Scotland’s leading child-protection charity has called for “ministerial leadership” on tackling child sexual abuse, warning the country still lacks a clear understanding of its scale and nature.

The damning comments from the NSPCC — a member of the Scottish Government 's National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group — come as the SNP faces a growing political row over the handling of calls for a so-called "grooming gang" probe.

One Labour MP said the refusal to push ahead with an inquiry “looks like a cover-up by a complacent and self-important, but ultimately cruel, Edinburgh establishment".

Last week, The Herald revealed that Justice Secretary Angela Constance had misrepresented the views of Professor Alexis Jay, a leading expert on child abuse, when she urged MSP

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