Conservative leadership contender Robert Jenrick has called for the introduction of mandatory life sentences for people convicted of involvement with grooming gangs.
He said on GB News: “The public want action now. They are sick of this. This is a moral stain on our country, that thousands of children have been abused in this way and public officials have turned a blind eye to it.
“What we need is action now to try to eliminate this, because only a fool would believe this isn't happening today on our streets somewhere in our country.
“What I want to see are mandatory life sentences for these despicable predators, so that you're not out in 14 years, as the current law suggests, or less, but actually you're never out of prison again.
“I want those of these predators who are not British citizens to be removed from our country with compulsory deportations, and the public officials who turn a blind eye for fear of racism or community relations, I want them to be prosecuted and barred from working in the public sector ever again.
“There are people in local councils, in the police, in the judiciary, in the community, who have turned a blind eye to this…because they were fearful of being labelled.
“That's why I say they should be prosecuted. This isn't a minor thing, is it? These are children's lives that are being wrecked by vile, disgusting predators. They should be prosecuted, and they should be barred from ever working in these positions.”
He added: “I worked with Suella Braverman, who actually I think was excellent on this issue. She created the grooming gangs task force which led to over 500 arrests…at the end of the day, ultimately depends on will within government.
“If the Foreign Office doesn’t want to apply visa sanctions, then the Home Office won't be able to pursue them.
“I started to deport people who were doing a range of things as immigration minister, like anti-Semites, for example, on our streets, and this was considered a very controversial thing to do.
“Previously, the Home Office only removed the visas from a tiny number of people at the most extreme hate preachers, for example. But my view is, a visa is not a right, is it? It's a privilege.
“If you spend time in our country and you do something like participate in a grooming gang, you're an evil predator of our children, or you're on the streets of London espousing anti British sentiment, you should be out.”
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