The Ministry of Justice has said it will review the cases of child sex abuse victims denied compensation because they were deemed to have "consented".

Around 700 children have been refused compensation by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority since 2012, some because they were judged to have gone along with their abuse and had therefore not suffered an "injury".

On Tuesday a group of charities called on justice secretary David Lidington to change the guidelines, which have allowed children as young as 12 to be refused payouts of up to £44,000.

The charities, including Rape Crisis, Barnardo's and Victim Support, said that in some cases young teenagers who had been raped by multiple people were refused compensation, even where the perpetrators had been convicted of sex offences.

The Ministry of Justice confirmed that it had urgently requested details from CICA on the cases which were refused on this basis and would then consider a wider examination of the compensation scheme.

A spokesman said: “Child sexual abuse is abhorrent and this government is committed to doing everything possible to support victims.

“We will look closely at the concerns raised by these charities that some victims are not getting the compensation they deserve.