Tuesday, March, 3 2026 - Abusive parents will be placed on a register in the UK just as is the case with s£x offenders.
The proposed Child Cruelty Register would see parents and caregivers who
physically harm children closely monitored by police and face similar
restrictions to registered s£x offenders.
It would be introduced through an amendment to the Police
and Crime Bill and follows extensive campaigning by Paula
Hudgell.
Her adoptive son Tony had to have his legs amputated after
he was badly abused and neglected by his birth parents.
"To be able to sort of get this over the line has been
quite a challenge," she said reacting to the news.
"I am delighted. It feels very surreal after such a
long campaign, and hopefully it will save many lives going forward."
Tony was just 41 days old when Jody Simpson and her partner
Anthony Smith left him with multiple fractures and dislocations, leading to
organ failure, toxic shock, and sepsis.
They then left him untreated for 10 days, leading to his
injuries becoming so bad he had to have both his legs amputated.
The "remorseless" pair were each jailed for 10
years in 2018.
The amendment, which the government expects to
table "shortly" and is expected to come into force in November, would
cover crimes including child neglect, child cruelty, abandonment, female
genital mutilation (FGM), and infanticide.
Anyone on it would have to tell police if they move house,
change their identity, travel abroad, or live with children again after serving
their sentence.
Sentencing minister, Jake Richards, paid tribute to Mrs
Hudgell for her "remarkable fight to ensure no child should go through the
life-altering abuse that her son Tony did".
He added: "Child abusers do not deserve shielding;
children do. The Child Cruelty Register will ensure these offenders are visible
to the police, allowing authorities to see and act when risks
arise."
Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips said: "We’ve
listened to the Hudgells, and to the many families who feel the system hasn’t
done enough to protect some of the most vulnerable people in society, and we
are taking vital action.
"Whether it be online, on the streets, in schools, or
from their own caregivers – children are being kept safer under this
government."
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