Tony Hudgell wins campaign as UK to establish child cruelty register
Eleven-year-old Tony Hudgell and his adoptive mother Paula have secured a government commitment to create a Child Cruelty Register, a move that will subject parents convicted of neglect and other child-abuse offences to monitoring similar to that applied to registered sex offenders. The pledge to table an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill is being presented as a direct result of the Hudgells' years-long campaigning and is intended to give police new powers to track and manage risks posed by convicted caregivers.
Tony Hudgell's campaign and injuries
Tony Hudgell, now 11, was attacked as an infant and suffered such severe injuries that both his legs were later amputated. He was 41 days old when Jody Simpson and her partner Anthony Smith inflicted multiple fractures and dislocations and blunt trauma to his face, which developed into organ failure, toxic shock and sepsis. Tony was left untreated and in agony for 10 days; because of the extent of his injuries both his legs had to be amputated. Simpson and Smith were each jailed for 10 years in 2018.
Adopted and raised by Paula Hudgell in West Malling in Kent, Tony has since co‑founded the Tony Hudgell Foundation and helped raise more than £1. 7m for charity during the pandemic. He also received the British Empire Medal for services to the prevention of child abuse, and the family successfully pressed for the passage of Tony's Law, which strengthened sentencing for those who cause or allow serious harm to children. Tony said he was "so happy it's finally happening and that children will be more protected, " and Paula described the development as a victory for Tony and for every child who deserves safety and protection. She credited persistence, courage and a united team after eight years of campaigning, thanked supporters including Helen Grant MP, and said the journey had been emotional, challenging and at times overwhelming but never just her fight.
Amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill
The new register will be established through an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that the government expects to table shortly. Government ministers had signalled in November that they could introduce a register following the Hudgells' campaigning. The change will extend closer monitoring and restrictions to parents and caregivers who physically harm children, placing them under obligations modelled on those for registered sex offenders.
Scope of the Child Cruelty Register
The register will cover child neglect, child cruelty, abandonment, female genital mutilation (FGM) and infanticide. Those placed on the register will be required to notify the police if they move house, change their identity, travel abroad or return to live with children after serving their sentence. The Home Office described these offences as egregious betrayals of a child's trust and dependency, and the register is meant to ensure offenders remain visible to authorities so risks can be identified and acted upon.
Statements from Jake Richards and Jess Phillips
Sentencing minister Jake Richards paid tribute to Paula Hudgell for her "remarkable fight" to prevent others suffering the life-altering abuse her son endured. He said that child abusers do not deserve shielding and that the Child Cruelty Register will ensure offenders are visible to the police, allowing authorities to see and act when risks arise. Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips described it as unforgivable that people entrusted to care for children would hurt them, and said ministers had listened to the Hudgells and other families who feel the system has not always protected the most vulnerable. She asserted that the government is taking vital action to keep children safer in a variety of settings.
Impact on safeguarding and next steps
What makes this notable is the combination of new statutory powers and a high-profile campaign led by a child who survived extreme abuse: the legislative amendment is designed to convert sustained public pressure into operational tools for police and safeguarding teams. Practically, the register creates measurable duties for convicted offenders and a formal mechanism for authorities to track movements and identity changes, aiming to reduce the risk that adults who have harmed children can "simply move on unnoticed, " as Paula Hudgell put it.
The government will move to table the amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill shortly, after which the detail of implementation, enforcement and oversight will be set out during the parliamentary process. The timing matters because it follows months of public campaigning and a prior government indication in November that such a register could be introduced, making the next stage a test of how quickly and tightly the law will translate into operational safeguarding measures.
