Government told almost £2bn is needed to tackle 'epidemic' of child exploitation

She chairs the Commission on Young Lives, which has been conducting an investigation to work out how police, social services and other safeguarding agencies can stop children from falling into the clutches of violent drug gangs.

Ms Longfield said children from walks of life, including a growing number from middle-class communities, are being targeted by widespread exploitation which has become a threat to our country’s prosperity and security”.

Primary school pupils as young as nine or 10 are being used to run drugs and 14-year-olds heading up county lines operations, she added.

In its final report, the commission stated criminals often go after the most vulnerable, including children in care and those living in poverty or struggling with severe mental health issues.

They are groomed with promises of attention, loyalty and gifts, before being forced to sell drugs and commit violent acts.

Government figures show social workers identified 11,600 cases of children becoming involved in gangs in 2021/22 and 16,000 cases of sexual exploitation, but the commission warned these figures “are likely to be just the tip of the iceberg”.

It also highlighted the case of Ben Nelson-Roux, a 16-year-old from Knareborough who was forced to sell drugs by county lines dealers before dying from an overdose at a homeless hostel for adults in April 2020.

Overstretched social workers and other safeguarding experts often fail to stop this exploitation, as they respond too slowly and conduct a series of tick-box exercises and multi-agency meetings instead of forming lasting relationships with the children, the commission added.

“There are parts of our country where the state is completely failing in its duty to protect vulnerable children from the ongoing epidemic of county lines, criminal exploitation, and serious violence,” Ms Longfield said.

“It is a national threat to our country’s prosperity and security, a threat which is ruining lives and scarring communities, and which is costing the NHS, schools, the police and criminal justice system, and the children’s social care system billions of pounds every year."

The commission is urging the Government to implement a series of measures, which would cost an estimated £1.94bn.

They include setting up 1,000 new Sure Start Plus Hubs, which offer support to vulnerable teenagers, recruiting “an army” of around 10,000 youth practitioners and investing £1bn in children and young people’s mental health services.

The Government should also hold monthly COBRA meetings, to discuss what is being done to tackle teenage violence, and increase family benefits in line with inflation, to help those in poverty and make them less vulnerable to exploitation, the commission added.

A Department for Education spokeswoman said: “Safety from abuse, neglect and exploitation is a fundamental right for every child.

"Local authorities are responsible for protecting vulnerable children and we have made an additional £4.8bn available to them up to 2025 to deliver key services.

“We are investing more than £1bn to improve early help services, through a network of Family Hubs, programmes supporting thousands of families to stay together safely, support with their mental health and providing healthy food and activities during the school holidays.

"We are also strengthening the links between social care and education and providing targeted support to keep children most at risk of exploitation engaged in their education.”