Surrey police and crime commissioner Kevin Hurley vows “merry hell” for Government over female genital mutilation

Surrey police and crime commissioner Kevin Hurley has vowed to create “merry hell” for the Government if it does not take action on female genital mutilation.

Mr Hurley, who was elected in 2012, said the situation in Calais, France, where migrants are trying to enter the UK through the Channel Tunnel, and in some cases dying in the attempt, was “nothing” compared to the suffering experienced by young girls taken abroad to be mutilated.

Last month Bedfordshire Police obtained what it said was the first FGM protection order to prevent two girls travelling abroad to undergo the procedure.

FGM has been illegal for years but prosecutions are rare.

In a series of late-night tweets yesterday Mr Hurley said: “Who will join me in creating merry hell for the Govt if the authorities don’t act when the Brit girls come back[?]

“As you finish your BBQ, the young Brit girls on family holiday with mummy are now in agony. Calais is nothing.

“When you’ve listened to a woman who has had #FGM you will never be the same; you’ll feel rage, desperation, commitment.

“You know these wicked old women get less than 50p to cut a screaming little girl up.

“Talk about it to stop it. Or block me, I won’t stop. Reality check for those who don’t want to think about #FGM.”

Last summer anti-FGM and honour violence campaigner Sarbjit Athwal criticised Kingston headteachers for failing to read Department for Education advice on combating the practice, including the transportation of girls abroad.

A Freedom of Infomation request by the Evening Standard showed nearly half of the 53 heads who were emailed the guidance did not read it.

But Tolworth Girls’ School headteacher Siobhan Lowe said a conference at Achieving for Children - the body that runs children’s services in Kingston and Richmond - had shown “genuine knowledge” of the issue.

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