For over a decade, the British far right has claimed the moral high ground on issues of child protection. With slogans, speeches, and online propaganda, they insist that grooming gangs and paedophilia are “imported” evils; brought to British shores by Muslim men, foreign cultures, or refugees. It is a narrative as seductive as it is grotesquely dishonest: simple, racially charged, and designed to incite outrage.
But the facts tell a very different and far more uncomfortable story.
When exposed to the light of day, the far right’s obsession with certain grooming cases is not about protecting children at all. It is about weaponising the trauma of victims to inflame racism, distract from systemic failures, and obscure the truth about where the majority of abuse actually happens. Beneath their outrage lies not virtue, but projection—because when the perpetrators are white, British, or aligned with far-right views, the silence is deafening.
The Glasgow Case: Horror Hidden in Plain Sight
In one of the most disturbing child abuse trials in Scottish history, a group of seven individuals, men and women, all white Scots, ran an organised paedophile ring in Glasgow for at least seven years. Their victims included children so young they were still in nappies. This was not spontaneous abuse; it was ritualistic, industrial-scale torture and degradation of the most vulnerable.
The gang included:
- Iain Owens (46)
- Elaine Lannery (40)
- Lesley Williams (43)
- Paul Brannan (42)
- Scott Forbes (51)
- Barry Watson (48)
- John Clark (48)
In squalid flats infested with vermin, nicknamed the “beastie house”, these adults drugged children with cocaine and alcohol and subjected them to what one victim described as “rape nights.” There were designated time slots. Children were passed around. Acts of extreme violence and humiliation were filmed and encouraged, including forcing the children to eat dog food and abuse each other while adults cheered.
One child left lice in her hair deliberately. The insects, she hoped, might repel her abusers.
Despite regular visits by social workers and some of the children being on the child protection register, it took years before authorities acted. By then, the damage was irreparable.
The court heard hundreds of pieces of evidence. A jury convicted all seven. The judge described the abuse as plunging to the “depths of human depravity.” One of Scotland’s most experienced criminal KCs, Thomas Leonard Ross, quit sex abuse trials for good after working the case.
And yet—where was the national outcry? Where were the headlines from far-right influencers demanding justice? Absent. This atrocity didn’t fit the narrative. It was the wrong kind of predator.
Selective Outrage and the Myth of the “Muslim Grooming Gang”
The far right’s propaganda rests on one cornerstone: that group-based child sexual exploitation is primarily a problem in Muslim or Asian communities. This is repeatedly, and emphatically, refuted by evidence.
The 2020 Home Office report on group-based child sexual exploitation concluded that:
“Offenders are most commonly white. There is no credible evidence that this form of offending is more prevalent in Asian or Muslim communities.”
This finding was politically inconvenient. Right-wing commentators who had demanded the report be published went quiet. Figures like Tommy Robinson, who built entire brands off the back of the Rotherham and Rochdale grooming cases, didn’t post lengthy threads or launch “investigations” into white paedophile networks. The story had no traction because it didn’t provoke fear of “the other”.
When the Abusers Are Their Own
Hypocrisy in far-right circles isn’t rare—it’s baked into the structure.
Martyn Gilleard – The Bomb-Maker and Paedophile
A committed neo-Nazi and BNP supporter, Martyn Gilleard was jailed in 2008 after police found four homemade nail bombs, machetes, and a massive stash of far-right literature in his home. What else did they find? Thirty-nine thousand images of child sexual abuse, including infants.
Gilleard fantasised about sexually assaulting children in his diary. He was also planning race-based violence. When he was caught, far-right communities initially claimed entrapment or refused to believe the charges.
Jack Renshaw – Neo-Nazi and Child Groomer
A former member of the proscribed group National Action, Renshaw plotted to murder MP Rosie Cooper with a machete. But before that, he was convicted of grooming underage boys online. He was a proud nationalist and vocal critic of “Muslim grooming gangs.” When his crimes were revealed, the movement distanced itself, quietly.
Dennis Nilsen – Serial Killer and Paedophile
Dennis Nilsen murdered at least twelve young men and boys, many of whom were homeless or runaways. His killings took place over several years, largely undetected. He was white, British, and moved easily through society. There were no far-right marches linking his crimes to “white culture”.
Jimmy Savile – A Protected Predator
With over 500 known victims, Jimmy Savile’s abuse spanned decades. He assaulted children in hospitals, schools, and BBC studios. He used his fame and connections to the Thatcher government and the monarchy to silence suspicion. The institutions that enabled him were all-white, all-British, and often aristocratic. The far right never turned his case into a cultural reckoning.
When Victims Serve the Narrative, They Are Amplified. When They Don’t, They Are Ignored.
There is no doubt that the Rotherham and Rochdale cases were horrendous failures; police and councils hesitated to act for fear of appearing racist. That reluctance must never happen again. But it does not follow that abuse is exclusive to one ethnic group.
In fact, the Telford child abuse inquiry found over 1,000 victims, with offenders from multiple ethnic backgrounds, including white men. The Operation Sanctuary investigation in Newcastle also identified white British offenders.
But these cases receive far less attention. Why? Because they don’t support a narrative of racialised danger. For the far right, the protection of children is not a priority; it’s a pretext.
Collateral Damage: What This Propaganda Costs Us
The cost of this misinformation isn’t just social division. It undermines real safeguarding efforts:
- It distracts from abuse in white, rural, or working-class communities.
- It alienates Asian and Muslim communities from cooperating with child protection services.
- It creates moral panics that delay or derail real investigations.
- It forces victims into the public eye only when their stories can be instrumentalised.
And perhaps worst of all, it allows actual predators to hide in plain sight, protected by the fact that no one is looking for them.
If You Really Care About Children, Look Everywhere
Paedophilia is not an issue of race, culture, or immigration. It is an issue of power, silence, institutional failure and human depravity that cuts across every boundary.
The far right’s obsession with Muslim grooming gangs is not about justice. It is about racist propaganda. And when white child abusers are exposed, the silence reveals what truly drives these groups: hate, not healing.
If we want to protect children, we must look everywhere, even when it’s uncomfortable, especially when it’s close to home.
Further Reading & Sources
- Home Office (2020): Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation: Characteristics of Offending
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/group-based-child-sexual-exploitation-characteristics-of-offending - Sky News (2023): “Glasgow child rape gang jailed after horrific abuse”
https://news.sky.com/story/glasgow-child-rape-gang-jailed-after-horrific-abuse-12924065 - BBC News: “BNP supporter jailed over child porn and bomb-making”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-18624439 - The Guardian: “Neo-Nazi Jack Renshaw jailed for life over plot to murder MP”
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/may/17/jack-renshaw-jailed-mp-murder-plot-national-action - Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA)
https://www.iicsa.org.uk - Telford CSE Inquiry Report (2022)
https://www.telfordcseinquiry.org.uk/final-report - BBC Panorama: “The VIP Paedophile Scandal: What Went Wrong?”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b094f7xk
