Caroline Ansell, the Conservative MP for Eastbourne, called on the Prime Minister to make the form of exploitation a criminal offence in the House of Commons.
She said that residents in the town had fallen victim to the form of exploitation, as well as in other parts of the country.
Cuckooing is a practice where people take over a person’s home to use the property to facilitate exploitation. This can include using the property to deal, store or take drugs.
Ms Ansell said: “If there is one place where everyone should feel safe, it is in their own home, but the reality is that for some of the most vulnerable people, home is precisely where they can be most at risk.
“They are terrorised by criminals who target them, move in, take control, and set up a base camp from which they sell drugs or facilitate prostitution in a horrendous form of exploitation known as cuckooing.
“It has happened in Eastbourne, and it is happening across the country.
“It is not an offence, but it should be; it was not cited in the Criminal Justice Bill that we debated last week, so will my right honourable friend and the home secretary meet with me and concerned colleagues to further discuss this issue?”
In response, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described the practice as “abhorrent… that often preys on the most vulnerable in society”.
He said: “As part of the government’s antisocial behaviour action plan, the Home Office engaged with relevant stakeholders about whether a new criminal offence was necessary.
“The results of that engagement demonstrated that a range of existing powers can be used to disrupt that activity, but of course I will ensure that the relevant minister meets with my right honourable friend and updates her on the work we are doing to share effective practice to tackle this abhorrent problem.”
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