Member

Amendment 271D from the noble Lord, Lord Blencathra, seeks to mandate the National Crime Agency to undertake criminal investigations into alleged failures by specific agencies to properly investigate, or to cover up, instances of child sex abuse. As a corollary, Amendment 217E seeks to create a number of new offences with retrospective application. I say to him that the national inquiry will investigate institutional failings and will hold those responsible for such failings to account. The priority in terms of criminal investigations must be focused on bringing perpetrators of such abuse to account. As noble Lords will be aware, we have already initiated a national policing operation on group-based child sexual exploitation. I accept my noble friend Lady Kennedy of The Shaws’s comments that this is not limited to one group of individuals; there are people who go down every week from all sections of society for these crimes.