Macur Review Statement House of Commons

he gave such inaccurate information? I would not have made that comment

without having been told by the Ministry of Defence that that was

the case, so I will have to ask them to respond to him. Order. Statement,

the Secretary of State for Wales. Secretary Stephen Crabb. I will make

a statement on the publication of the report of the mercury view. On

the 5th of November 2012, the Prime Minister announced the stubs of an

independent review into the scope and conduct of Sir Ronald Waterhouse

inquiry into allegations of child abuse in care homes include between

1974 and 1990. We are talking about dark and shameful events that are

stain on our nation. These were children in the care of the state

because they were vulnerable and the state let them down.

Our first thought will always be the victims, supporting them in bringing

the perpetrators to justice. A review of Waterhouse forward

significant public concern that the terms of reference had been too

narrow, and allegations of child abuse had not been properly

investigated. Particularly when they concerned prominent individuals. The

Waterhouse implied it was established following allegations of

an Demichelis abuse in care homes in Wales. The final report, published

in 2000, concluded that widespread sexual abuse of boys occurred in

children's residential establishments in Clwyd in 1990. And

that there was a paedophile ring operating, but no reference was made

to being carried out by prominent individuals. In November 2012, the

then Secretary of State for Justice and my predecessor announced this

review would be headed by a justice of the High Court divisions. Her

terms of reference were to review the scope of Waterhouse, and to make

recommendations to the secretaries of State for Justice and Wales. The

lady Justice admitted her report to the Secretary of State in December

2015, and I would like to pay tribute to Lady Justice Macur, and

the diligence and carrying out the work, particularly in the light of

the amount of information. She has conducted interviews with

individuals closely involved with the work of Waterhouse, with those

who provided written submissions to Waterhouse, with those involved in

police investigations and with those who worked on the prosecution files

of those accused of the abuse of children in care in North Wales. She

published a paper in English and in Welsh, with suggestions of broad

areas of interest to prompt written submissions from those affected. She

also arranged a public meeting in Wrexham to engage with those in the

local area. Having completed the work, Lady Justice Macur's main

finding is, I quote, I have found no reason to undermine the conclusions

of Waterhouse in respect of the nature and scale of abuse. Lady

Justice Macur looked at this serious issue of nationally prominent

figures and concluded beer was, I quote, no evidence of the

involvement of nationally prominent individuals in the abuse of children

in care in North Wales between 1974 and 1996. While the government

welcomes this finding, the context in which it was made must never be

forgotten. In addressing concerns about the time taken by the former

Welsh office to set up the enquiry in the mid-19 90s, Lady Justice

Macur recognises there was reluctance to undertake a public

enquiry, but she concludes that any reluctance to undertake a public

enquiry was not with a view to protect politicians or other

establishment figures, and the government was right to consider the

different options since a public enquiry was understood to be a major

undertaking. She is also clear that waiting until CPS investigations

were completed was the correct decision, as the government would be

subject to criticism in any situation that compromised ongoing

investigation or trials of accused abusers. Lady Justice Macur makes

clear she is satisfied that Waterhouse's terms of reference were

not framed to conceal the identities of any establishment figure, nor

have they been interpreted by the tribunal with the design to do so.

She has also found that despite the Welsh office being both a

commissioning department, there was ample... Freemasonry has been a

persistent area of concern in North Wales and is referenced extensively

in Waterhouse, and I am grateful to Lady Justice Macur for her

explorations of this issue. But she is satisfied that the impact of

Freemasonry on the impact on this tribunal was soundly researched and

presented and pursued. And that there is nothing to call into

question the adequacy of the tribunal's investigations into the

allegations of Freemasonry in the process. She states that I make

clear that I have seen no evidence of child abuse by politicians or

national establishment figures in the documents which were available

to the Waterhouse tribunal. Save that that could be classed as

unreliable speculation. On the direct evidence before them she also

found it was not unreasonable for the tribunal to conclude that there

was no evidence of a further paedophile ring in existence outside

that described by Waterhouse. In addition to her main finding, that

she has no reason to undermine Waterhouse's conclusions, Lady

Justice Macur makes six recommendations. Her first relates

to ensuring that any public enquiry or the investigation or review can

be objectively viewed as beyond repair. The government agrees. We

have already been clear that during the establishment of the Independent

enquiry into child sexual abuse in 2014, we did not get it right in

appointing to jurors who failed to win the trust of survivors. This

principle should be observed in the subsequent enquiries, investigations

are reviews. The second recommendation is that the correct

archiving of material of an important public enquiry or review

is essential. This links to the third recommendation, that all

government departments should possess an accurate database of the

documents and materials held by them. We agree with both

recommendations. When the Welsh office, which established

Waterhouse, was disbanded in 1999, the files it held on newly devolved

issues such as social care and children services were transferred

to the National Assembly for Wales, and this included the Waterhouse

computer database. When Lady Justice Macur requested this it was found

that in 2008, Welsh government IT contractors had cleared its contents

were, corrupted and unreadable, and it had therefore been destroyed.

