Source: Church of England published on this website Friday 8 May 2026 by Jill Powell

The first independent audit of the Church of England’s National Safeguarding Team (NST) was published on the 5 May 2026

The audit was carried out by the INEQE Safeguarding Group and commissioned by the Archbishops’ Council, following a recommendation from the National Director of Safeguarding. It assesses the work of the NST against the National Safeguarding Standards.

The report highlights areas of good practice as well as identifying 66 recommendations for further improvement. Some of these relate to the wider Church’s safeguarding structures, while others are specific to the NST.

You can read the full report here.

Areas of good practice

The audit recognises that the NST has undergone significant transformation in recent years and is now a professional national function focused on improving safeguarding practice across the Church of England.

It highlights a strong internal culture, supported by confident leadership and a senior team with a wide range of expertise. Staff reported feeling able to raise concerns and contribute to ongoing development.

The report recognises the significance of the development of the National Safeguarding Standards. These now shape policy, training, supervision and day-to-day practice in churches and cathedrals:

“The National Safeguarding Standards establish a critical framework that constitutes good safeguarding practice. The NST defined and built this collective understanding to support parishes, dioceses, and cathedrals locally in developing a consistent, high-quality approach to safeguarding practice and culture.”

The audit also commends the NST’s shift towards safeguarding based on evidence and information, and it states that the casework team’s triage system functions well.

“The audit saw evidence of good practice by the NST, with caseworkers effectively receiving referrals, collating information and analysing cases. There was evidence of escalation to senior managers as appropriate, swift triage and allocations being accompanied by a written brief from the casework manager.”

Recommendations and next steps

The audit identifies several areas where further work is needed to strengthen safeguarding arrangements. These include:

• improving communication around survivor participation

• strengthening feedback mechanisms with dioceses and cathedrals

• clarifying the circumstances in which the National Director of Safeguarding can intervene in local cases

• developing specialist HR safeguarding expertise

• ensuring resilience and contingency planning for case management systems

• further developing national safeguarding training and learning infrastructure

The NST will now consider the recommendations in detail and set out how these will be taken forward.

Alexander Kubeyinje, the National Director of Safeguarding, said:

“As the National Director of Safeguarding for the Church of England, I approach this vital work not just as a leader, but as a registered social worker. I view everything we do through a steadfast, safeguarding-first lens.

“Critically, the Church must confront the uncomfortable truth: victims and survivors have been let down. We cannot simply move past these failures; we must own them, address them head-on, and ensure that the lived experience of survivors informs how the church reforms and rebuilds.

“Real change requires the courage to look in the mirror. It demands deep reflection and the willingness to improve. That is why I commissioned the independent safeguarding audit of the NST.

“The report rightly recognises the significant transformation the NST has undergone in recent years. We have introduced National Safeguarding Standards, developed an intelligence-led research and evaluation function, and embedded greater survivor participation into our core processes. These are vital steps forward on our improvement journey.

“However, the report is unequivocally clear: there is still work to be done. We must urgently strengthen the NST’s operational independence so that safeguarding is delivered with the clarity, authority, and unwavering consistency that is rightfully expected of a national body.

“I will now work alongside the Archbishops’ Council to consider the audit’s recommendations in their entirety and, where appropriate, deliver the structural changes necessary to reinforce operational independence across the Church.

“My commitment to victims and survivors, to our dedicated volunteers and staff, and to all who worship in our churches, is absolute: we will use this audit as a catalyst to accelerate our improvement journey. We will not rest until the Church of England is unequivocally a safer place for everyone.”

• Watch the National Director of Safeguarding’s response

• Watch the Lead Bishop for Safeguarding’s response

About the audit

The audit included:

• 68 engagement sessions involving 96 individuals

• Analysis of 950 documents

• 222 survey responses from victims and survivors, NST staff, and those working across dioceses and cathedrals

• Seven focus groups and a confidential contact process

Support information

If you or anyone you are in contact with is affected by the publication of this report and would like to talk to someone independently, please call the Safe Spaces helpline on 0300 303 1056 or visit safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk.

Alternatively, you may wish to contact the National Safeguarding Team at safeguarding@churchofengland.org.

Source: National Crime Agency (NCA) published on this website Tuesday 5 May 2026 by Jill Powell

A 37-year-old man has been sentenced to 23 years after being convicted of multiple sexual abuse offences involving seven children.

Jamie Beckett, from Wakefield, was arrested in December 2022 by National Crime Agency officers after receiving intelligence from international partners.

Further work by NCA investigators revealed links between a PayPal account, Gmail account and mobile number which were attributed to Beckett.

Beckett exploited the facilitator and victims' financial situation by offering cash for medical appointments, electricity and wifi in exchange for images and videos of child abuse. The payments ranged from as little as £6.20 to a maximum of £187 per request.

Online records revealed that between June 2020 and June 2022, Beckett had exchanged 9,493 messages, 356 media files and approximately 39 calls with the facilitator.

