The Satanic Panic Returns to UK

The Eleven Million Pound Farce Which Shamed UK Policing is being revived by a new generation of Cops and Psychotherapists in 2026.

Police forces across the UK are being instructed to look out for and investigate both recent and historical cases of “organised ritual abuse” and “ritualistic abuse,including witchcraft and spirit possession”. Sound familiar?

In a new“Operational Briefing” document and separate official guidance - both from the National Police Chiefs’ Council - officers are expected to believe in the existence of what was originally termed “satanic ritual abuse”, or SRA, a notion dismissed by a UK government inquiry more than 30 years ago, as a myth,with no physical, forensic, corroborating evidence.

That government inquiry report was published in June 1994 following a series of investigations by police across the UK, in the late 1980s and early 1990s into allegations of so-called SRA of children, including most notoriously in Nottingham, Rochdale and the Orkney Islands.

It was commissioned by the Department of Health from Jean La Fontaine, a professor of anthropology at the London School of Economics, with expert knowledge of religious movements. National publicity about so-called satanic abuse followed sensational claims made by the NSPCC at a press conference launching their annual report in March in 1990, that children had been sexually abused, tortured and sacrificed in bizarre rites connected with witchcraft, satanism or devil worship.

La Fontaine’s 1994 report was titled The Extent and Nature of Organised and Ritual Abuse: Research Findings. She researched 84 alleged cases investigated by UK police from Kent to Strathclyde between 1987 and 1992.

She concluded: “Rites that allegedly include the torture and sexual abuse of children and adults, forced abortion and human sacrifice, cannibalism and bestiality may be labelled satanic or satanist. Their defining characteristic is that the sexual and physical abuse of children is part of rites directed to a magical or religious objective. There is no evidence that these have taken place in any of the 84 cases studied.

“Three substantiated cases of ritual, not satanic, abuse were found. These are cases in which self-proclaimed mystical/magical powers were used to entrap children and impress them (and also adults) with a reason for the sexual abuse, keeping the victims compliant and ensuring their silence.”

BRITAIN'S FALL INTO THE WORLD-WIDE SATANIC PANIC WAS STEEPER THAN MOST

Similar“Satanic Panics” occurred around the world in the 1980s and 1990s, notably Canada,the USA, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand, but were officially debunked by various investigations for lack of physical forensic evidence.

But a hardcore of zealots persisted in spreading belief, especially in some fields of psychology, psychiatry and psychotherapy, who attribute some mental health problems to extreme childhood trauma, lack of attachment and “dissociation” from reality, (a much-disputed valid diagnosis - Dissociative Identity Disorder, previously termed Multiple Personality Disorder).

Belief in an even more extreme notion of an international network of satanist pedophiles ruling  the world surfaced in the more recent Pizzagate and QAnon conspiracy theories, amplified in the alternative universe of social media and tacitly endorsed by Donald Trump and Elon Musk.  The Pizzagate conspiracy theory – which emerged in the run up to the 2016 U.S. Presidential election – claimed Trump’s rival Hillary Clinton was part of a satanic paedophile ring which trafficked and sexually abused children in the basement of a pizza parlour in Washington frequented by Democrats. Problem was,that the pizza restaurant had no basement. (Full background: Private Eye, Ian Hislop Eye podcast. Page 94 episode 56 31 October 2020).  [Also see here for more on how Pizzagate and the QAnon movement has driven other false abuse narratives in recent years ]

UK police forces were being instructed to recognise and investigate “organised ritual abuse” and “ritualistic abuse including witchcraft and spirit possession”   Yet Witch-children, a sub-set of the Satanic Panic which wasted police time from 2006 onwards, actually had nothing whatsoever to do with Witchcraft or Satanism. The people abusing children in horrific rituals were fanatical fundamentalist Christians who were beating the Devil out of wayward children. There is no equivalence whatsoever with any SRA cases prior to 2006 or since, yet the British Police are still pretending otherwise.  (See: https://saff.nfshost.com/stobart.htm for full story)

SATAN SEMINARS RESTART

On 20 March2026 at a “Trauma Recovery Global Conference”, to be held in Bath, UK, an audience of therapists and professionals who encounter possible child victims and adult survivors of sexual abuse will be invited to learn about “denial of complex trauma” and “the discourse of disbelief around ritual abuse”. 

