The Express Report transcript, “Keir Starmer & Grooming Gangs (Here’s The Truth),” raise a specific question about the Crown Prosecution Service’s handling of child sexual exploitation.
Annex A presented by the Daily Express is the contentious document which frames the poor judgement involved by the PM It is reported as in the archived CPS document titled Prosecuting Cases of Child Abuse – Legal Guidance. This is It is not Appendix A of the Violence Against Women and Girls Crime Report 2010–2011 The older CPS guidance, including a reference in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation’s report identifying 2009 guidance, Annex A. SaTH https://www.sath.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/IITCSEREPORT-VOLUMEFOUR.pdf
During intense exchanges at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), opposition leaders and critics strongly confronted Sir Keir Starmer over this exact issue.
The core arguments behind the accusations this is referencing highlight a profound systemic failure:
- The Accusation of “No Effectual Prosecution”: Whistleblowers and investigative reports from the Daily Express point out that by creating a standardized national framework for these notices during his time as Director of Public Prosecutions, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) inadvertently authorized a system where serious criminals received “slaps on the wrist”. Instead of building criminal cases to fully prosecute and imprison offenders, police forces nationwide issued thousands of these text-template warning letters, allowing suspects to remain on the streets where they could continue grooming vulnerable children.
- “Working with Offenders”: In parliamentary debates and public statements regarding child sexual exploitation scandals (such as the historical failures in Rotherham and Manchester), critics argue that the institutional mindset focused heavily on “managing” or “disrupting” behavior via administrative paperwork. By relying on Child Abduction Warning Notices (CAWNs), authorities were effectively negotiating boundaries with suspects rather than treating their actions as severe, arrestable criminal offenses. Cite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I5e1pcD1Us&t=648, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OrATENqPFw&t=103, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PlMUOs9Wc4 and https://www.facebook.com/groups/1007550173899690/posts/1399080824746621/
- The Backlash at PMQs: When challenged on the floor of the House of Commons about his historical oversight of these policies, Starmer heavily pushed back. He accused opposition leaders of “bandwagon jumping” and political opportunism, arguing that his record actually involved increasing overall child abuse prosecutions and implementing rigorous safeguarding frameworks, while shifting blame toward the lack of long-term government implementation of past inquiry recommendations. https://www.facebook.com/thetimesradio/posts/starmer-slams-badenoch-for-issues-on-mandatory-reporting-on-child-sex-abusethey-/1122207653402056/ and https://www.facebook.com/groups/1007550173899690/posts/1399080824746621/
A UK government document concerning child abduction warnings, with a passage highlighted in red. However, this version oddly has gone walk about
The Crown Prosecution Service
That establishes a documented CPS role in developing the notices during Starmer’s leadership. It does not, by itself, establish that he personally directed police to substitute warnings for prosecutions.
On 22 October 2026, the statutory grooming gangs inquiry confirmed its timetable for public accountability hearings, beginning on 14 December 2026. Starmer has been granted core participant status, although that does not establish wrongdoing or confirm he will testify.
Original PDF:
https://www.cps.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/publications/CPS_VAW_report_2011.pdf
Alternative hosted by the Centre for Women’s Justice:
The question I would put to the inquiry is: How many Child Abduction Warning Notices were issued in cases where credible evidence of sexual offences already existed, who decided against prosecution, and what happened to the children concerned? That is an identifiable accountability question, supported by the documents you’ve supplied and the historical guidance.
The transcript alleges that, during Keir Starmer’s tenure as Director of Public Prosecutions, police used Child Abduction Warning Notices (CAWNs) in cases where more substantial criminal investigations should have taken place.
This is a genuine issue worth examining. The Express reported in February 2026 that police forces had issued at least 13,000 such notices since 2008, based on its Freedom of Information investigation.
The document has been traced
I located the original CPS Violence Against Women and Girls Crime Report 2010–2011.
Original PDF:
https://www.cps.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/publications/CPS_VAW_report_2011.pdf
On printed page 40, the report states that work had taken place with the Association of Chief Police Officers on drafting and agreeing Child Abduction Warning Notices. The report also carries Starmer’s foreword as DPP.
There is an important legal distinction: breaching one of these notices is not itself a criminal offence. The CPS acknowledges this, although the notices can also provide evidence supporting subsequent prosecutions.
