This shameful soft justice on paedophiles hoarding child abuse images must end

Now jail them

MOST of us were staggered and appalled when Huw Edwards walked free without spending a single day in prison.

He had, after all, been convicted of leering over child abuse images in Category A — the foulest of all — involving a victim as young as seven.

Such revolting crimes ought inevitably to mean jail.

And it was tempting to wonder if the disgraced BBC star walked free because of his fame and his lawyer’s attempts at mitigation, feeble though they were.

But that wasn’t it.

As we reveal today, scores of other paedophiles have been let loose for offences every bit as grave as Edwards’.

Some cases truly turn the stomach.

Perverts, hoarding images of toddlers aged two being sexually assaulted, sauntering out of court with a smirk.

They could probably barely believe their luck.

We know prison places are short, even after the Government’s controversial early-release scheme.

But what deterrent is there if sick men know they can possess or trade the vilest images imaginable without any risk of seeing the inside of a cell?

What justice is that for the defenceless victims of this evil global trade, whose abuse continues each time a pervert clicks on a picture of their suffering?

After the Edwards case The Sun launched the Keep Our Kids Safe campaign, demanding mandatory prison for anyone caught with Category A images.

We urged “a new intolerance towards perverts fuelling a heinous global trade which destroys children’s lives.”

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has launched a review into these sentences.

We hope she reads our dossier and concludes as we have:

Enough of this shameful soft justice. Time for change.

Clown under

WILL woke left-wing politicians ever emerge from the teenage protest phase they should have grown out of decades ago?

It’s not just those here, though they are bad enough. Look at their behaviour in Australia towards the King.

His visit Down Under this week, requested by the Aussie government, has been planned for months. He’s pausing his cancer treatment for it.

It’s a gruelling trip for any man of 75, even in full health.

And yet six of Australia’s most senior politicians, left-wing republicans, have made excuses to avoid meeting him. What puerile petulance.

How out of touch too with Aussie voters, who now back our monarchy over a theoretical republic by 45 per cent to 33 — and whose fondness for the Royal Family is growing, not declining.

What a pity so many politicians on the Left prioritise virtue-signalling over duty, not to mention over plain good manners.