:00:00. > :00:00.moving across the south and by then milder conditions into the south,
:00:00. > :00:14.but still pretty cool in the north. It's Monday. I'm Victoria
:00:15. > :00:20.Derbyshire. The independent inquiry into child
:00:21. > :00:27.sex ulg abuse finally holds its first public hearings.
:00:28. > :00:33.I thought the idea of being flogged in the middle of the night by a
:00:34. > :00:38.sadistic drunken cottage mother with an ironing cord was the norm. This
:00:39. > :00:40.this inquiry is capable of opening some of that truth then that's a
:00:41. > :00:45.good thing. And that inquiry begins
:00:46. > :00:47.at 1030 and we'll bring An Oscars moment to rank among
:00:48. > :00:55.the most infamous in history. La La Land was mistakenly
:00:56. > :00:57.named as best picture. But minutes later the honour
:00:58. > :01:18.was given to Moonlight. Thousands of patients are feared
:01:19. > :01:21.to have been harmed after the NHS mislaid more than half a million
:01:22. > :01:23.pieces of confidential medical correspondence,
:01:24. > :01:25.including cancer test results Here's Joanna in the BBC Newsroom
:01:26. > :01:43.with a summary of today's news. The independent inquiry into child
:01:44. > :01:46.sexual abuse in England public hearings today,
:01:47. > :01:49.more than two and a half years after it was set
:01:50. > :01:51.up by the government. It will begin by examining
:01:52. > :01:54.the mistreatment of British children in care or from poor families
:01:55. > :01:57.who were sent to Australia in the The inquiry will be told
:01:58. > :02:01.that the scale of abuse they suffered was much wider
:02:02. > :02:02.than previously thought. Organisers of this year's Oscars say
:02:03. > :02:06.they're still trying to work out how the ceremony ended in chaos,
:02:07. > :02:08.after the wrong film The Hollywood musical
:02:09. > :02:12.La La Land was mistakenly revealed as the winner,
:02:13. > :02:15.but during the acceptance speeches it was discovered the award should
:02:16. > :02:18.have gone to Moonlight, which is a drama about a gay black
:02:19. > :02:21.youth coming to terms The firm that counts the votes,
:02:22. > :02:27.PriceWaterhouseCoopers, has apologised, saying
:02:28. > :02:29.there was a mix-up with The NHS has mislaid more than half
:02:30. > :02:37.a million items of patients' confidential medical correspondence,
:02:38. > :02:39.including treatment plans The documents, sent between GPs
:02:40. > :02:42.and hospitals over a period of five years, did not
:02:43. > :02:45.reach their recipients because they were mistakenly stored
:02:46. > :02:47.in a warehouse by private company The government is facing calls
:02:48. > :02:56.from Conservative MPs to scrap plans to limit access
:02:57. > :02:58.to a key disability benefit. It's thought changes to the rules
:02:59. > :03:01.on who qualifies for the personal independence payment
:03:02. > :03:04.could affect around 160,000 people. It comes as a key aide
:03:05. > :03:07.to Theresa May said were needed to roll back the bizarre
:03:08. > :03:19.decisions of tribunals. The mobile phone company
:03:20. > :03:21.Nokia is bringing back one of its most famous
:03:22. > :03:23.models, the 3310. The company has struggled to compete
:03:24. > :03:25.in the smartphone era, but it hopes there'll be a demand
:03:26. > :03:28.for a simple phone with a battery The handset was first
:03:29. > :03:31.launched in 2000, That's a summary of
:03:32. > :03:46.the latest BBC News. Thank you. And thank you to you for
:03:47. > :03:49.your messages on the state of your children's schools. We were talking
:03:50. > :03:52.about this at the start of the programme. Some schools with
:03:53. > :03:57.tightened budgets and others getting more money because of changes in the
:03:58. > :04:00.way the government is funding schools in England. Karen says there
:04:01. > :04:05.are more children in schools which now house children to 18 years of
:04:06. > :04:09.age, so I think the increase is not proportionate to the increasing
:04:10. > :04:11.provision. Matt says how about funding all schoolkids fairly
:04:12. > :04:17.instead of giving some far more than the education budget? And Jonathan
:04:18. > :04:21.says the UK education system is a shambles and a mess and it is only
:04:22. > :04:25.our children who will suffer. I am going to home due to my kids once
:04:26. > :04:30.they have finished primary school. Reyes says I know a lot of school
:04:31. > :04:34.funding is wasted. Schools need to be much more careful in the way they
:04:35. > :04:40.set their budgets. I believe schools could still operate efficiently and
:04:41. > :04:42.effectively on less money and pupils could still reach their full
:04:43. > :04:48.potential of the budget is not wasted. Thank you for those and keep
:04:49. > :04:52.getting in touch. You are very welcome, as you know. Text messages
:04:53. > :04:54.are charged at the standard network rate. Jessica is back now with the
:04:55. > :04:58.sport. Starting with football. Manchester United have
:04:59. > :05:00.won their first piece silverware of the season,
:05:01. > :05:02.clinching the EFL Cup after a 3-2 The Saints were the better side
