Lib Dem Peer, Baroness (Sal) Brinton has today attacked UKIP on their ongoing inability to take the issue of child abuse seriously. She has highlighted the fact that whilst they exploit the abuse cases in Rotherham to gain votes in the PCC election, they have yet again failed to engage on the issue in Parliament, while others work to improve the law and protect potential victims.
Sal Brinton will say: “UKIP’s hypocrisy is breath taking. They issue a photograph of a girl with the headline 1400 reasons not to vote Labour in Rotherham, but their record on tackling serious child abuse issue is disgraceful. The only record of Lord Pearson of Rannoch (the former Leader of UKIP) asking a question on child abuse is on 13 October this year, after the Police and Crime Commissioner by election was called.
“He has been in the House of Lords since 1990. Even this question is focused entirely on the UKIP obsession with Muslims, ignoring the fact that child abuse happens in all areas of the country and is not exclusive to any culture, community, race or religion.
“But it isn’t just UKIP in the Lords. UKIP in the European Parliament abstained in a vote to strengthen legislation about sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography in 2011.
“Further, Winston McKenzie, a leading UKIP member said during the Croydon North by-election in 2012 that gay adoption was child abuse. And Gordon Gillick, a UKIP Cambridgeshire councillor told a meeting of some children in care that “they were takers from the system”, wanting to know “what they would give back to society.”
Her comments came during the debate on the Serious Crime Bill, where Lib Dem Peers secured an agreement from Government for a major consultation on introducing rules on mandatory reporting of child abuse. Liberal Democrats previous passed new Party policy in support of requiring those who work with children and vulnerable adults to be required by law to report to the authorities if they have any suspicion that abuse is taking place. However, despite debates on this and other amendments concerning child abuse being debates, no UKIP members of the House of Lords failed again to participate in this work.
In November 2013, David Gale resigned in a high profile letter to Nigel Farage, citing concerns about the way that UKIP operates. The letter raises the issue that the party continues to associate with a known paedophile.
Sal Brinton said “None of this sounds like a party prepared to listen to the voice of children who have either been abused, or are at risk of being abused. It certainly isn’t a party who should be trusted with tackling the deep rooted problems of child abuse in Rotherham, Rochester or the country as a whole.”