Beckett, a telecommunications engineer by profession, would provide specific instructions of what he wanted the facilitator to do to the victims. When the bespoke content did not meet his criteria, he withheld payment until new media was supplied which he was satisfied with.

Messages included Beckett persuading the facilitator to inflict sexual or physical harm, saying 'it will be a good money earn for you' and the child will 'get used' to it.

He would also object to receiving content he had already seen, instead demanding new images and videos of abuse. At one point he stated he wanted to travel to the Philippines to engage in the abuse himself.

In total, Beckett paid just under £560 for the abuse material which involved seven children aged between 5-15. The children have since been safeguarded.

Analysis of devices seized from his home found further evidence of his guilt, including indecent images of children on his mobile phone.

Beckett pleaded guilty to 25 charges at Leeds Crown Court in February 2026. He was sentenced to 23 years at the same court Friday 1 May, 16 years custodial and seven years on license. Beckett will be on the sex offenders' register for life and be subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Judge Batiste described his offending as 'vile, repulsive, revolting and truly appalling beyond words' and gave the NCA officers involved a Judge's commendation for their work on the case.

Danielle Pownall, NCA Senior Investigating Officer, said:

"This was a long and complex investigation into a depraved individual with a blatant disregard for children. Beckett completely dehumanised his victims, paying pitiful amounts of money in exchange for images and videos of extreme child abuse. The transactional relationship between Beckett and the facilitator exploited the victims' vulnerability and circumstances.

"With thanks to US law enforcement colleagues and the Philippine National Police, the NCA was able to identify Beckett and bring him to justice. We will continue to work closely with partners at home and abroad together with the Crown Prosecution Service to protect children from the threat posed by individuals who would seek to harm them."

Source: Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) published on this website Thursday 7 May 2026 by Jill Powell

An Army Cadet who threatened to ‘ruin prom’ and had bomb-making videos and a terrorist manual has been sentenced to four years and six months for terrorism, stalking offences and making indecent images of children.  

Dihan Rahman, 19, was driven by extremist ideologies and had incel, misogynistic, pro-ISIS and extreme right-wing material.  

He was the administrator of the far-right wing Strumjäger Group on encrypted messaging app Telegram and had frequently expressed antisemitic views, including to one of his victims who had Jewish ancestry.  

Bethan David, Head of Counter Terrorism for the Crown Prosecution Service, said:  

“Dihan Rahman was driven by his extreme ideologies and misogynistic views. He was an administrator of an extreme far-right group that is known for its encouragement of violence, he had material containing pro-ISIS, far-right views and depicting violence against women.  

“His derogatory views about women and his interest in mixed extreme ideologies drove him to commit the stalking offences causing considerable fear and distress to his victims, who have described the effect his actions have had on them.

“Today’s sentencing reflects the seriousness of his crimes, and I hope can bring some closure to his victims, my thoughts remain with them.”

Rahman’s actions began after he moved school, was romantically rejected by a girl, and began his misogynistic campaign against women.  

He would go on to stalk the girl who rejected him and her friend, doxxing their details to encourage harassment online, he would visit locations he knew they would be and tried to discover their locations from others.  

After he posted pictures on social media, tagged to the location of the prom, of a WW2 German Soldier holding a gun and saying he was ‘going to ruin prom’ the event was forced into moving for security reasons.  

There is no evidence to suggest he planned or considered an attack; however extra security was added to the prom once the venue had changed.  

When the girls reported his behaviour to the school, Rahman’s phone was confiscated by a teacher, who saw images of him dressed in army uniform with the words ‘kill yourself’ and another of Dihan in a headscarf with the caption ‘who’s in for a Valentines school shooting’.  

Alongside these there were images of Hitler, Sadam Hussein, beheadings, dead bodies and violent images of women being hurt and strangled. A manifesto written by Rahman was also found in his school bag.  

The school contacted the police, Rahman would go on to stalk the teacher who had found images and manifesto.  

Rahman originally admitted to owning the documents but claimed he didn’t know that they contained information that would help a terrorist.  

The prosecution case was that not only did Rahman have the documents, but his wider online activity, beliefs and mindset meant that he was fascinated with violence within the documents.  

He pleaded guilty to the stalking and making indecent images of a child before trial, and possession of terrorist material after his trial began. 

Source: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office published on this website Friday May 1 2026 by Jill Powell

Since 2018 the UK has led in advocating improved global standards and performance on safeguarding against sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment (SEAH) in the international aid sector. This included hosting an international safeguarding summit in 2018. View the outcome summary from the summit.

The UK government’s work on SEAH is designed to protect vulnerable individuals and to ensure the integrity of Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend.

This progress report summarises the FCDO’s work from December 2024 to December 2025 to improve global standards and performance on SEAH and meet the 2018 donor commitments.

The report also summarises progress by the FCDO and other UK government departments in meeting the objectives of the 2020 UK strategy: safeguarding against SEAH within the aid sector.