How does Earl Spencer’s Disclosure of Abuse Reflect on Boarding Schools?

I was prompted to write this blog after listening to Laura Kuenessberg’s interview of him for the Newsquest Podcast on Radio 4 – yes I am a gentleman of a certain age that now listens to Radio 4. His description of the meanness of spirit and bullying that went on behind closed doors chimed with
Read more
No Comments

Is The Introduction of Mandatory Reporting Worthwhile or Just Some Election Showboating?

The campaign for the introduction of Mandatory Reporting (failure to report child abuse by those in the child care area either witnessed or reasonably suspected should be a criminal offence) is several years old, and has been brought in by a Tory Party which is approaching an election with polls not looking favourable for them.
Read more
No Comments

Does the law need to make Local Authorities more liable in view of the Rochdale Child Sexual Exploitation disaster?

After I was invited by Talk TV to give my views upon the recent report commissioned by Andy Burman, Mayor of Manchester into the handling of Child Sexual Exploitation (“CSE”) in Rochdale, I started to give the topic some thought. It occurs to me that civil law needs to change so as to broaden the
Read more
No Comments

Are children safe online and what should parents do to protect them?

Paedophiles will always look for ways to meet and abuse children. Years ago they would look for employment as teachers, care workers, sports coaches etc. As fast as routes to children are barricaded by safe guarding, sex offenders have to be more inventive. Now the internet is the obvious easier route which is relatively unpoliced,
Read more
No Comments

Is the Panorama programme about abuse at Scottish schools unique?

As I was thumbing through the TV Schedule last Thursday, to see if there was anything good on Freeview TV, instead of watching a film on catch up, I stumbled across the Panorama program about the appalling abuse committed at several schools by a man formally given the epithet “Edgar” by the Scottish Inquiry with
Read more
No Comments

1 year anniversary and no legislation from the Home Office in response to IICSA Report into child abuse

When Teresa May set up the Public Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in 2014, we had a Prime Minister who regarded Child Sexual Abuse and the eradication thereof as her top priority in government. The inquiry took 8 years, cost hundreds of millions of pounds, and, it appears, achieved practically nothing. Hence, a number of
Read more
No Comments

BBC Scotland – Celtic FC announce settlement for victims

In a similar way to England’s Football Clubs, Scotland has its own abuse problem at Celtic FC, which has recently been reported to have agreed to settle claims made against it. I was asked by BBC Scotland to provide my expert opinion on their News Channel on behalf of ACAL (Association of Child Abuse Lawyers).
Read more
No Comments

Why no apology to mothers by British Government for forced adoptions?

When walking in the beautiful countryside near to where I live one morning, I was enraged by a news item which appeared on the Radio 4 Today programme, the headline for which was that, unlike the Welsh, Scottish, and Irish Governments, Rishi Sunak, on behalf of the British Government, had refused to apologise to mothers
Read more
No Comments

Is this the start of COVID child deaths?

To quote LBC News on 2nd August 2023 “A man has been found guilty of murdering his 10-month-old stepson who was found dead in his cot with dozens of injuries, while his mum is guilty of allowing his death. Jacob Crouch was found dead in his cot at his Derbyshire home in December 2020 and
Read more
No Comments

Was Sinead O’Connor an abuse survivor or a genius, or both?

The untimely demise of Sinead O’Connor at the age of 56 on Thursday 27th July 2023 has inevitably led to much discussion of her life, and achievements, both mainstream, and controversial, so determined was she to speak her mind, tell her truth, and campaign for what she believed in, no matter the cost, something which
Read more
No Comments