UNITED KINGDOM
Sunday Herald
THE size and scope of the unprecedented number of inquiries into historical child abuse in the UK can be revealed for the first time today following a Sunday Herald investigation.
The Sunday Herald has learned that there are currently 14 major police operations, four public inquiries and six other investigations – including probes by the BBC, the police watchdog, and two government departments – are either ongoing or have been carried out to date.
Although, full details on cost are impossible to gather at this stage, it has been uncovered that nearly £66 million has or is being spent on half of the investigations.
Last week, Edward Heath became the latest high-profile figure to be linked to sex abuse allegations, with seven police forces alone investigating the former prime minister.
Gabrielle Shaw, chief executive of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC), said they were not surprised by the scale of the investigations into abuse.
“Society in general is waking up to the true scale and scope of the issue of child sexual abuse and exploitation,” she said.
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