The conference is organised by Betsy de Thierry, MBE, a consultant psychotherapist and trauma expert with UK Parliament and global connections, founder and CEO of the Trauma Recovery Centre and pastor of an Evangelical Christian church, The Sound Church both based in Bath. She is billed as a keynote speaker .  Betsy de Thierry is described on the Sound Church website as a 5th generation pastor who

' is a firm believer that following Jesus is life transforming, and there has never been a bigger need in our world for a church that is trauma informed and where we see the kind of stuff that Jesus did happen.'

From this we assume that Mrs Thierry believes in 'signs and wonders'.  Clearly she is a fundamentalist Christian so if she is promoting the idea of Satanic Ritual Child Abuse as part of a therapy cure it is troubling.  Most fundamentalist churches have a belief in Possession of the body by Demons and perform exorcisms on people who come to them for help or absolution. This often occurs after initial counseling sessions where SRA is diagnosed.   We do not know if Betsy de Thierry believes in any of these things, or whether she combines spiritual counseling with her therapeutic work, but perhaps she will clarify her approach to exorcism and whether she believes in the Devil as a reality?  That would make an important difference to any encouragement for police to accept claims of establishing the existence of Ritual and Satanic Abuse.

The other keynote speaker at the conference is Dr Elly Hanson, a clinical psychologist “with a focus on tackling sexual abuse and online harms”.

Online publicity for the conference links to Dr Hanson’s website which includes a long list of her publications. The most recent is Hanson (2025) Organised ritual abuse and its wider context: Degradation, deception and disavowal. A research review and analysis.

It was published in July 2025 by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), the NPCC’s Hydrant Programme, (which collates allegations of non-recent, historical cases of alleged child sexual abuse) and NAPAC (The National Association for People Abused in Childhood).

Ms Hanson’s 70 page report (which has 51 references to the word “satanic”) led immediately to two major changes to police procedures, to recognise “ritual” and “ritualised” abuse as instructed to all UK police forces, published simultaneously.

On 3 July2025 NAPAC published online under the headline “New Report and Guidance on Organised Ritual Abuse Launched by NAPAC and NPCC: “ Today NAPAC in partnership with the National Police Chiefs’ Council is publishing a research review and analysis ‘Organised ritual abuse and its wider context: Degradation, deception and disavowal’ by Dr Elly Hanson. The report unpacks the nature of organised ritual abuse, its motives and dynamics, the harm it causes and the barriers survivors face in speaking out. It also looks at the discourse of disbelief and conspiracy fictions which have kept it hidden for so long”.

The NAPAC release continues: “The [Hanson] report is accompanied by an operational briefing which outlines practical actions to enhance police investigations, victim engagement and multi-agency collaboration. It addresses both the organised ritual abuse which is the focus of Dr Hanson’s report and abuse driven by beliefs in spirit possession or witchcraft. The guidance is both strategic and operational and is intended as the first in a series of resources on this subject.”

SO EAGER TO CATCH NON-EXISTENT SATANIC ABUSERS,
HYDRANT MUST HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT THEY GOT EGG ON THEIR FACES BEFORE

The Operational Briefing document published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, - commissioned by the Hydrant Programme and NAPAC - published in July 2025 Investigating and responding to ritualistic abuse, including witchcraft and spirit possession states: “This document provides a clear, evidence-based overview of ritualistic abuse,including abuse linked to witchcraft and spirit possession.”

The purpose is to outline “practical actions to enhance investigations, victim engagement and multi-agency collaboration”.

One of its“Key takeaways” is: “Ritualistic abuse – including abuse linked to witchcraft and spirit possession – is real.”

Other Key takeaways include: “Disbelief, investigative challenges and the complexity of belief-based abuse have led to systemic failings in recognising and responding to these crimes.

