Online grooming up nearly 80 per cent in five years

Police Scotland recorded a record high 685 offences of communicating a sexual message to a child in 2020/21, up from 381 in 2015/16.

The NSPCC has called on the UK government to ensure that proposed new online safety legislation goes far enough to protect children online.

Joanne Smith, NSPCC Scotland policy and public affairs manager, said: “Year after year tech firms’ failings result in more children being groomed and record levels of sexual abuse.

“To respond to the size and complexity of the threat, the government must put child protection front and centre of legislation and ensure the Online Safety Bill does everything necessary to prevent online abuse.

“Safety must be the yardstick against which the legislation is judged and ministers’ welcome ambition will only be realised if it achieves robust measures to keep children truly safe now and in the future.”