Lyn Brown Member of Parliament for West Ham
Newham has been heavily affected by grooming and exploitation of children by ‘county lines’ drug gangs. This grooming often destroys not only the lives of the children who are groomed, but the lives of many others through violence linked to the drugs trade. Lyn Brown MP has been raising these issues consistently for many years, including through several debates in Parliament and with a Ten Minute Rule Bill in December 2021.
On 16 June 2022, Lyn Brown MP and Stephen Timms MP, together representing Newham, organised a conference in Parliament to invite a range of experts working within the police, social services, specialist charities, and universities, to identify solutions to youth violence. The evidence and ideas offered has been brought together to create a wide-ranging prospectus for change.
The full report, co-authored by Lyn Brown MP and Stephen Timms MP, can be read here: http://www.lynbrown.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/223/2022/10/Combatting-Child-Criminal-Exploitation.pdf
The publication of the report was covered in The Independent on 10 October: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/county-lines-drugs-facebook-twitter-b2197260.html
The accompanying article can be read here: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/county-lines-grooming-drugs-facebook-children-b2198777.html