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Javid to warn over 'shocking' online child sex abuse

There are up to 80,000 paedophiles in the UK who pose a sexual threat to children online, the home secretary will warn in a speech later.

Sajid Javid will set out his "personal mission" to tackle online child abuse after learning the "full horror of the scale" from the National Crime Agency.

Referrals of child abuse images to the NCA have surged by 700% in the last five years, according to new figures.

Furthermore, the images are getting more graphic, the Home Office said.

It added that abuse of babies and children under 10 is becoming more frequently documented.

The Home Office warned that live-streaming of abuse is also on the rise, enabled by faster internet speeds, smartphone technology and the growing ease of money transfers across borders.

In his speech, Mr Javid is expected to say: "One officer I met [during a visit to the NCA's Child Exploitation Online Protection Command], who had previously worked in counter-terrorism for over 20 years, told me how in all his years of working he's never been so shocked by the scale of the threat or the determination of the offenders as he is in his current job."

Separate figures indicate that police in England and Wales recorded about 23 child sexual offences involving the internet every day in 2017/18 - up from about 15 a day in the previous 12 months.

The scale of the offending has led to demands for internet giants to take more action to stop access to sexual abuse images and videos.

Technology companies doing more to remove indecent images from circulation would be a "monumental landmark" in child protection, the NCA said.

There have also been calls for tougher sentences for people who download indecent images of children.

The agency added that in one week of action in July, 131 arrests were made, including teachers, a children's entertainer and a former police officer. Only 13 of those arrested were registered sex offenders, 19 others held positions of trust.

In his speech, Mr Javid is expected to make a commitment to prioritise efforts to crack down on online child sex abuse.

It will build on a previous project that trawls the web to identify pages with suspected abuse content.

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), which assesses and removes online child abuse material, said it fully supported Mr Javid in his warning.

Susie Hargreaves, IWF chief executive, said it "recognises the evolving threat of child sexual abuse online and the problems highlighted by the home secretary, in particular live streaming, encryption and grooming".

She added: "Sadly, our most recent annual report showed that the severity of the images we identified were up and it appeared that offenders were becoming more sophisticated in their crime."

Ms Hargreaves added that the UK "remains one of the most hostile places in the world to host this disturbing material".

Javed Khan, chief executive of children's charity Barnardo's, also welcomed Mr Javid's commitment.

He said: "The government must now deliver its promise to make the UK the safest place to be online by forcing online companies to ensure effective safeguards are in place to help better protect children.

"Any delay to acting now could put a generation of children in danger online."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45389937