“Survivors face extreme barriers to disclosure, often due to trauma, coercion and fear of not being believed… Taking disclosures seriously must go together with timely,professional investigation to prevent injustice, through disbelief and ungrounded mass panic.”

Under Section Two, Key findings, the Briefing document says:

While the 1980s and 1990s saw unfounded allegations that contributed to moral panics, it is essential to acknowledge that ritualistic abuse does occur and must be investigated professionally. Survivor testimony, corroborated with forensic methods, cansecure justice and prevent both disbelief and modern-day witch hunts.”

Yet Hydrant have many times been castigated for their eagerness to believe any tales accusers tell them before they have investigated and discovered any corroborating facts.  In 2016 they were taken to task by High Court Judge Sir Richard Henriques whose inquiry into their handling of historic claims of abuse had foundered upon falsely accusing many 'people of public prominence'.  Sir Richard wrote in his report:

1.41.  I remain most concerned that the Hydrant team fail to 
appreciate the danger of false complaints and that a cardinal 
principal of the criminal justice process is that a complaint 
may be false. Arguments advanced in support of retaining the 
word ‘victim’ and the culture of ‘belief' appear to have been
based on the supposition that the level of false complaints 
is so small that it can be disregarded. There is, of course, 
a significant difference between the number of false complaints 
and the number of persons who make false complaints.   
In Operation Yewtree one complainant, whilst residing in prison, 
made complaints of the most serious nature against a total of 
in excess of 40 suspects involving several sexual allegations
against many of the suspects. He was interviewed over six days
and the subsequent investigation was thorough and proportionate. 
Officers concluded that ‘his evidence is fatally undermined and
is not something that can be relied upon in Court’.  I have 
reviewed the investigation and it is above criticism. In Operation 
Fairbank the SIO observed that the vast majority of 400 complaints
were without merit. 

1.24. I spent some considerable time with Operation Hydrant 
officers discussing this topic. I understand the strategic 
aim of  improving the Police Service response to complaints 
of sexual abuse and the aim to make it easier for victims of 
sexual abuse to make a complaint to the police. The officers 
steadfastly insist that the ‘victim must be believed  
during the taking of the statement’. I disagree. It is the duty of
a police officer to investigate. Many decisions in the criminal justice
process have to be taken on paper. The police officer taking a statement 
from a complainant has a unique opportunity to assess the complainant’s
veracity. The effect of requiring a police officer, in such a position, 
to believe a complainant reverses the burden of proof. 

It also restricts the officer's ability to test the complainant’s evidence.

Yet here Hydrant are again, ten years after being publicly criticised about their eagerness to believe anything an accuser tells them, and we find them buying-in to the nonsense about Witch-children and the even more discredited allegations involving Satanic Ritual Abuse which have not produced one single case in the 37 years since its invention. Readers should keep in mid that they can find thousands of people on the Internet claiming they have been Satanically Abused, along with an equal number who claim to have been abducted by aliens.

The content of Elly Hanson’s 70 page report is a review of masses of ‘research’ promoting a belief in the existence of Satanic Ritual Abuse by believers in Satanic Ritual Abuse. It is sheer propaganda. It is a regurgitation of the UK Satanic Panic of the early 1990s and more recently amplified and spread globally.    

The SAFF's detailed response to Elly Hanson's report is titled;  The Excoriation of NAPAC, the NPCC and Hydrant, and points out that the entire premise of Ms Hanson's theories about the existence and prevalence of Ritual Abuse and Satanic Ritual Abuse is fundamentally insecure: 

