Rupert Lowe releases independent grooming gang report

An independent report into the grooming gang scandal has recommended a mass overhaul of sentencing guidelines and deportations of "every foreign national convicted of group-based child sexual exploitation".

The report, spearheaded by Restore Britain leader and Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe, suggests the gangs "operated with either the active or passive consent of public authorities".

The report was publicly fundraised, with more than £600,000 being donated from 20,000 members of the public.

Now, as well as harrowing testimony from gang victims and whistle-blowers, the report lays out a series of recommendations to address what it called a "rotting stain on our country’s history".

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Firstly, the report calls for an overhaul of the criminal justice system's response to the scandal, with a restructuring of current sentencing guidelines. It argues: "Current sentencing guidelines are grotesquely inadequate for organised child rape.

"The Sentencing Council must be required by statute to revise its guidelines so that group-based child sexual exploitation carries a starting point of life imprisonment, with a minimum tariff of 50 years for ringleaders and 25 years for participants.

"Racial or religious motivation, multiple victims, trafficking across counties, pregnancy caused by rape, and use of filming or blackmail must each be spelled out as statutory aggravating factors that push sentences toward their maximum extent."

It also makes reference to Mr Lowe's public support to reintroduce the death penalty for "the most heinous crimes", arguing: "there is a case to be made that this is more than proportionate where rape gangs are concerned."

The report makes the clear recommendation that "every foreign national convicted of group-based CSE must at the very least be deported", adding "Any British citizen convicted of these offences who holds dual nationality must lose their citizenship automatically upon conviction, rendering them liable for deportation".

On top of this, any family members who have "supported, harboured or failed to report the offending" must also face deportation proceedings themselves, unless they can prove "either active cooperation with authorities or no prior knowledge".

The report went on to say: "Evidence from witnesses, convictions, and the Casey Audit shows a clear overrepresentation of Muslim men, particularly of Pakistani heritage, in these organised networks. The Inquiry has not ignored this.

"Mosques, madrassas, and community organisations that have harboured or failed to report perpetrators must face investigation and, if found guilty, be closed. The immediate deportation of anyone nested within such sub-cultures promoting attitudes that dehumanise non-Muslim girls must be pursued.

"Anyone from a country whose nationals are disproportionately represented in rape gang convictions must no longer be entitled to a visa. This should be applied ruthlessly."

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Another recommendation the report calls for is extra protection for any child who gives evidence in a grooming gang trial.

It reads: "Pre-recorded evidence, remote testimony, and screens must be the default. Cross-examination that re-traumatises the child must be prohibited. The court must appoint a specialist intermediary in every case."

In addition to this, the report calls on the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) create a dedicated national unit for group-based child sexual exploitation, with specialist prosecutors trained in trauma- informed practice.

It reads: "Charging decisions must no longer be influenced by 'community impact; or fear of racism allegations. Failure to charge a clear case must be reviewable by the Attorney General and should result in criminal liability for those who do not carry out their duty."

The report also calls on the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) to set up a dedicated taskforce, working with the Home Office, police forces, the National Crime Agency, and international partners, to focus on "the identification, location, safeguarding, and urgent repatriation of affected British women and girls."

It read: "It has been established that organised gangs, chiefly of Pakistani heritage, have not only groomed, raped, and tortured thousands of women and girls across Britain, but have also trafficked such victims overseas, particularly to Pakistan and other countries.

"Evidence from independent hearings, Early Day Motions in Parliament, and of course survivor testimonies presented to this Inquiry serve to suggest as much.

"The intent by perpetrators was to exert near-total control, prevent disclosure of the abuse, obstruct homegrown investigations, and continue inflicting abuse in environments with weaker safeguards."

While a national compensation scheme already exists for victims of "people physically or mentally injured because of a violent crime in England, Scotland or Wales" in the form of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), the report goes even further.

It reads: "In our view, awards should be updated to reflect the lifelong harm documented in survivor testimony, including loss of education, employment, mental health, physical health, and family life.

"The scheme must be funded by a levy on all convicted perpetrators’ assets and by the defined benefit pensions enjoyed by any public servants, either within police forces or social services, found guilty of or dismissed for culpable negligence."

While the report insists "the first, strongest, and most effective line of defence against exploitation", it admits exploitation cases generally differ from traditional intra-familial abuse models. adding: "present safeguarding systems do not always reflect this distinction."

The report calls for a new "safeguarding framework" where families are seen as "primary protective factors wherever safe, family support is prioritised, contextual safeguarding approaches are strengthened, and residential care is used proportionately and as a last resort rather than as a default response to exploitation risk."

Speaking about the report's findings, Mr Lowe said: "I urge all Britons to read this report in full.

"Lessons need to be learned and prosecutions need to follow for the appalling cowardice of those responsible for refusing to resist such horrors.

"The strongest possible penalties, up to and including death, must also be sought for those yet to be properly punished or indeed punished at all for their vile, unspeakable crimes."

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