organisation's leader. He described it as being set up to oppose "radical Islam" and many of the EDL's members football club supporters in Luton, London, Bristol. Robinson is facing a separate trial in October next year over an accusation that he failed to provide the pin for his mobile phone when stopped by Kent Police in Folkestone in July 2024.
The Independent
05-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Tommy Robinson denies harassing two Daily Mail journalists
Right-wing political activist Tommy Robinson has denied harassing two Daily Mail journalists. The 42-year-old, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday to face charges over his alleged conduct towards the two reporters. He is accused of two counts of harassment causing fear of violence between 5 and 7 of August 2024. Robinson, from Luton, Bedfordshire, was released from prison on 27 May after he was jailed last October after admitting multiple breaches of an injuction made in 2021. The injuction had barred him from repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee, who had successfully sued him for libel. The former leader of the now-defunct English Defence League had wrongly claimed in an online video that the Syrian teenager was a violent thug. He later repeated that false allegation 10 times, including during a rally at London's Trafalgar Square last year. The activist left HMP Woodhill after his 18-month sentence was reduced by four months at the High Court. He was filmed speaking on his X social media channel for around 20 minutes with longer hair and a bushy beard, and wearing a rosary around his neck, as he left the prison. Robinson is facing a separate trial in October next year over an accusation that he failed to provide the Pin for his mobile phone when stopped by Kent Police in Folkestone in July 2024.
