https://stealingofemily.world/Youtoob/yt_play/index.php?id=v011
- Meeting: Newcastle City Council, Special and Extraordinary Meetings
- Date: Wednesday, 4 November 2026
- Video duration: 6 minutes, 6.6 seconds
- Speaker shown: The man you identify as Mason Laidler
The recording is from Newcastle upon Tyne, not Northampton, as confirmed by the caption visible in the video.
[ 0.00 – 7.80] Lord Mayor and Councillors, I have received messages from fathers whose daughters are
[ 7.80 – 11.96] gone missing and travelling to Newcastle. They believe their child has been sexually
[ 11.96 – 17.52] abused by grooming gangs in this city. Think about what that means. A father trying to
[ 17.52 – 21.72] find his daughter, frightened about what is happening to her, reaching out to a member
[ 21.72 – 26.36] of the public for help. And I personally know some of the girls who have been groomed or
[ 26.36 – 31.84] abused by these gangs. Some of them are girls I went to school with. Over the past year
[ 31.84 – 36.36] I’ve spoken with dozens of people about the grooming gangs, including survivors from Operation
[ 36.36 – 41.12] Sanctuary and Operation Obdic, parents who are concerned that their daughters are being
[ 41.12 – 46.12] sexually exploited, and neighbours who report on suspected sexual abuse.
[ 43.00 – 49.72] as a report on suspected sexual exploitation at nearby properties. A friend of one girl contacted
[ 49.72 – 55.32] me. She told me that her friend had been safeguarded and moved away from the area, only for the grooming
[ 55.32 – 59.72] gang she’d been protected from, to reportedly find her again and bring her back to Newcastle.
[ 60.52 – 64.60] I have also spoken with social workers who have raised concerns about men pulling up
[ 64.60 – 70.84] directly outside children’s care homes and collecting vulnerable girls. That raises serious
[ 70.84 – 75.16] questions about how children in care are being protected from individuals who may be sick
[ 75.16 – 80.36] and to groom or exploit them. I have also received reports alleging that girls from
[ 80.36 – 85.80] Newcastle are being trafficked to other cities for sexual exploitation, with one city being
[ 85.80 – 87.64] mentioned time and time again.
[ 86.00 – 91.54] mentioned time and time again. These accounts concern what people are saying is happening
[ 91.54 – 97.80] right now. They demand urgent investigation and protection. In 2017, this council’s then
[ 97.80 – 103.40] Chief Executive Pat Richie said, any area that says it does not have a problem is simply
[ 103.40 – 108.88] not looking for it. Nine years later, how actively are you looking? And when people
[ 108.88 – 114.36] raise their law, what actually happens? What people have told me raises serious concerns
[ 114.36 – 118.96] about whether the current response is good enough. I do not want another round of statements
[ 118.96 – 123.28] after the arrests have been made. While the question of whether victims could have been
[ 123.28 – 129.56] protected sooner goes unanswered, the time to act is now. This council cannot make arrests,
[ 129.56 – 131.00] but it has responsibilities for safety.
[ 129.00 – 134.72] but it has responsibilities for safeguarding, children’s social care and housing, and it
[ 134.72 – 140.48] must work effectively with its policing partners. When a vulnerable girl is moved away, moved
[ 140.48 – 146.12] somewhere for her own protection, safeguarding must not end at the point she is relocated.
[ 146.12 – 150.12] And when concerns are raised about girls being collected from children’s homes, there must
[ 150.12 – 154.44] be effective procedures to identify the risk, share information and protect those being
[ 154.44 – 156.20] targeted.
[ 156.20 – 161.16] I want urgent scrutiny of the response to current reports of group-based sexual exploitation,
[ 161.16 – 164.26] including whether these warnings have been missed or dismissed.
[ 164.26 – 168.58] I want clear responsibility for immediate safeguarding, safe accommodation, protection
[ 168.58 – 171.94] from further exploitation and sustained survivor support.
