Kriss Akabusi has launched a blistering attack on the Government's handling of children in care amid the ongoing grooming gangs scandal.
Speaking to GB News today, the former athlete claimed vulnerable children in care homes are being "thrown to the wolves" by the state.
Akabusi, who spent time in the care system himself, highlighted that while much attention has focused on working-class victims, those in children's homes are among the most at risk.
The Home Office is facing mounting pressure over its refusal to release deportation figures for convicted grooming gang members, following their refusal to launch an inquiry into historic Oldham grooming gang incidents.
In a personal account, Akabusi revealed his recent meeting with a former care home resident who shared harrowing experiences of historical abuse.
"I had a meeting with a young girl - she's a woman now, she's nearly 60, but we were young children in the children's home," he told GB News.
Akabusi detailed disturbing accounts of organised abuse within care homes, where perpetrators would openly enter facilities for what he termed "sexual parties".
"People would come to the home... and they would go upstairs into the girls bedrooms," he said, adding that mattresses were pulled into bathrooms where young girls were abused.
While acknowledging such "bold faceness" might be less common today, Akabusi warned that abuse likely continues in different forms.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Hitting out at the Government, Akabusi highlighted how convicted offenders, including Rochdale gang ringleader Qari Abdul Rauf, remain in UK communities despite deportation orders.
"The law is only for law abiding people," he said. "If you're law abiding, you'll get told to go. But if you are a criminal, you just don't go."
He fumed: "He's still here in 2025. What he shouldn't be is out in the community, rubbing cheek by jowl by the young children trying to reconstruct their lives and seeing their rapist in front of their very eyes."
In a direct plea to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Akabusi demanded for Labour to "look after our children" who are "meant to be looked after" by the state.
He concluded: "So to the Home Secretary today, make sure that you're looking after our children, because you are de facto the parent of these children who have been abused.
"The state are the parent of these young people, and they are definitely the most vulnerable, and I talk from experience."
In a statement, a Home Office spokesman said: "Foreign nationals who commit heinous crimes should be in no doubt that we will do everything to make sure they are not free on Britain’s streets, this includes removal from the UK.
"Foreign national offenders can be convicted of several offences. We are transparent with our data and publish data frequently on returns."
Find Out More...
Speaking to GB News today, the former athlete claimed vulnerable children in care homes are being "thrown to the wolves" by the state.
Akabusi, who spent time in the care system himself, highlighted that while much attention has focused on working-class victims, those in children's homes are among the most at risk.
The Home Office is facing mounting pressure over its refusal to release deportation figures for convicted grooming gang members, following their refusal to launch an inquiry into historic Oldham grooming gang incidents.
In a personal account, Akabusi revealed his recent meeting with a former care home resident who shared harrowing experiences of historical abuse.
"I had a meeting with a young girl - she's a woman now, she's nearly 60, but we were young children in the children's home," he told GB News.
Akabusi detailed disturbing accounts of organised abuse within care homes, where perpetrators would openly enter facilities for what he termed "sexual parties".
"People would come to the home... and they would go upstairs into the girls bedrooms," he said, adding that mattresses were pulled into bathrooms where young girls were abused.
While acknowledging such "bold faceness" might be less common today, Akabusi warned that abuse likely continues in different forms.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
- Revealed: Civil servants BLOCKED compensation plans for grooming gang victims
- Grooming gangs victim says officials ‘mocked’ her as she reported horrific abuse: ‘They laughed!’
- ‘Turning away again!’ Maggie Oliver accuses Keir Starmer of neglecting grooming gang victims
Hitting out at the Government, Akabusi highlighted how convicted offenders, including Rochdale gang ringleader Qari Abdul Rauf, remain in UK communities despite deportation orders.
"The law is only for law abiding people," he said. "If you're law abiding, you'll get told to go. But if you are a criminal, you just don't go."
He fumed: "He's still here in 2025. What he shouldn't be is out in the community, rubbing cheek by jowl by the young children trying to reconstruct their lives and seeing their rapist in front of their very eyes."
In a direct plea to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Akabusi demanded for Labour to "look after our children" who are "meant to be looked after" by the state.
He concluded: "So to the Home Secretary today, make sure that you're looking after our children, because you are de facto the parent of these children who have been abused.
"The state are the parent of these young people, and they are definitely the most vulnerable, and I talk from experience."
In a statement, a Home Office spokesman said: "Foreign nationals who commit heinous crimes should be in no doubt that we will do everything to make sure they are not free on Britain’s streets, this includes removal from the UK.
"Foreign national offenders can be convicted of several offences. We are transparent with our data and publish data frequently on returns."
Find Out More...