Reform UK has vowed to jail grooming gang child rapists for life as part of a crackdown if the outfit wins the next general election. Zia Yusuf, Reform's Head of Policy, said it was shameful that it wasn't already the law for mandatory minimum life sentences for those who rape children.

Announcing the plan on social media, Mr Yusuf said: "For too long, Conservative and Labour governments have failed to protect our children. The Tory record is disgraceful. By the time they left office, 500,000 children were being sexually abused annually in the UK, according to the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse.

"Grooming gangs were allowed to operate for years with impunity, and in many cases still do."

In its latest trends report, the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse estimates 500,000 children will experience some form of sexual abuse every year in England and Wales. A total of 104,828 police investigations into child sexual abuse offences were concluded in 2023-24.

A suspect was charged or summonsed in 13,098 (12%) of those cases, which the Centre said is the highest number of charges brought for child sexual abuse offences on record. It is also the highest charge rate in six years, according to the Centre.

Mr Yusuf said under previous Conservative governments the average sentence for the rape of a child under 13 fell to as little as nine years and the party left office with nearly 7,000 child sexual abuse cases awaiting trial or sentencing.

The average custodial sentence for child sexual abuse offences was just over five years and 10 to 13 years for rape offences in 2023-24, according to the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse.

Reform's former chair said some grooming gang child rapists have received sentences as low as four years, adding that under Labour, violent offenders are now being released early from prison.

He said: "This is an unforgivable betrayal of victims. As Prime Minister, Nigel Farage will deliver justice for victims of child sexual abuse, and ensure that paedophiles are kept behind bars for life."

The Conservative Party and Government have been approached for comment.

Baroness Anne Longfield is chairing a three-year inquiry into grooming gangs with a budget of £65million.

Fellow peer, Baroness Louise Casey of Blackstock, completed an audit of group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse last year.

She recommended the Government launch a national inquiry into English and Welsh cases and recommended authorities collect ethnicity and nationality data for all suspects in child sexual abuse and criminal exploitation cases.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has said "fresh light" must be cast on the "darkness" of grooming gang crimes.

The MP told the Commons in December that she feared community relations had been damaged by people not facing the grooming gangs issue head on, adding: "We should always pursue justice without fear or favour."

In the wake of grooming gang scandals, Ms Mahmood announced last year that she wants police to record the ethnicity and nationality of all offenders.

Police figures published last year showed that of 122,768 child sexual abuse and exploitation offences recorded in 2024, self-defined ethnicity was recorded for 34% or 38,015 of victims and 34% or 44,396 of perpetrators.

The majority of perpetrators were white British, making up 86.9% of offenders, with the percentage of the UK population at 74.4% in the 2021 census.

For group-based offending, crimes carried out by grooming gangs were 17% of the total. The majority of offences were committed within families, followed by child-on-child offences.

Pakistani perpetrators made up 3.94% of offenders. Of the UK population, 2.7% are of this ethnicity. White British made up 78.03% of offenders. This group make up 74.4% of the population.