Written Answers — Home Department: Child Abuse Investigations
(26 Oct 2005) Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the interviewing techniques used with possible victims in child abuse investigations.
The November edition of SAFARI is now out
In this edition read about Dr Quentin Wynn Spender reprimanded by General Medical Council; clarification of the new parole / release system; review of the role of expert witnesses in trials; daughter admits false allegation 16 years on; IEP Scheme & courses; and more!
Eric Pickles (Brentwood & Ongar, Con) asked
Does the right hon. Gentleman share my concern that secrecy surrounding the Children Act 2004 is having a corrosive effect on justice and on social services departments? Surely it is possible to retain the anonymity of the child without the appalling restrictions on parents facing forced adoptions. They often face a greater degree of control than someone facing a criminal charge. In particular, they are unable to tell their employers why they are taking so much time off work, which places parents with learning difficulties at a peculiar disadvantage. Will the right hon. Gentleman look towards opening up the decisions of the courts and, following the suggestion of the Select Committee, find ways of making the operations of the Children Act much more open?
Mr. Hoon (Leader of the House of Commons) replying in the absence of the Prime Minister said:
Many years ago, I worked on cases of this sort and I appreciate the sensitivity of the matters involved and the way in which the hon. Gentleman has raised this important issue. I know that my right hon. and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor—and, indeed, the Department for Constitutional Affairs—is looking at ways of opening up the process without in any way jeopardising the interests of those involved. It is a delicate and sensitive issue. I am aware of efforts to open up the process in the United States, which have been broadly welcomed by the parties concerned, and I know that the Lord Chancellor is studying what happens there very carefully.
Hansard reference
Acknowledgement
On Tuesday 25th October
Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby, Lab) asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what support is provided for alleged offenders of historical sex abuse during (a) the investigation and (b) the trial.
Paul Goggins (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office) replied:
Those accused of historic child abuse are afforded the same level of support as those accused of other sexual crimes, including the services of a solicitor and their nominated counsel to advise and guide them through the investigation and trial
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On the 19th October 2005 Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby, Lab) asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department
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if he will make a statement on the validation process for individual claims for compensation from claimants alleging historical sex abuse;
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whether the validation process for claimants of compensation alleging historical sex abuse include(a) proof under oath, affirmation or equivalent, (b) the opportunity to challenge the account given by the claimant and (c) the opportunity for parties to tender witnesses and documents supporting or challenging the claimant's account.
Fiona Mactaggart
(Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Race Equality, Community Policy and Civil Renewal), Home Office) replied
Claims for compensation from victims of sexual abuse are considered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. It is for the claimant to make out their case, and CICA determine applications on the balance of probabilities after having made appropriate inquiries of the police, medical and any other relevant authorities.
Applicants are required to sign an application form declaring, among other things, that the information given in the form is true.
Applications to CICA are confidential and details of the application, including whether any application has been made, are not disclosed to any third party without the consent of the applicant
Hansard reference
Acknowledgement,
On the 10th October Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby, Lab) asked the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what recent research has been conducted into juries' deliberations.
Harriet Harman (Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs) relpied
"The law currently forbids any research into jury deliberations. In January 2005 my Department published a Consultation Paper—"Jury Research and Impropriety" and the relevant consultation period finished on 15 April. The responses have been analysed and an announcement of the Government's intentions for any change will be made shortly."
Hansard reference
Acknowledgement
The Irish Residential Institutions Redress Board have written to the Law Society of Ireland regarding their (i.e.the Law Society's) role in seeking out and adjudicating on complaints of deductions from [compensation] awards and additional charges being made by solicitors in circumstances where they have already been paid by the Board. The IRIB are critical of the Irish Law Society in its handling of complaints that solicitors have been charging clients for work for which they already received payment from the RIRB.
The RIRB have been so concerned about this situation that their response to these complaints has been put into the public domain. The Irish Law Society also has a notice on its web site informing individuals of their right to complain to about any solicitor who charges legal fees in addition to the costs and expenses paid directly to him/her by the Board for the application.
Comment: Essentially what this means is that the Law Society of Ireland appear have discovered evidence of some solicitors charging complainants an additional fee over and above the fee paid out by the Redress Board to the solicitors for their services, and are not haapy about it. Nor are we!
