Urgent Government compensation review for young abuse victims

Rotherham MP Sarah Champion asked Justice Secretary David Lidlington to review Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (CICA) in July after almost 700 children were denied compensation.

Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Mr Lidlington said: “CICA has decided to mount an urgent re-examination of its own internal guidelines, in particular to make sure that there is no risk that a child could be disqualifed from compensation becuase they had been groomed.”

Speaking after the session, Ms Champion said she was “relieved the government had agreed to act on her recommendations”.

She added: “It is immoral that a Government agency is denying survivors of child abuse what is legally theirs. 

“What message does it send out to victims when a judge says that they are innocent, but the state effectively rules they were complicit?

“This news will hopefully end a scandal that has caused unnecessary additional distress for many victims of sexual abuse.”