Bridget Phillipson

The right hon. Gentleman raises a number of important points, and he is right to thank the police for their thorough work in what has been an extremely complex and harrowing investigation. I pay tribute to all those who have been involved to this point in supporting the victims and families, and to those who will be involved in taking forward further work in this area. The right hon. Gentleman is also right to draw attention to the scale of child sexual abuse that we still sadly see in our country. Before I came to this House, I worked with many of those who had been affected by child sexual abuse, and I understand the lifelong impact it can have on many people. I understand also that for a very long time, we have not been serious enough as a society about encouraging those who have experienced appalling abuse, including in childhood, to seek the support and advice that they will need, often for many years into the future. A key issue that we have often faced in that regard has been the fact that children, when they have come forward to report abuse, have not always been believed by those in positions of authority, and that has to change. The culture shift that is required is as important as any legislative measures that we need to take, so that children are believed when they report abuse. We need action to follow so that those in positions of authority face consequences for their actions and their failure to take forward allegations by children and others. The right hon. Gentleman also refers to the appalling scale of what we see online. We will continue to work with Home Office colleagues on this issue, and I will look carefully at what he said about the development of the child protection authority. We will set out more details to the House in due course and update Members in this area, alongside a consultation that will allow views about the best way forward to be aired.