On the 10th October 2005 Claire Curtis-Thomas asked the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether (a) the trial judge and (b) the Court of Appeal is permitted to inquire into alleged impropriety by a jury. Harriet Harman (Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs) replied
"A trial judge is permitted to investigate alleged impropriety by jurors before the jury gives its verdict. If the alleged impropriety comes to light after a verdict has been given then the Court of Appeal is permitted to investigate...."
Hansard reference
Acknowledgement
On the 13th October 2005 Claire Curtis-Thomas asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the use of polygraph tests in historical sex abuse investigations.
The Minister Paul Goggins replied
"Evidence relating to the credibility of a witness from a lie-detector has not been admitted in the courts. The main reason is that there have been concerns about the accuracy of such tests. This led the Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure to conclude in 1981 that the machine's "lack of certainty from an evidential point of view" told against its introduction in this country.
However, since 2003 the probation service has been piloting the use of polygraph examination with convicted sex offenders. The purpose is to test compliance with license conditions, risk management plans and treatment. Information from the examination can be shared with the police and other agencies. To date over 200 offenders have volunteered to be tested. During the course of examination many offenders have disclosed further information which has been useful in confirming the risk assessment or revising the risk management plan. If information were to be divulged in a polygraph test that could help in the investigation of an unsolved crime, this would, of course, be passed to the police".
Hansard reference
Acknowledgement
News has reached us that there is considerable police activity in Scotland, particualry in Ayshire, involving investigations of allegations of historical abuse in care homes and residential schools. We understand that this is an ongoing investigation and that more arrests are likely.
If you have been interviewed by the police, either as a suspect or a witness, or knows someone who has, we would ask you to contact us immediately. All inquiries will be treated with absolute confidence.
Dr Quentin Spender, a senior lecturer and consultant in child & adolescent psychiatry was reprimanded by the GMC for concluding that one his patients has had been sexually abused by some, or all members of her when he had insufficient information on which to draw that conclusion.
Dr Spender was also criticised for forming and expressing a view as to the likelihood that a boy had sexually abused another boy when he had insufficient information for drawing such conclusion.
In a critical judgement the GMC stated that the Panel might have gone on to consider a more serious sanction but in reaching its decision paid particular regard to the length of the delay in bringing this case to a hearing, which has taken place eight and a half and six and a half years after the events.
The Panel also took into account the fact that Dr Spender had continued in the same area of clinical practice and that there had been no evidence of any repetition of the conduct that brought him before the Panel.
The Panel nevertheless stated that these two cases demonstrated a high-handed and blinkered approach by Dr Spender's to his work. They concluded that in the case of Miss A, Dr Spender gave his conclusion in unnecessarily blunt terms to Miss A’s parents. In the case of Boy Y Dr Spender showed a lack of professional judgement in not simply providing Mr W with the information he required to support the decision that he proposed to take, and separately, bringing his concerns with regard to Boy Y to the appropriate authorities in measured terms.
The Panel considered that Dr Spender failed to have due consideration for the families concerned or the likely impact upon them of the information that you were imparting. Dr Spender was employed in an NHS Trust in Sussex and also practised at The Child & Family Service for Mental Health, John Grenville House, Chichester and also at Orchard House, Chichester.
Video Drama - Denial
Posted by News Editor
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Our attention has been drawn to a video of a theatre production drama Denial based on a case history of a daughter who turns on her parents accusing them of sexually abusing her as a child. The play begins with the end - a hysterical daughter screaming accusations into a telephone message machine, and then traces her sessions with a therapist to whom at first she sceptically denies such abuse, only gradually succumbing to 'memories' of it having taken place. In between is a distraught family trying to understand and come to terms with the trauma of false accusations. The video is availaible from heritage theatre priced £16.99
NSPCC Statistics
Posted by News Editor
Sunday, October 16, 2005
There is a a revealing exchange of letters in The Times (14th October) about the extent of child abuse in the UK
Have You Seen This Man?
Posted by News Editor
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Have you seen this man?
Coming to a town near you. Frequents Courts, Police Offices, Government Buildings, Social Service Departments and NSPCC offices.
False Allegations Action Scotland comment on Scotland's Social Work Inspection Agency report into the care and protection of children in Eilean Siar
"FAAS have always stated that this report would never uncover the truth and this has been proved today.
Having spoken with Social Work Inspection Agency representatives today, serious concerns about the credibility of the report have been raised.
No professional involved in the case was interviewed as part of this investigation.
The report of this investigation has been drawn up solely from reviewing documentation provided by the authorities. There are two main problems with this:
- The accuracy of some of this information is already under dispute.
