Simon Bailey, who served as chief constable of Norfolk Constabulary from 2013 to 2021, said he has “never seen a threat to children escalate as fast as this” in his 35 years in policing.

He said AI has accelerated the threat, with hundreds of millions of child sexual abuse images in circulation.

The Internet Watch Foundation recorded a 26,000pc rise in AI-generated child sexual abuse videos between 2024 and 2025.

Simon Bailey served as chief constable of Norfolk Constabulary from 2013 to 2021 (Image: Denise Bradley)

“The online sexual abuse of children is, in the most clinical and precise sense of the word, a pandemic,” said Mr Bailey, who also served as the national policing lead for child protection.

“And AI is accelerating it, exponentially.

“What once required physical access to a child can now be generated from a photograph - perhaps a photo taken at sports day or published by a school on its website or social media channels, with nothing but........

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