Lady Justice Macur finds that this was an innocent mistake rather than

calculated. Files related to Waterhouse will not be returned to

the Wales Office, given the historical importance, and have been

transferred to the Welsh government for transmission into the National

Archives. The government accepts the criticism made for the way that

documents were stored. Similar criticisms were made about the Home

Office in an enquiry into thousand and 14. Following the

recommendations on management of files containing records of child

sexual abuse, the Cabinet Secretary asked all permanent secretaries to

see what lessons could be learned and put in place safeguards.

Likewise, following the God at enquiry, a moratorium was announced

on the destruction of information and put in place processes for the

storage of such material. The failure of the new Wales Office in

1999 under the previous government to adequately archive the material

is inexcusable, but a much more rigorous approach to records

management is now in place, abiding by the policy on records Management.

Her fourth recommendation is that due criminal process is better

suited to the disposal of any unresolved complaints and

allegations that were not allocated during the enquiry. The government

agrees and welcomes the work of the operation on this area. The fifth

recommendation relates to consideration of criminal charges

relating to events referenced in paragraph 6.45 two paragraph 6.75.

This does not relate to the actions of the Welsh office or any other

government department, and the Police and Crime Panel is due and

are aware of the specifics of this matter and it is for them to

consider further. Her final recommendation relates to the

process of establishing a review into previous tribunal is our boards

of enquiry. She notes notes that the conclusion of anybody will not meet

with approval, and any... The government understands that it is

inevitable that some people will remain dissatisfied despite the

comprehensive work undertaken by the Waterhouse enquiry and mobile Lady

Justice Mercure. -- Lady Justice Macur. Campaigners have said that

the report should have been published about LA, and I share that

need for openness and transparency, but Lady Justice Macur says her

final report contains information, including the names of some

individuals, that it would not be possible to publish. She notes that

certain parts of her report should be redacted pending the outcome is

of legal proceedings and investigations. We have a work

closely with the director of public Rosicrucians, representatives of

previous operations, to ensure that no investigations or trials will be

prejudiced by the release of this report. -- Director of Public

Prosecutions. Lady Justice Macur cautioned that under the sexual

offences act of 1992, victims of alleged sexual offences entitled to

lifelong anonymity. We have accepted advice regarding this, and a small

number of reductions have been made. The full details of the process have

been set out, and today I am publishing them alongside this

report. Finally, Lady Justice Macur urged caution relating to releasing

names of individuals accused of abuse are speculated to this, who

have not been subject to an investigation, have not been

arrested for an offence, and she argued that to do so would be unfair

in two respects. First, the nature of the information against them

sometimes derives from hearsay. Second, the individuals will have no

opportunity to address the attributed and sometimes unspecified

allegations of disreputable conduct made against them, and third, police

investigations may be compromised. We have followed that advice and

remove the names today. It is a fundamental tenet of the law in this

country that those accused of crime are able to face accusers in court,

with a jury of peers. It would be irresponsible for the government to

behave differently regarding hearsay. To provide total clarity on

the process by which this group of names was redacted, I am publishing

today a letter from the Treasury solicitor setting this out. I am

also saying that a report has been provided to the wider enquiry in

jail sexual abuse to aid its investigations. It has also been

seen by the Crown Prosecution Service and representatives of the

three operations. As a government we are determined to see that those

guilty of crimes against children in North Wales are brought to justice,

and this is happening through the work of one of the operations. In

December 2012, the chief constables of North Wales Police asked for the

operation to look into recent allegations of historic abuse in the

care system in Wales. Seven men have been convicted of one or more

offences and a further eight acquitted after a trial. One man was

found guilty in December 2014 of 33 cases of child abuse. Another group

received 44 years in jail, having been found guilty of 34 offences of

abuse. The operation has now been contacted by 334 people who have had

the trust and confidence to come forward to report abuse. A total of

102 complaints are actively being investigated at this moment. A total

of 51 men and women have been arrested or interviewed under

caution, work to locate further suspects is continuing. 16 people

have been charged or brought to court as a result of this. Charging

advices awaited in relation to a further 26 suspects. Total of 32

suspects are believed to be dead, and work is ongoing to confirm this.