'There are only a limited number of methodologies under which sexual abuse can occur so clearly all 'survivor's' stories will match to some degree, just as the modus operandi of all bank-robberies will match to some degree.   Self-diagnosed 'victims' may well define as 'ritual elements' stereotypes and motifs which appear to indicate Satanic Ritual Abuse to the untutored, but history shows that almost always these narratives turn out to be false.  Thousands of people and hundreds of cases of claimed SRA over nearly four decades have resulted in not a single example of Satanic Ritual Child Abuse (i.e. Abuse committed in the pursuance of Satanic Liturgy).  SAFF has shown that of those claiming to have been 'ritually abused' 'within a systematic physical, sexual and emotional abuse supported by rituals and symbols' (which is RAINS own definition of Ritual Abuse ) cannot recall details of their abuse to match known Religious and Cult liturgies. Nothing matches or makes sense and no forensic evidence is ever found to corroborate them. No bones, No blood, No paraphernalia, No idols, No images, No photos, No videos and No occult workbooks or liturgy.  This complete lack of evidence is not just absent from all UK cases but was also seen when the FBI looked into a similar rash of claimed SRA cases in America.  Special Agent Kenneth Lanning (then the FBI's expert on violent crime) confirmed that it was impossible to 'wipe' a crime scene without leaving some forensic evidence which could be discovered using the FBI's latest technical equipment.  It is as though it never happened, because it never did.     To highlight this problem of false narratives the SAFF published The Satanic Footprint  in 1991,  ( https://saff.nfshost.com/footprin.htm ) a paper providing a profile of the most often occurring claims in all cases which occurred during the height of the 1990 Satanic Panic;  we then applied that profile to old and current cases.  Using a prevalence scheme of this kind, every case of Ritual Abuse was found to  have inconsistencies and contradictions about certain known facets which experts in Occultism would expect to be present in the liturgy of Satanic or Witchcraft ceremonial.  For example; a case would often be said to involve 'voodoo' motifs when Ackavoudoun is completely alien to European Witchcraft.   In a substantial number of cases narratives would confuse motifs of Witchcraft (the remnants of ancient European Pantheism) with motifs and accoutrements of  Satanism and Devil Worship (an anti-religion which inverts the Dualism of Christianity). Witchcraft and Satanism actually live in different  cosmoses and are never mixed by practitioners, yet self-styled victims continually confuse the two because the film industry, from which they get most of their 'memories' about Occultism, takes liberties to dramatise and horrify.   In short assurances by Ms Hanson that evidence exists in certain studies confirming that Ritual Abuse occurs in some cases  involving multiple victims, is simply wrong.  Her expertise is wanting because she and the people who originally recorded the data cannot tell which occult motifs and actions in the self-styled victim's narrative are true and which are false.   For instance SAFF has done sterling work on the prevalence of child-abuse by priests ( https://saff.nfshost.com/blackmus2.htm  ) and in some of these cases abuse occurred within churches, and involved religious imagery and objects (e.g. a priest penetrating a child's vagina with a crucifix). That would only be 'Ritual Abuse' if the Church itself demanded it in its liturgy; which it does not.  If such a case did occur involving Church paraphernalia (as in the Crucifix incident) it would indicate perverted Sadism by a renegade priest and not indicate complicity of the  priest's  Church.   Then why do believers in SRA immediately assume that perverts who use occult regalia to fascinate children are performing these disgusting acts as part of the rites of Satanism or Witchcraft when the liturgy of Witchcraft and Satanism is well known and does not contain any such requirements?   Though the SAFF has a 30 year record of hunting down 1000s of sexually abusing priests, we have never ever said that they do it because of their Church Liturgy.  But when the term Ritual Abuse is leveled at Satanists and Witches, the tacit misunderstanding by the untutored is that a unique type of extreme abuse is being perpetrated which represents the aim of their spiritual and religious beliefs.  This is what people like Ms Hanson and NAPAC and Hydrant think, and this fundamental error is at the root of why claims of Satanic Ritual Abuse are astonishingly still prevalent even after 37 years of every previous case failing.   Anyone who has tracked real cases of child-abuse knows that all of it is evil, but that the motivation of the average perpetrator has nothing to do with any religious or spiritual aim, good or bad.  Thus it is a logical error for Ms Hanson to insist that there is a ritualistic motivation at the root of some cases and that these must be defined as a special kind of abuse called 'Ritual Abuse'.   Child Abuse is Child Abuse. The dastardly nature of multiple abuse cases cannot be explained away by references to an imaginary Ritual and Satanic compulsion.   The one does not prove the other.  In sum, Ms Hanson's paper rehearses and re-presents very old cases which had already been proven untrue back in the day,  and the only new 'evidence' appears to be sets of mangled statistics which are in themselves contentious as I will show later in my paper.  Her research may have satisfied NAPAC and the NPCC about the existence of Satanic and Ritual Abuse, but it has not produced any new evidence to persuade me that claims of Ritual Abuse are anything other than what 37 years of wasted police resources have already shown them to be; a gravy-train for the ever-expanding mental health industry and religious zealots on the make ' 

