Boris Johnson invokes anger by claiming historic child sexual abuse probe money is ‘spaffed up the wall’
Boris Johnson came under fire today for “disgusting” comments he made saying public money was being “spaffed up the wall” on investigating historic cases of child abuse.
The former London mayor made the remarks on LBC, saying the money would be better spent on tackling knife crime.
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“The question is where you spend the money and where you deploy the officers,” Johnson said during a phone-in.
“One comment I would make is I think an awful lot of money, an awful lot of police time now goes into these historic offences and all this malarkey.
“£60m I saw was being spaffed up the wall on some investigation into historic child abuse and all this kind of thing. What on earth is that going to do to protect the public now?”
He added that “what the people want” is to see more police officers patrolling streets.
Labour party chair Ian Lavery slammed the politician and said: “These disgusting comments are an insult to every survivor of child sex abuse,” he said.
“If Boris Johnson has even a little bit of decency he will now apologise to the victims and families of those who have suffered.”
Theresa May created the Independent Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), considered one of the most expensive public inquiries to date, as home secretary in 2014.
Its aim is to tackle perceived failings among public bodies to protect children from sexual predators.
Nazir Afzal, a former chief prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, tweeted: “Boris Johnson thinks spending money on delivering justice to victims of child sexual abuse is wasted
“Tell that to those whose lives were devastated by abusers
“Tell that Frances Andrade who took her own life 30 yrs after the abuse she lived with every day.”
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He added: “I’m fed up of men (and it’s always men) trying to push back on all progress made in tackling child sexual abuse & sexual offences generally.
I’m fed up of men (and it’s always men) trying to push back on all progress made in tackling child sexual abuse & sexual offences generally
There is no legal time limit because we understand how difficult it is to report such crimes
I hear the victims, perhaps they should too
— nazir afzal (@nazirafzal) March 13, 2019
“There is no legal time limit because we understand how difficult it is to report such crimes.
“I hear the victims, perhaps they should too.”