An independent review against 25 deceased suspects has indicated that

there would have been sufficient evidence to make a case to the CPS

for them to be charged. Pallial those who made complaints

have been updated by the team. A further two trials have been set for

2016, with further trials expected. In closing, I would like to thank

Lady Justice Macur and her team for their diligent and exhaustive work

in providing this report. I would like to pay tribute to the courage

of those victims for coming forward and reliving the horrible detail of

their experiences to ensure that the truth can be established. And I

would like to pay tribute to the police, the Crown Prosecution

Service and the Director of Public Prosecutions for their collective

work to ensure that those involved in the abuse of children in north

Wales, who perhaps thought that the mists of time had hidden the evil

crimes forever, are now being made to pay for what they did. I commend

this statement to the House. I thank the Secretary of State for his

statement and for advance sight of it. The horrific abuse that was

carried out at care homes in north Wales has shocked us all, and our

thoughts today must be with the survivors. Not only did they endure

violence from those who were meant to protect them, but they have had

to wait years, decades to be heard. I would like to picture beauty my

right honourable friend -- pay tribute to my honourable friend who

has campaigned since these allegations came to light. Some of

those who were abused have since taken their own lives. It is

therefore right that we think of their families today, and of

everyone affected by this scandal. The extent of the abuse revealed by

the Waterhouse inquiry was staggering. It found evidence of

widespread and persistent physical and sexual abuse, including multiple

rapes carried out against young boys and girls. This abuse was allowed to

take place over many years, sometimes decades, in the very homes

were vulnerable children should have felt safe. The scale of the abuse is

shocking, but it is also shocking that many of the inquiries into this

abuse have encountered a reluctance to cooperate with them and a refusal

to publish their conclusions. In short, cover up some missed

opportunities. As the Secretary of State has indicated, the Macur

Review was set up to examine whether any specific allegations of child

abuse falling within the terms of reference of the Waterhouse inquiry

were not investigated. On behalf of the opposition, I extend our thanks

to Lady Justice Macur and her review team for the work they have

undertaken. In light of what has happened to previous reports and the

overwhelming need for transparency, I welcome the fact that the Macur

Review has now been published. There may be cases where redactions are

needed, not least to ensure that no ongoing police investigation is

compromised. But these redactions must be as few as possible, and they

must be justified to survivors. Can the Secretary of State confirm that

this review, along with the other reports and inquiries into abuse in

north Wales, will be made available in full to the independent inquiry

into child sexual abuse? And that this inquiry will be able to see

full, unredacted copies of these reports? The Waterhouse inquiry

found that most children did not feel able to come forward to report

what had happened to them. Those who did were discouraged from taking

matters further. Were it not for the bravery of whistle-blower Alison

Taylor, many cases of abuse would not have been uncovered. Whilst we

recognise that processes for safeguarding children have changed

radically since many of these cases took place, we must be ready to

learn lessons to ensure that we can protect children better in the

future. Having studied this report, can the Secretary of State tell the

House what changes in policy the government feels are necessary? And

what steps will the government take to ensure a coordinated response to

any future cases, wherever they occur, whether in the public,

private or third sector? And does he believe there is sufficient

protection for whistle-blowers like Alison Taylor? Finally, we know that

physical and sexual abuse leaves a lasting impact on the lives of those

affected. In recent years, many survivors have felt able to come

forward to report the abuse that they experienced. Following the

announcement of this review, we know a number of people made contact with

the children's Commissioner for Wales, and it is possible that

others will come forward as a result of this review been published. No

matter how long ago the abuse took place, survivors need support to

rebuild their lives, so can the Secretary of State set out what

support is being given to those survivors of abuse who have come

forward, and what conversations he has had with agencies including the

children's Commissioner for Wales to ensure that survivors of abuse

nowhere to turn? The scale of the abuse has shocked the whole of

society. It is now clear that thousands of children were targeted

by predatory abusers in places where they should have felt safe. Too many

of these children were let down for a second time when they reached out

for help, but nothing was done. Our duty is to make sure the survivors

of abuse are listened to, that those who report abuse have sufficient

protection and that anyone responsible for violence against

children is brought to justice. Most of all, we must ensure that this

appalling abuse can never be allowed to happen again. I am grateful to

the honourable lady for her response to the statement and the spirit in

which she gives it. I agree with her in paying tribute to the honourable

member for conning value and the long-standing work she has put in to

try to achieve justice for her constituents who suffered abuse and

for the wider number of residents in those care homes at the time. When

we discussed the recent Wales Office questions and the honourable member

