Yvette Cooper MP and Helen Goodman MP response to Google and Microsoft agreeing to measures to make it harder to find child abuse images online

Yvette Cooper MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, said:

“Stopping child abuse images being easily found is important. But so too is stopping abuse.

"Latest figures now show that despite there being more child sex abuse cases a hollowed-out police and Crown Prosecution Service are referring for prosecution nearly a third fewer cases.

"Just as the criminal justice system was starting to get better at investigating and prosecuting, progress is being reversed.

"Since the election Theresa May has cut 15,000 police officers, including many with specialist skills and experience. We’re now seeing the same pattern in domestic violence, rape, sexual offences and child abuse where the cases reported to the police are going up, but the referrals from the police for prosecution are badly down. In all these areas we know the cases can be more complicated, requiring a lot of specialist work - yet these are the areas hit badly by the Government’s cuts and chaotic reforms.”

Helen Goodman MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Media and Communications said:

“Labour has been calling for action for months and today’s announcement looks like a step in the right direction. We welcome all efforts to protect children online.  We will be following this development closely and will be keen to see more details from Google.

“Labour research has uncovered around 200 prosecutions take place every year, as a result of adults showing children obscene material. The Government must set out what action it is taking in response to this.

“The Government must also act to ensure the police have adequate resources to tackle child abuse. Last year, Theresa May cut CEOP’s funding by 10%.The police could only pursue around 2,000 of the 50,000 individuals in Britain they knew to be accessing child abuse material.”