The Crown Prosecution Service
That establishes a documented CPS role in developing the notices during Starmer’s leadership. It does not, by itself, establish that he personally directed police to substitute warnings for prosecutions.
The new development
On 22 October 2026, the statutory grooming gangs inquiry confirmed its timetable for public accountability hearings, beginning on 14 December 2026. Starmer has been granted core participant status, although that does not establish wrongdoing or confirm he will testify.
The question I would put to the inquiry is: How many Child Abduction Warning Notices were issued in cases where credible evidence of sexual offences already existed, who decided against prosecution, and what happened to the children concerned?
That is an identifiable accountability question, supported by the documents you’ve supplied and the historical guidance.
I’ve traced the historical CPS document to an academic source from 2017 that records its original website address and confirms it was accessed on 21 September 2012. *Justice for All* (Cm. 5563, 2002)
The original address was:
www.cps.gov.uk/legal/p_to_r/prosecuting_cases_of_child_abuse/
What we can establish:
- The historical CPS guidance existed.
- Its original web address is documented independently.
- Your photograph shows an Annex A from the archived guidance.
- I have not recovered a clean original of that page.
Reconstruction
The image is an archived template for a Child Abduction Warning Notice issued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and UK police departments. https://pdfsimpli.com/forms/child-abduction-warning-notice-template/
Key Details of the Document
- Purpose: This notice advises a person that the police or CPS may take criminal proceedings against them if they abduct a child or remove them without lawful entitlement in circumstances likely to cause significant harm. https://pdfsimpli.com/forms/child-abduction-warning-notice-template/
- Legal Context: It serves as a formal warning before formal legal or criminal charges are issued, highlighting the serious consequences of unauthorized removal. https://pdfsimpli.com/forms/child-abduction-warning-notice-template/
- Key Restrictions: It explicitly warns against intentionally removing or keeping a child who is living with, fostered by, under a care or supervision order, or in the care of social services, local authorities, or voluntary organizations. https://pdfsimpli.com/forms/child-abduction-warning-notice-template/
- Potential Consequences:
- Loss of contact with the child.
- Possible removal of any other children in the individual’s care.
- Arrest, criminal prosecution, and potential prison sentence. [1]
- Acknowledgement: The bottom portion requires the recipient to sign and return a tear-off slip confirming they have received a detailed explanation of the notice. [1]
When reporters directly confronted the Prime Minister’s office regarding the 2011 signed policy framework, a spokesperson for Downing Street and the CPS stated the following: https://www.gbnews.com/politics/keir-starmer-cps-child-rapists-let-off-warning-note and https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2183274/i-exposed-keir-starmers-grooming
- “Mischaracterised” Involvement: Number 10 explicitly claimed that the Daily Express report “mischaracterised” the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) and Keir Starmer’s involvement. They argued that Child Abduction Warning Notices (CAWNs) were originally a police-created tool that existed years before Starmer ever arrived or took office as Director of Public Prosecutions. https://www.gbnews.com/politics/keir-starmer-cps-child-rapists-let-off-warning-note and https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2183274/i-exposed-keir-starmers-grooming
- Defended as a Safeguarding Tool: A spokesperson for Number 10 defended the notices, stating they were intended to act as a “first line of defence to keep young people safe”. They emphasized that the letters are designed to quickly disrupt older adults controlling or grooming vulnerable children. https://www.gbnews.com/politics/keir-starmer-cps-child-rapists-let-off-warning-note
- Not a Substitute for Arrest: Downing Street insisted that the warning letters are “not a substitute for prosecution” and are often used as an interim measure as part of a larger, ongoing criminal investigation. https://www.gbnews.com/politics/keir-starmer-cps-child-rapists-let-off-warning-note
The investigation noted that Number 10 refused to comment on or explain why a master report with Starmer’s personal signature was actively used to standardize and distribute these specific templates nationally. https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2183274/i-exposed-keir-starmers-grooming
I also found independent confirmation in the Independent Office for Police Conduct’s Operation Linden report (June 2022). It records concerns that notices were being issued without sufficient follow-up and quotes an officer describing their use as being like confetti. Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)
The official report is accessible at:
https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/our-work/investigations/operation-linden-plain-text
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