Ms Hanson's list of references includes many papers by Michael Salter, an Australian and prolific proponent of belief in SRA (See https://saff.nfshost.com/mikesaltersra.htm ).   This 5 minute clip from a 2021 Australian TV documentary, The Great Awakening ,  illustrates the difficulty that crusaders like him have in reconciling the terms Ritual Abuse and Satanic Ritual Abuse.  The purpose of the programme was to warn that right-wing QAnon activists from the U.S. were influencing the political scene in Australia by hi-jacking the government's historical sex abuse inquiry to get the term 'Ritual Sexual Abuse' into the government's official apology for historic abuse in the institutions of State.  The implication of the left-leaning programme was that politically active right-wing conspiracyloons from QAnon were trying to validate and promote their fundamental belief that a Satanic Jewish Elite ran Western society and did so by abusing and killing children and that the inclusion of the phrase 'Ritual Sexual Abuse' by the prime minister Scott Morrison in his official apology would confirm that to the world.  The fight was on to stop the QAnon's getting control of the narrative and, ironically, Mike Salter was interviewed to call out the QAnons Satanic allegations.  You can see and hear him do so by clicking on the title-screen (right).   So here we have a classic example of Salter playing down the very Satanic claims that he had earlier supported on the SMART website, populated by the very same Conspiracyloons which often regurgitated the very same motifs in his own data as self-styled SRA victims worked-up these elements by networking with other 'survivors' on the internet and cross-pollinated ideas!  You can see a whole tranche of similar stories about the New World Order Illuminati Elite here:  https://saff.nfshost.com/archersatanseminar2023.htm  where, in 2023 an International conference for spreading that nonsense was held in England and attended by dozens of self-styled 'victims' 'witnessing' to how they had personally experienced being crucified by Satanists who were Catholic Priests in tunnels under the Vatican!  That is because, in great measure, the framework for the Satanic Ritual Abuse Myth was created by U.S. Conspiracyloons in the early 1980s and taken up and employed by UK child-protectionists in the late 1980s, devoid of the lunatic claims, to make it more palatable to a British audience.    In the event Scott Morrison DID use the term 'Ritual Sexual Abuse' in his televised apology in parliament and in foolishly doing so enshrined it into Australian child-protection.  Which is, more or less, what Salter and Ms Hanson appear to be wanting to do in Britain, to establish a chimera of Satanic Ritual Abuse as a reality when it doesn't exist. Although it is common practice for the 'Satanic' appellation to be dropped in favour of Ritual Abuse, in today's literature,  believers in SRA simply cannot dispense with Satan because their 'victims' are continually reminding them of it.

But look here!  Twenty eight years ago (1998) in response to a reformulation of the Working Together guidelines by the British government, the SAFF presented a 40 page submission paper to the Department of Health to warn them of the dangers in allowing the term Ritual Abuse to be amalgamated into the proposed standard definitions of abuse for all Social Workers.  In it we stated:

And that's EXACTLY what happened! 

The alarming significance of the Hanson report is the National Police Chiefs’ Council and its Hydrant Programme, which collates cases of non-recent historical sex abuse, have taken it so seriously they have issued new guidance and an Operational Briefing document to every police force in UK validating the myth, and instructing officers to look for and investigate examples of it.

Here we go again!

By Penny O'Riordain
with additional material by John Freedom,
Imbolc 2026.