Daily roundup 18 September: Vigilante warning, child trafficking and terror raid

A top police officer has said detectives may be forced to work with so-called paedophile hunters in an effort to stop them from putting children's lives at risk. The Evening Standard reports that Chief Constable Simon Bailey, the UK's lead police officer on child protection, insisted he would not condone the actions of the vigilante groups, but believed forces could face no choice.


Vietnamese children are being trafficked to Edinburgh in record numbers to work? as slaves. The Scotsman reports that police said 16 teenagers had been found at the city's airport or wandering the streets in the past 18 months - nearly double the number of unaccompanied overseas children in care. They are understood to have been trafficked by gangs via Russia to work in cannabis farms and nail bars.


Two foster carers found themselves thrust into the national spotlight when counter-terrorism police raided their terraced home in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, following the arrest of an 18-year-old at Dover on Saturday in connection with the Parsons Green bombing. The Guardian reports that Penelope and Ronald Jones, aged 71 and 88 respectively, had been awarded MBEs for services to children and families in 2009. According to neighbours, the couple recently had an 18-year-old and a 22-year-old staying with them.


Children as young as six have been recorded as self-harming in schools, a Freedom of Information request has found. The BBC reports that one council said self-harm referrals to social services by their schools had risen six-fold in three years. The National Education Union (NEU) has urged the Welsh Government to introduce wellbeing officers into schools.


Parents should take their children to the dentist by the age of one, according to the chief dental officer, as part of an NHS drive to reduce high rates of tooth extractions among pre-school children. The Times reports that Sara Hurley, chief dental officer for England, said infants should visit the dentist when their first teeth emerge, usually at around six months. The NHS wants children's first appointments to be routine, pleasant experiences in which the dentist checks their milk teeth are coming through properly and gives advice on brushing teeth and diet.


MPs have urged justice secretary David Lidington to rewrite "extremely damaging" official guidance that means children as young as 12 could be held responsible for their own sexual abuse. The Guardian reports that new rules drawn up by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority mean some child victims of sexual assault could be refused compensation on the grounds that they "consented" even if their abuser has been jailed. The draft guidance was described by a prominent survivor of a Rotherham child-grooming ring as an "absolute disgrace" that would retraumatise applicants.