Wales child abuse scandal: key questions answered

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/nov/06/wales-child-abuse-scandal-questions

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How did the allegations surrounding child abuse in care homes in north Wales first emerge?

There had been decades of disquiet about abuse over the children's care home system in north Wales. Before a major police investigation in 1991, there had already been 12 convictions for offences relating to abuse against children in care, including one as far back as 1976. In 1986, Alison Taylor, a children's home head in Gwynedd, approached a local councillor to complain about violence by staff to children in residential care. She had previously tried to raise the issue with a number of her superiors.

What was the response by the authorities?

A police investigation was carried out in 1986/87 following Taylor's allegations, but the Crown Prosecution Service advised that no criminal proceedings would be justified. Taylor lost her job but continued to press her concerns, including to Clywd county council. Highlighting the jailing between 1987 and 1991 of three men for sexual offences against children in their care, Clywd council wrote to north Wales police requesting an investigation, which was later extended to Gwynedd children's homes. The investigation began in 1991 and concluded in 1993. By the end, police had taken about 3,500 statements from about 2,500 potential witnesses, of whom not less than 500 who had been in residential establishments, who complained that they had suffered sexual or physical abuse. The investigation resulted in eight prosecutions and seven convictions of former care workers including, Peter Howarth, convicted of buggery and seven offences of indecent assault, and Steven Norris, another senior member of staff at the Bryn Estyn home, who pleaded guilty to three offences of buggery, one of attempted buggery and three of indecent assault. Clwyd county council's social services committee, commissioned an investigation by an independent panel of three experts, carried out between 1994 and 1995, but the so-called Jillings report was never published on the advice of lawyers lest it prompt court actions and a rash of compensation claims.

What prompted the north Wales child abuse tribunal of inquiry to be set up?

The then secretary of state for Wales, William Hague, announced in 1996 that there would be a tribunal to investigate the abuse of children in care in Gwynedd and Clwyd since 1974, examine whether the authorities could have prevented abuse and their response to the allegations. Hague said that despite previous police investigations, speculation had continued in north Wales that the actual abuse was on a much greater scale than the convictions suggested. Taylor had continued to press her concerns, including writing to the prime minister.

What were the results of the inquiry?

The £13m inquiry, which began sitting in 1997, found systematic abuse, a climate of violence and a culture of secrecy in dozens of children's homes in north Wales. It sat for 203 days and took evidence from 575 witnesses, including 259 complainants alleging abuse when they were in care. Some 9,500 social services files were made available and the inquiry team scrutinised 3,500 statements made to police. In all, there were 43,000 pages of evidence of complaints about some 40 homes, as well as foster placements. Its report, Lost in Care, also known as the Waterhouse report, was published in 2000. It found that Taylor's allegations were "substantially vindicated". The report mentioned 200 people who were abusers, alleged abusers or had failed to protect children in the homes. It made 72 recommendations, including appointment of an independent children's commissioner for Wales, whistleblowing procedures to allow staff to raise concerns and a children's complaints officer to be appointed in every local authority to deal with allegations of abuse. But the report said that, despite rumours, there was no credible evidence of a ring of abusers, including prominent public figures.

Was anyone named in the report?

The tribunal said it would be a contempt of court to identify any living person against whom an allegation of physical or sexual abuse had been made unless they had already been convicted of criminal offences of physical or sexual abuse of children in care. It named 28 people, including Norris, Howarth, and John Earnest Allen, who founded the Bryn Alyn community. Welsh MP Martyn Jones, who described the report as "a whitewash", threatened to use parliamentary privilege to expose more abusers but did not do so in the end. During a parliamentary debate, he complained that the report did not name politicians, police officers and judges suspected of abuse during the inquiry.

Why is the north Wales care home scandal back in the news?

One of the victims, Stephen Messham, told BBC Newsnight on Friday that the terms of reference of the Waterhouse inquiry meant he was unable to describe abuse that took part outside the care system and that he and others were "swept under the carpet". Messham said he was taken to the Crest hotel in Wrexham on Sunday nights. On one occasion he said he was tied down and raped and abused by nine different men at the hotel. Messham also alleged that a senior Conservative politician at the time was involved in the abuse. The children's commissioner for Wales, Keith Towler, said a new inquiry was necessary to investigate Messham's allegations. According to reports at the weekend, as many as three victims have named the Tory grandee as one of their abusers. Newsnight said at least one other victim of abuse in the homes said he was abused by the politician. He has not been named but is understood to have denied any involvement.

How has the current government responded?

The government has announced that it is setting up two new inquiries. One will be an urgent investigation led by a senior independent figure into how the original Waterhouse inquiry was conducted. The other is an inquiry into the way the north Wales police handled complaints at the time. Keith Bristow, head of the National Crime Agency has been appointed to head the investigation into the police's handling of the original allegations of abuse in the 1970s and 1980s. The home secretary, Theresa May, said Bristow's remit was to "assess the allegations recently received, to review the historic police investigations and investigate any fresh allegations reported to the police into the alleged historic abuse in north Wales care homes".

Messham said: "There is no point holding an inquiry into an inquiry. Yes it was clear the inquiry didn't go far enough, it was clear the inquiry covered up a lot of the abuse. That's what we should be looking at – the abuse itself."