𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

A “serious” justice system cannot allow monsters who brutally beat children to “disappear”, ministers have been told.

The Conservatives will on Thursday mount fresh calls for a Child Cruelty Register, declaring dangerous thugs must be “visible to police” when they are released from prison.

The new database, which the Daily Express is campaigning for, would copy the sex offenders’ register, forcing brutes to tell police if they move homes, change their names, get into new relationships, stay in a house for 12 hours or more with children and certain offenders could even be forced to tell officers about any planned contact with youngsters in a private setting.

The campaign has been championed by Paula Hudgell, whose adopted son Tony was horrifically beaten by his evil birth parents.

Paula said on Thursday: “No child should ever endure what Tony went through. The suffering he experienced as a baby changed all of our lives forever. For the past seven years, I have fought tirelessly for a Child Cruelty Register because I believe that those who commit such horrific crimes against children should never be allowed to simply disappear from the system once their sentence ends.

“A register would mean proper monitoring, accountability, and protection — not just for Tony, but for every child in this country. It is heartbreaking that, right now, known abusers can change their names, move to new areas, and form new relationships without any requirement to tell the authorities. That is a loophole that puts children at serious risk.”

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy said: “A serious justice system cannot allow people convicted of brutal child cruelty to disappear, potentially able to repeat their crimes against other children unchecked.

“Protecting the most vulnerable must come first, and the Conservatives’ amendment would do exactly that.

“It is a vital safeguard to make sure those who pose an ongoing risk to children remain seen by the authorities forever.”

The Tories said “there is no central system to track offenders who have served time in prison for physical or emotional cruelty towards children”.

But abuse is “widespread”, the Conservatives said, with 16.5 per cent of adults in England and Wales saying they suffered physical abuse in childhood, 22.7 per cent emotional abuse, and 29 per cent some form of abuse.

And they have vowed to table an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill which is passing through the House of Lords to force the changes.

Some 900 to 1,000 offenders could be added to the register every year, a Home Office official told Shadow Solicitor General Helen Grant.

Policy chiefs don’t want to overwhelm the police by leaving them too many fiends to monitor, it is understood.

But they are trying to close the loophole that allows child abusers to move homes, change their homes, or form new relationships undetected.

Under Mrs Hudgell’s proposals, police will be able to monitor child abusers to prevent them attacking more youngsters.

And the database would be linked to that used in Clare’s Law, which allows women to check if a partner has a violent history.

This means parents could, for the first time, check if their new partners have a history of abuse towards children.

Labour voted down proposals for a Child Cruelty Register in October – despite admitting a “problem in the system has been identified”.

Helen Grant MP, Shadow Solicitor General, said: “For child cruelty offenders who have completed their sentences, there is currently no management, no monitoring, no reporting requirements – such as changes of name or new relationships – and their case details are archived. This leaves a terrible gap in the system.

“That is why we are calling for a Child Cruelty Register because every child deserves to grow up safe from fear and abuse.”

Alicia Kearns MP, Shadow Safeguarding Minister, said: “I cannot imagine the horror of discovering someone I had trusted to be part of my child’s life had been convicted of child cruelty, yet that is the reality for too many.

“Right now, those guilty of child cruelty can change their name, move county, and simply disappear once their sentence ends. That cannot be right.

“We track sex offenders because the risk doesn’t end at the prison gate, the same must apply to those cowards convicted of child cruelty. A Child Cruelty Register will keep dangerous individuals visible to police and puts children’s safety first.”

Tony Hudgell was just 41 days old when Jody Simpson and her partner Anthony Smith attacked him, causing multiple fractures and dislocations, and blunt trauma to the face, leading to organ failure, toxic shock and sepsis.

He was left untreated and in agony for 10 days and because of the extent of his injuries both his legs had to be amputated.

Simpson and Smith were jailed for 10 years in 2018.