Excerpt:
Bristol authorities have softened their approach to protecting girls against female genital mutilation leading to a 94 per cent drop in referrals.
The city’s FGM safeguarding group, which involves agencies such as the council and police, changed its guidelines for referring girls suspected of being at risk of the illegal practice this summer.
The guidelines, to help professionals such as teachers decide whether to refer a girl to children’s services for a safeguarding assessment, were altered in the wake of a high-profile FGM trial which collapsed in February.
The case against a Bristol taxi driver accused of allowing his daughter to undergo FGM was thrown out by a judge who described it as “deeply troubling” with “inconsistent” evidence from the prosecution.