Britain to root out 'grooming gangs' with new legislation

The UK government announced on Monday that it would bring in tough new laws to “root out the scourge” of grooming gangs, and apologised to thousands of victims believed to have been sexually exploited.

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Any adults who engage in penetrative sex with a child under 16 will now face the most serious charge of rape, interior minister Yvette Cooper told parliament, as authorities launched a nationwide crackdown on the gangs.

The announcement came as a damning report, written by parliamentarian Louise Casey, was published into the decades-long scandal, which has affected towns and cities across Britain.

In it she wrote about how institutions failed the victims, and how the young girls and women were often blamed for their own abuse.