Austerity harms hunt for sexual abuse gangs, says ex-prosecutor

Cuts have 'come at the wrong time' after the Rochdale case raised national awareness, says former CPS expert Nazir Afzal

Potential victims of grooming gangs are no safer now than when the issue became a national scandal almost a decade ago, according to the Crown Prosecution Service's former lead on child sexual abuse and violence against women and girls.

Speaking after 20 men were found guilty on Friday of belonging to a gang that raped and abused girls as young as 11 in the west Yorkshire town of Huddersfield, Nazir Afzal said the government's austerity programme had seriously undermined attempts to protect victims.

There have been hardly been any cases south of Birmingham. What the hell is going on? Is it because there is no problem?