LONDON: UK politicians on Wednesday backed better protection for home-schooled kids following the brutal murder of Sara Sharif, a 10-year-old British-Pakistani woman, in a ballot overshadowed by the current string over styling groups.
Without requiring a further official vote, MPs moved the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to the next phase of the legislative process.
That occurred after MPs rejected a change that threatened to undermine the regulations.
The opposition Liberal party wanted to use the discussion to stifle the launch of a new federal investigation into decades-old sex crimes committed against children in northeastern England.
Over the past year, discussion has erupted following US tech businessman Elon Musk’s repeated, burning attacks on British Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer about it on his X system.
Starmer has rejected calling for a new investigation, arguing that it is time for “action” to put into action the nearly two advice from an earlier, seven-year examination with a broader target.
He claimed on Wednesday that the children’s expenses, which do require that all local officials keep a record of untrained children, is a component of wider efforts to protect young people.
After years of abuse, Sharif was discovered dead in her house outside of London in August 2023 with broad injuries, including burns, broken bones, and even bite marks.
Last month, her parents Urfan Sharif and step-mother Beinash Batool were found guilty of her death and given life words.
‘Safeguarding’
Weeks before Sara’s dying, Sharif had taken his daughter out of class to be taught at home, after the woman’s professor reported her wounds to child service.
Child services had initially investigated the incident but abandoned it.
If a child is suspected of being in serious danger of serious harm, the law would remove a parent’s right to take them away from school for home education.
To better monitor at-risk cases, the law would require a unique number for children, similar to how adults are required to have a national insurance number to work and receive benefits.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson told the BBC that the bill is” the single biggest piece of legislation for children safeguarding in a generation.”
Due to the overwhelming parliamentary majority of the Labour party, the Conservatives ‘ amendment was defeated by 364 to 111 votes.
Far-right UK figures, including the notorious agitator Tommy Robinson, have long voiced their support for a new national inquiry into the widespread sexual abuse of primarily white British girls by men of mostly Pakistani descent in various northern English towns.
However, in recent days, Musk, who has demanded Robinson be released from prison, as well as the Conservatives and Brexit spokesman Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, have joined the calls for a probe.
Starmer, who was the state prosecutor in charge at the time of the scandals, has been under increased scrutiny as a result of the controversy. He hit out this week at “lies and misinformation” around the issue.
His government announced new restrictions on Monday, including those that legally require professionals to file reports of child sexual abuse claims.
