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Debate between David Anderson and Maria MillerUrgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
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Maria Miller
The hon. Gentleman is right that we should not let these matters cloud the central issue of child abuse. Equally, it is vital that we ensure that our country’s main news broadcaster has the management and editorial controls in place to ensure trust in the work it does.
Mr David Anderson (Blaydon) (Lab)
Over the weekend allegations were made that an abuser in the north Wales case had previously abused children in my constituency in the 1960s and ’70s. As other Members have said, we must ensure that it is those people we focus on and that we put as much effort, if not more, into ensuring that proper resources go into encouraging victims of abuse to come forward. That might well mean that the Government will have to look at giving further support to social services departments and the police, because those people will not just feel frightened and apprehensive; they might have spent a lifetime feeling that in some way they are guilty. They need a lot of support, and we should give it to them.
Maria Miller
The hon. Gentleman puts his finger on it when he says that the important issue that comes out of this is that people who have suffered abuse do not in any way feel impeded in coming forward for fear of being part of what has become a media circus. We have to make sure that people have the confidence to be able to do that, and he is right to make sure that we focus on it. Perhaps he will contribute to tomorrow’s Back-Bench debate as well.