The former prosecutor who led the crackdown on the notorious Rochdale grooming gang has stepped down as head of the English and Welsh Catholic bishops’ safeguarding agency.
Nazir Afzal, OBE, is leaving Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA) at the conclusion of his three-year appointment.
Mr Afzal has been instrumental in developing the CSSA in structure and function, which was recommended by an independent review of safeguarding in the Catholic Church by Ian Elliott in 2020 (see <a href="https://www.cbcew.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/11/Independent-Review-Safeguarding-Report-2020.pdf"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">here</mark></a> for the Elliott Report).
His work over the past three years, with his fellow directors and operational staff, has created a robust regulatory framework for the Catholic Church in England and Wales ensuring that safeguarding standards are embedded in the life and mission of every parish, chaplaincy and religious order.
Audits of the dioceses and religious orders have taken place and have demonstrated improvements in safeguarding as integral to the Church’s mission.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, the president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales said: “Nazir Afzal has helped to establish a wider understanding of the determination of the Catholic Church in England and Wales to do everything it possibly can in its care for the vulnerable.
“He has played a significant part in establishing in the public eye the seriousness of our intent and the developments achieved in our work of Safeguarding. For this I thank him.”
Bishop Paul Mason of the Forces, the Lead Bishop for Safeguarding and a director of the CSSA, praised Mr Afzal for leading the push to develop “the robust structures needed to ensure effective safeguarding practice”.
“I wish him continued success in any future endeavours,” he said.
Mr Afzal, a Muslim, distinguished himself more than a decade ago when he overturned a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service in order to go after a gang of British Pakistani criminals engaged in the rape and sex trafficking of 47 girls, resulting in 19 convictions.
A Birmingham-born British Pakistani, he later criticised the “over-sensitivity” of white professionals in combating the scourge of grooming by Asian gangs, saying “political correctness and fear of appearing racist may well have contributed to justice being stalled”.
The acclaimed <em>BBC</em> Film <em>Three Girls</em> was based on his campaign, with his character played by Ace Bhatti.
Mr Afzal’s was appointed to lead the CCSA following sharp criticism of safeguarding lapses in the Church by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA), including the conduct of Cardinal Nichols.
Besides the Rochdale grooming gang, as Chief Crown Prosecutor for the North West of England, Mr Afzal successfully prosecuted Stuart Hall, the former television presenter who in 2014 was convicted of multiple sex offences against children.
He also prosecuted gangsters like the one-eyed Dale Cregan, who counted two women police officers among his multiple murder victims, and other notorious killers like Victorino Chua, a Filipino nurse who contaminated saline drips and ampoules to murder patients, earning himself the soubriquet “the Stepping Hill Poisoner” after the hospital in Stockport where he worked.
Mr Afzal’s reputation soon extended overseas, with the <em>New York Times</em> referring to him as “Britain’s go-to prosecutor”.<br><br><em>Photo: Chief Crown prosecutor Nazir Afzal (centre, holding paper) and Chief Superintendent Neil Esseen speak to media after Broadcaster Stuart Hall was sentenced to 15 months in prison at Preston Crown Court in Preston, England, 17 June 2013. The 83-year-old former television and radio presenter had pleaded guilty to 14 charges of indecent assault against 13 girls between 1967 and 1985. (Photo by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images.)</em>
