Knowl View: Justice at last?

So much from the dim and distant past that was never sorted out, or takes half a century.

This sort of abuse seems to have been fairly widespread in the 1970s and 80s. At that time, similar things were happening at Skircoat Lodge childrens home in Halifax, there was a Rochdale connection. That was dealt with by the courts.

The strange thing about Rochdale is the way these things are never properly dealt with. It's almost as if the people of Rochdale need someone to act on their behalf.

Hinch wrote:
-  ALL of those who turned a blind eye or were otherwise complicit in these vile deeds should be brought to book.
-  These matters need to be exposed and fully investigated. No cover ups, no excuses, no mealy mouthed platitudes about beacons and lessons being learned. We've had enough of this sanctimonious hogwash.

 

Hinch wrote:Careful MJH, you will be accused of being negative.

How very true. The word negative is now used frequently and in a desperate attempt to stiffle debate and kill off discussion. Maybe certain people on certain FB sites are not grown up enough or cannot handle or accept hard truths. Hence they trot out 'Negative' at any given chance.

Perhaps we over estimate the functionality of our systems in the UK. Does a council or any other official body or system really have the ability and remit to pull together the strands of what happened years ago in various agencies and do anything about it.

A recent report shows our education system lagging far behind so many other countries, so many other reports show our other systems 'not fit for purpose' or inadequate.

The UK had a reputation as leading the world in these sort of bureaucratic and legal systems, but that was suited to a more deferential society of many years ago. When things go wrong, as they have in Rochdale, who exactly do we expect to take it all on board, pull the strands together and act effectively to change things?

That missing role often falls to investigative journalism, which at best can only put in motion a series of disconnected official responses.

Perhaps this is partly why some people adopt the idea of brushing as much as possible under the carpet and insist on 'positive thinking', because they have no faith in the idea that anything much useful can be done about the past.

That's very annoying and dispiriting for those who have hoped the truth would come out eventually.

The bottom line is, how safe are all the children and young people in Rochdale today, and, is that situation improving fast enough and reliably enough.

That may be so, but, we can be fairly sure the people doing the blue plaque unveiling ceremony didn't know that.

Hinch wrote:  --  Sometimes, to bring an issue into sharp focus, it it useful to bring it right down to basics.

Quite !    The subject here is KNOWL VIEW and this thread weighting on Cyril Smith is distractingly disproportionate, given the cess pits of other information already known / publicly available.    

Both MPs S Danczuk and J Dobbin attended, applauded and participated in the blue plaque ceremony, as can clearly be seen in the video posted on the previous page; their focus should now transcend any party politics and be part of a drive to exhume the ‘whole’ sordid LA school saga.      
 

QC to investigate how council dealt with sex abuse claims at Knowl View

MEN:

‘ A top lawyer is to investigate how the council dealt with claims of sexual abuse at former special school. Lawyer Andrew Warnock QC is to 'independently review all council decision making' related to Knowl View boys home in Bamford from the late 1980s to mid 90s.

During that time at least a dozen boys - some as young as eight - are said to have been victim to horrific sexual abuse.      A report from Rochdale Health Authority also found children were also put at risk of HIV through prostitution and abuse by known paedophiles.

The residential school for pupils with behavioural difficulties  was shut down in 1994 after former head of care Martin Digan handed a dossier detailing abuse to the authorities.

And this week Mr Digan welcomed news of the investigation.  He said: "It's been a long time coming, but I absolutely welcome this.’

&  http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/84917/qc-to-review-knowl-view-abuse.      with Comment ....

If Mr. Warnock's review is limited to "an independent review of all council decision making relating to the Knowl View case", as reported in the article, that seems a relevant, but rather limited review.