David Cameron: Sexual predators who use 'disgusting' child grooming guides will face the same punishment as terrorists

New laws will crackdown on paedophiles who use the 'dark internet' to read sickening manuals with tips on how to identify and groom victims

Paedophiles who access, write or distribute child grooming guides will be treated in the same way as terrorists under new laws set to be revealed in the Queen’s speech.

It means that sexual predators use the sickening manuals will face the same punishment as terrorists who download bomb-making guides.

The crackdown is part of an attempt to close a legal loophole that allows sexual predators to write and distribute guides containing tips on identifying victims, grooming them and avoiding capture.

The new laws are being spearheaded by David Cameron, who told The Sunday Times: "I want to ensure we do everything we can to protect children - and that's why I am making them illegal."

"It's completely unacceptable that there is a loophole in the law which allows paedophiles to write and distribute these disgusting documents,” he added.

The Prime Minister was forced into action after an joint investigation by GCHQ , National Crime Agency (NCA) and the FBI discovered paedophile manuals lurking in a chaotic part of the internet known as the ‘dark web’.

The guides are said to include tips on how to approach children on the street, as well as examples of activities that would involve meeting them.

According to The Sunday Times, the NCA believes that as many as 20,000 people in Britain will soon be using the dark web.

The secretive part of the internet is accessed via a special download software using technology that gives users anonymity.

The new paedophile law will be in place in time for next year’s general election and could come as an amendment to the Obscene Publications Act (1959).

It is the latest step in the government’s crackdown on online paedophile activity. Last November, the Prime Minister reached an agreement with internet firms to stop people seeing child abuse images and videos when they input paedophile search terms.

The NCA is said to be running a test of search engine results next month to check that child abuse results continue to be blocked.