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Boris Johnson has said police spending on child sexual abuse investigations was "spaffed up a wall".

Labour demanded an apology, saying his "disgusting" remarks were an "insult to every survivor of child sex abuse."

And the NSPCC said the former Foreign Secretary’s language was “crass.”

The former Foreign Secretary said the money spent investigating historic cases of child abuse would be better spent elsewhere.

His comments came just hours after Cardinal George Pell was jailed for six years in Australia for abusing two 13-year-old choir boys in the 1990s.

Johnson told LBC: "Keeping numbers high on the streets is certainly important. But it depends where you spend the money and where you deploy the officers.

"And one comment I would make is I think an awful lot of money and an awful lot of police time now goes into these historic offences and all this malarkey.

"You know, £60 million I saw was being spaffed up a wall on some investigation into historic child abuse."

(Image: LBC)

He added: "I mean, what on earth is that going to do to protect the public now?"

Johnson described the use of stop and search to crack down on knife crime as "tough love" but said parents would be in favour of it.

Labour Party Chair Ian Lavery said: “These disgusting comments are an insult to every survivor of child sex abuse.

“If Boris Johnson has even a little bit of decency he will now apologise to the victims and families of those who have suffered.”

An NSPCC spokesperson said: "Bringing child abuse perpetrators to justice is not a ‘malarkey’ and such crass language is an affront to victims who have suffered in silence for decades.

“Investigation of historic allegations is an important part of creating a culture where we can talk more openly about abuse.

“These investigations will also help us all to learn lessons so that as a society we do not repeat the mistakes of the past.”

Johnson also said Theresa May's decision to give Tories a free vote on rejecting a no-deal Brexit was "absurd".

He told LBC Radio: "I think this is a fundamental matter of government policy, whether or not you are going to disable your negotiators by saying you are willing to walk away from the table or not.

"If you are not able to walk away from a negotiation, what is your negotiating leverage?"