ask me about the redactions issue, the commitment I gave to her was

that everything would be done to ensure that redactions were kept to

a minimum and that we would be able to explain the reasons why

redactions were being made. I believe we have set out the reasons

why redactions are being made, and I would encourage members to look at

the specific remarks that Lady Justice Macur makes in her report,

urging caution when it comes to printing the names of individuals in

the categories she describes. I hope those explanations quite ample

justification for why the redactions are being made. On the question of

whether we are making a full, unredacted version of the report

available to the independent inquiry, yes we are. We have also

made available a full, unredacted copy to the crap education service

-- to the Crown Prosecution Service and other agencies. The honourable

lady Astra changes in policy practice -- she asked about changes

in policy and practice. The report recommends changes in the way

material is stored. That was one of the weaknesses Lady Justice Macur

found after 2012. She used the word disarray, that many of the files

were in. There are lessons to be learned for the whole of government,

whether that is devolved administrations or UK Government,

about sensitive material and the way it is archived. In terms of the

wider issue of how we support survivors of abuse, there has been

an enormous cultural change in the last 30 years in Wales and

throughout the UK, which is one of the reasons why more survivors feel

empowered to come forward as part of Operation Pallial and to relive

those events and make allegations which are being pursued vigorously

by the National Crime Agency. If you look at developments since the

1990s, with the establishment of things like the children's

Commissioner for Wales, these are positive developments which show

that as a society, we don't get everything right and there was much

more to do, but we have made a lot of progress in the way we support

victims of sexual abuse and the way we addressed this issue. That is not

to be complacent. There is no sense of complacency in Lady Justice

Macur's report that we are publishing today. I hope that

addresses the specific questions that the honourable lady asked. She

also asked what support the independent Goddard inquiry has been

provided with. That inquiry will shortly be opening an office in

Cardiff to reach out to survivors in Wales. It will work in both English

and Welsh. I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. And I pay

tribute to the work done by Lady Justice Macur, which has been a

monumental undertaking for her. The events she was investigating have

cast a dark cloud for many years over north Wales and the Chester

area. I hope the report that has been published today will ease those

concerns, but I have to say to my right honourable friend that I have

my own concerns that there are two respects in which that concern will

remain. In the first place, there is the issue of the absence of the

documentation. I accept what my right honourable friend says about

the storage, which was frankly a catalogue of disasters. But can he

assured the House that not only his department and her Majesty's

government have learned the lessons in terms of storage, but also the

Welsh assembly government, which had custody of those documents and which

has lost them bys secondly, there is the issue of redactions. This will

be a matter that will cause the most concern in north Wales. I understand

the reasons my right honourable friend has given and which were made

by Lady Justice Macur. But can he confirm that justice Goddard will

have the right to pursue in her own inquiry the identities of those

whose names have been redacted in the report he has given? I am

grateful to my honourable friend for his questions. He was one of the

joint commissioning secretaries of State for the foundation of the

Mercure review. He asked two questions. One is about the absence

of documentation. The inclusion that Lady Justice Macur comes to is that

she has seen enough documentation, but she has seen enough

documentation from the Waterhouse tribunal to make strong conclusions

about the overall findings that Waterhouse reached, and she supports

those findings based on her exhaustive trawl through a million

plus pages of documentation. Where there are gaps, the conclusions she

reaches other those are not sufficient to cast into doubt the

overall findings she makes. His second point in relation to

redactions, again, I make the point that a full, unredacted copy has

gone to the Goddard inquiry. She asks -- he asks whether a full copy

will go to other agencies. The police are best placed to go after

the names of those where there are specific allegations. Public inquiry

is not the best form for doing that. Page 300 of the Waterhouse report

lists the names of 13 young men who couldn't give evidence to the new

report because they have lost their lives. Most of them took their lives

following the case where they went before those who were accused, who

were all used to giving evidence in court, some of them because of their

police backgrounds. The victims were torn to shreds in a merciless way,

and several of them took their lives as a direct consequence of the abuse

being continued by our court system, and it is still continuing today.

This report would not have been revealed if not for the work of the

member for Cynon Valley and the journalists. It is difficult to

judge this report before giving this full consideration, but this is a

heartbreaking story of abuse and of those responsible for the abuse

laughing as they went away from the courts, and the innocent seeing

their lives end prematurely. We need to look further into this and we

will look carefully at why the names of some of them are still being

redacted. Is the long abuse of those people still continuing?