[ 171.94 – 173.94] And I want this Council to explain…
[ 172.00 – 174.84] I want this council to explain publicly
[ 174.84 – 177.56] how it knows those protections are working.
[ 177.56 – 179.88] Families should not have to depend on members of the public
[ 179.88 – 182.36] to keep asking these questions.
[ 182.36 – 184.48] The test is not simply what happens
[ 184.48 – 187.12] after a grooming gang is brought before the courts.
[ 187.12 – 190.36] The test is what happens when the first warning is raised,
[ 190.36 – 192.24] when the first girl goes missing,
[ 192.24 – 193.92] and when the first opportunity to protect them
[ 193.92 – 195.24] presents itself.
[ 195.24 – 196.76] What will this council do now
[ 196.76 – 198.56] to ensure these warnings are acted upon,
[ 198.56 – 199.84] and who will be held accountable
[ 199.84 – 204.60] opportunities to protect vulnerable people are missed.
[ 204.60 – 205.60] Is that it?
[ 205.60 – 206.60] Yeah.
[ 206.60 – 207.60] Okay.
[ 207.60 – 208.60] Thank you very much Mr. Alder.
[ 208.60 – 216.96] Now call on Councillor Ferguson to respond please.
[ 215.00 – 224.64] Mason to respond please. Thank you Lord Mayor. Hello Mason. I understand that you and me
[ 224.64 – 230.32] might have some strong differences of opinion on a range of matters which I think it’s fair
[ 230.32 – 236.04] to say we’ve both been vocal about. You might think that we’re going to have a difference
[ 236.04 – 243.80] of opinion on the safety of women and girls in Newcastle. But this council takes all allegations
[ 243.80 – 248.98] of abuse and exploitation extremely seriously.
[ 248.98 – 254.28] We will respond fully and frankly to any concerns raised with us.
[ 254.28 – 258.92] We have engaged, for example, with the National Grooming Gang’s inquiry so that we can reflect
[ 258.92 – 259.96] on local practice.
[ 258.00 – 264.92] can reflect on local practice and inform national learning. We do victims a
[ 264.92 – 270.60] disservice if we dial up the rhetoric or politicise the issues. What you’ve raised
[ 270.60 – 278.08] is sensitive, significant and complex and cannot be addressed adequately in a
[ 278.08 – 283.40] single response to a public question here tonight. So I would welcome the
[ 283.40 – 286.70] opportunity to meet with you so that I can understand more fully the
[ 286.70 – 290.42] information you refer to in your statement, confirm if you’ve been able to report this
[ 290.42 – 296.02] to the relevant authorities and discuss our approach to addressing allegations of abuse,
[ 296.02 – 298.42] exploitation and grooming.
[ 298.42 – 305.42] Furthermore, in the interest of transparency and thoroughness, I would like to thank the
[ 301.00 – 305.80] and thoroughness. I would like to move understanding order 11H. The cabinet
[ 305.80 – 309.76] considers the report on this matter and makes any decisions that might be
[ 309.76 – 314.80] appropriate. Thank you. Thank you very much. Councillor Ferguson, Mason you can have
[ 314.80 – 319.76] a minute to respond if you wish. Yeah well we’ve heard this time and time again and
[ 319.76 – 324.76] nothing changes. This council after Operation Sanctuary said a similar thing
[ 324.76 – 330.04] and the issues are still here. Before coming in here tonight I spoke to a
[ 330.04 – 334.92] survivor from Operation Optic and I explained what I was doing. She told me
[ 334.92 – 339.76] she believes the issue is just as bad as it is now as it was when she
[ 339.76 – 344.32] was targeted when she was just 12 years old. The council has lost the full trust
[ 344.32 – 347.08] of the public.
[ 344.00 – 353.92] trust over the public. Thank you Lord Mayor. Thank you very much. Councillor Ferguson did
[ 353.92 – 361.76] move that this be moved to Cabinet but we need a seconder. Yeah thank you very much.
[ 362.56 – 366.24] Does council agree to that? Thank you very much.
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