- Not all the documentation relating to this case has been reviewed by the Social Work Inspection Agency.
The origin of the Satanic Ritual Abuse allegations which drew in so many innocent people has not been addressed. These beliefs have been discredited in previous investigations, including the report by Professor Jean La Fontaine, published by the Department of Health in 1994. Who after reviewing SRA cases from across England and Wales, concluded that there was no evidence supporting the existence of Satanic Ritual Abuse. As with most of the previous cases of SRA, it centres on a family already known to have problems, though the nature and extent of those problems is not known to us.
This does not however, justify the large scale destruction of other families, in order to support beliefs which have never been supported by evidence, and in the process destroying any chance of finding and convicting anyone who may be genuinely guilty.
These Satanic allegations are what drew innocent people into this case, our names will not be cleared until this is addressed.
Their remit when conducting this investigation did not include the investigation of some organisations whose involvement with the children was central to the development of this case. (Paragraph 3 of the Introduction to the report.)
This report has not been a comprehensive and complete investigation into this case and has not addressed any of the issues on which we have campaigned over the last two years.
A public inquiry must be held in order to address all the issues we have raised over the last two years and here today.
Until that happens, the truth will not be exposed and the possibility that this will happen again will remain.
A more detailed response will be made following a full review of the content of the report".
False Allegations Action Scotland.
Click here for more information on this subject
Claire Curtis Thomas MP cautions the South Australian Government about its handling of abuse claims. For more details see article
The Historic Abuse Apeal Panel have announced that that the Legal Services Commission have agreed to fund 10 cases of historical child abuse for referral to the Court of Appeal. A spokesman from HAAP said that "10 cases had already been identified for this pilot programe, and they looked forward to progressing mattters." We congratulate HAAP on this development and wish them every success.
Role of Expert Witnesses in Trials is to be Independently Reviewed
The Criminal Cases Review Commission wants to see if lessons can be learned from convictions overturned due to flawed scientific or medical evidence. Lawyer Bill O'Brien, of the University of Warwick, is to study some of the 7,300 cases referred to the commission. He will examine whether experts are putting forward views that are implausible or too partisan (more).
Report Expected to Criticise Police and Social Workers.
The BBC website states that a report into the collapse of one of Scotland's biggest child sex abuse inquiries is expected to criticise police and social workers. Seven men and a 75-year-old woman were arrested two years ago as part of Operation Haven - an inquiry into alleged abuse on the island of Lewis. All of the charges were dropped by the Crown Office last summer. Four police forces from across the UK arrested the adults in a series of dawn raids in 2003. They were accused of sexual offences against three girls on the island. Western Isles Council called in the Social Work Inspection Agency to analyse the handling of the investigation after the charges were dropped. However, it is believed inspectors will reveal that the three girls at the centre of the case were sexually abused over a number of years. They are expected to be critical of the social workers' response and the lack of experience of the investigators (more). You can read the report here
Washington Appeal Court Ruling.
The Washington Appeal Court have ruled that:-
...school districts must disclose the names of teachers who have been accused of misconduct of a sexual nature, even when the districts have concluded after investigation that the allegations are unsubstantiated or too minor to justify discipline."
"Unsubstantiated" and "false" are "two terms that do not mean the same thing, ... unsubstantiated complaints often are two conflicting accounts in which a firm conclusion cannot be made..."
The decision said "if a teacher's record includes a number of complaints found to be 'unsubstantiated,' the pattern is more troubling than each individual complaint. Yet, if the teacher's name in each individual complaint is withheld from public disclosure, the public will not be able to see any troubling pattern that might emerge."
Details of the judgement can be found here
The Blair View
Posted by News Editor
Monday, October 03, 2005
The Blair View
In his speech at the Labour Party Conference and repeated in his interviews with the media (29th September 2005) Tony Blair said
We must not go over the line and destroy our way of life. The primary duty of any justice system is to protect the innocent from being convicted ... if you apply common sense people will know what you mean.
Can we ask what steps Tony Blair will take to:-
- Apply common sense to the question of historical abuse
- Protect the innocent from being wrongly convicted
I would add that Tony Blair also referred to elderly people being frightened and to suspected terrorists fearing the midnight knock on the door. He needs to be told that hundreds of elderly people - not terrorists but carers and teachers - good people, have suffered the 'midnight knock' on the door by the police - and that this fear will continue for the rest of their lives.
We are grateful to Ron for submitting this comment