I thank him for his question. Here is exactly right, we're talking

about Venus, -- heinous acts of abuse, and people in the care of the

state. I do not think that today's report will bring full closure to

absolutely everybody who lived through those experiences. In the

diligence and the way that Lady Justice Macur has gone through her

task, owing through all of the paper House of the Waterhouse tribunal to

try to make sense of whether victims were getting a fair shout, and

whether all of those questions about nationally prominent individuals and

further paedophile rings were being investigated, and the role of

Freemasonry, I believe she has done a thorough job. I urge everyone to

read this report fully today and to reflect on its conclusions. In terms

of continuing the investigation of those who are guilty, there are

people walking around in North Wales, else within the United

Kingdom, right now, who were there at the time, who participated in

these acts, who witnessed these acts, who went four years thinking

they were untouchable. I hope the summary of achievements with

operation Pallial will demonstrate people should be walking around and

looking over their shoulder. These are extremely sensitive matters. So

I say this with care. But it would be appreciated if colleagues could

be economic all in the questions and answers, simply because the budget

debate is heavily subscribed, but we will have an exemplary lesson from

Mr Mark Pritchard. What happened in North Wales is nothing short of a

national scandal Wales, but I would like to put on record that thanks to

those who do these jobs with care. Can I ask him, what discussions has

he had with the National Crime Agency about operation Pallial, to

ensure we get more people into court and prosecuted for these heinous

crimes? We put on record today our thanks and appreciation for those

who work hard in the care sector and supporting vulnerable children

whenever they are in the United Kingdom. The National Crime Agency

have kept me up dated with the progress of operation Pallial.

Yesterday I spoke to the director of the National Crime Agency for a

further discussion, and I am confident that the NCA is pursuing

all lines of investigation vigorously at this point in time.

Abuse survivors will be dismayed at this morning's litany of name

concealing and destruction of evidence. They may rightly feel that

their evidence is transient, disposable and not worth

safeguarding. How will they work with Welsh government to ensure this

never happens again? She is right that people will feel like that, and

I would say to take time and go through the report to see the way

Lady Justice Macur has gone through the information and answered to the

best of her ability the questions raised. There is always more we can

learn as a society. At in terms of where we are in Wales right now,

with the children's Commissioners office, the work Welsh government is

doing, there is good collaboration between UK departments and the Welsh

government. The work is positive and will carry on. The people of

Wrexham, when many of these horrible events took place, will be

astonished by the contents of the statement today. As a solicitor who

practised in the courts around Wrexham in the 80s and 90s, I am

astonished by the contents of the statement. I know he referred only

fleetingly to some reluctance in the old Welsh office to undertake a

public enquiry in the 1990s, and I will be leading the report very

closely in this respect, but can the Secretary of State tell me, why is

it that following the Waterhouse enquiry, prosecutions that are now

taking place in Pallial did not take place in 2000? He did not address

that in his statement. I thank him for his question. He expresses

astonishment, and in response that I would say that if he has specific

information about individuals, he knows where to go with it, the

police. In response to his question, about why the arrests were not made

30 years ago, I have put back to the National Crime Agency, and my

responses that the publicity in recent years, because of the culture

change, a lot more people feel compelled to come forward, which is

one of the reasons we are securing greater convictions from people who

are willing to come forward. As the Macur review had unfettered access,

can he let us know by the Waterhouse enquiry did not mean people in its

first report? Some of the individuals worked on the Waterhouse

tribunal are no longer living, but she has pursued to the best of her

ability direct conversations with people who worked on the Waterhouse

tribunal at the time, and she has also reached out to survivors, she

held a public event in Wrexham, this was not just her going through boxes

of documents, to explore all of these questions. She explains why

names should not just be bandied about. She explains clearly why Arab

action processes necessary, and I would encourage him to look through

that -- by production process is necessary. He was right to

acknowledge the anguish and suffering these events have caused.

Would he agree that it is absolutely vital that victims get support with

mental health and therapy, and will some of the money being invested

goes to help -- go to help victims of this? He makes an important

point, no matter how far back the events occurred. I can give

assurance to the honourable member that those people who have come

forward, it is not just a question of listening and receiving evidence,

there is consideration of what further support can be given. Some

victims do not believe they can come forward, they have families of the

Rome, and the episodes in the past that they are keeping deeply buried.

It is a choice for the individual survivors. Many of my constituents

who have been abused have felt let down because of the delays coming

out, because they are abusers have died and they will not get the

justice they deserve. On the issue of records, does the report covers

records held by local authorities in North Wales, because I have heard

from constituents who have had difficulty obtaining records. This

relates to records being kept by national government. Hearts of the

report goes into some detail the way that local authorities, the former

local authorities of Clwyd and Gwynnd, and I would encourage the

honourable gentleman to read through it, and there will be an opportunity

to explore this further. Klerk will now proceed to lead the orders of

the day. Ways and Means adjourned debate on question. The question is

as on the order paper.