:05:03. > :05:06.for long periods of the game, and in fact they had a goal
:05:07. > :05:09.disallowed early on. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
:05:10. > :05:15.put United 1-0 up. Just after the break,
:05:16. > :05:18.Southampton levelled the game at 2-2 Who else but Ibrahimovic
:05:19. > :05:29.to score the winner It's caused manager Jose Mourniho
:05:30. > :05:33.to call for help from the club's fans, to ensure Ibrahimovic stays
:05:34. > :05:46.another season at the club. I don't beg for players but if
:05:47. > :05:55.needed I think maybe United fans can go to the door of his house and stay
:05:56. > :05:59.there, and stay there all night if needed. I think they will go Fish
:06:00. > :06:03.oil. It is a big disappointment of course. Today, it was a quality
:06:04. > :06:11.game. A third hat trick in 9 games
:06:12. > :06:18.for Tottenham striker Harry Kane helped his side to a 4-0 win over
:06:19. > :06:22.Stoke, and move them up to second Kane completed his treble in just 23
:06:23. > :06:25.minutes in the first half, as Spurs made it 8 wins in a row
:06:26. > :06:33.at White Hart Lane. It's led manager Pochettino
:06:34. > :06:35.to describe the striker England's rugby union
:06:36. > :06:38.head coach Eddie Jones, never shy of speaking his mind,
:06:39. > :06:40.has criticised Italy's tactics against his side
:06:41. > :06:43.in their Six Nations match. Jones says Italy's
:06:44. > :06:45.decision not to compete England were left bamboozled
:06:46. > :06:51.by Italy's approach, as they slumped to 10-5 down
:06:52. > :06:55.at half time. But five second-half tries ensured
:06:56. > :07:00.England were not left horribly 17 wins on the bounce for England,
:07:01. > :07:13.but Jones was not impressed. Well, it wasn't rugby. Let's face
:07:14. > :07:17.the facts. You've got to have an offside line to play the game. Italy
:07:18. > :07:20.was smart and congratulations to their coaching staff and the
:07:21. > :07:24.players, they executed that and played brilliantly but it wasn't
:07:25. > :07:28.rugby. If I was a BBC will be asking the RFU for their money back because
:07:29. > :07:30.you haven't had a rugby game. We will have to go outside and train
:07:31. > :07:38.now so you get some proper rugby. European Championship
:07:39. > :07:39.silver medallist and 2012 Olympian Roberto Pavoni has
:07:40. > :07:41.retired from swimming. He came second in the 400m
:07:42. > :07:44.individual medley in the 2014 European Championships in Berlin,
:07:45. > :07:46.also taking bronze in Pavoni will now take up a career
:07:47. > :07:56.in coaching in the sport. That is all the sport for now and I
:07:57. > :07:57.will be back with the headlines at 10:30am. Thank you. Welcome to the
:07:58. > :08:04.programme. The independent inquiry into child
:08:05. > :08:07.sexual abuse in England and Wales is finally
:08:08. > :08:13.about to begin its first public hearings today -
:08:14. > :08:16.in about 20 minutes in fact - two and a half years
:08:17. > :08:18.after it was set up. It is expected to take five years
:08:19. > :08:21.to complete and is a really far-reaching inquiry looking
:08:22. > :08:23.into historic child abuse in institutions
:08:24. > :08:25.like the Catholic Church It begins today with
:08:26. > :08:28.an investigation of the appalling treatment of thousands of British
:08:29. > :08:31.children who were sent to Australia Many were orphans with hopes
:08:32. > :08:36.of a new life. The BBC has been told the inquiry
:08:37. > :08:39.will hear new evidence about the scale of what
:08:40. > :08:41.went on and the claim A key witness in the inquiry will be
:08:42. > :08:47.David Hill, the former head He was sent from Britain
:08:48. > :08:52.to Australia as a child to one of the schools run
:08:53. > :08:55.by the Fairbridge Society, Our correspondent Tom Symonds
:08:56. > :09:00.met him and took him back to the shipping port of Tilbury,
:09:01. > :09:03.where 58 years ago, We arrived here
:09:04. > :09:09.on a bleak April day. And we had never seen
:09:10. > :09:19.anything like it. We had been sold the idea
:09:20. > :09:22.that we were going to the land of milk and honey, that we came
:09:23. > :09:30.from a very poor family, as most of the child migrants did,
:09:31. > :09:39.and up to that point they bought us new wardrobes of clothes,
:09:40. > :09:42.and we were in the state cabin with five-course lunches
:09:43. > :09:43.and six-course dinners. We thought, well, we've signed up
:09:44. > :09:47.for the right scheme. And it wasn't until we reached
:09:48. > :09:49.Sydney that the thud Our lovely wardrobes
:09:50. > :09:53.that we were given here in England were taken from us,
:09:54. > :09:56.and we were issued with hard The kids were all running around
:09:57. > :10:04.midwinter barefoot on the farm. They looked terrible,
:10:05. > :10:06.because the kids cut Those kids would have gone through
:10:07. > :10:13.life with nobody ever putting giving them comfort, and nurturing,
:10:14. > :10:19.and support, and encouragement. They were the most vulnerable,
:10:20. > :10:22.they were the least protected, And lucky of all, most
:10:23. > :10:26.of all, because my mum Those kids never saw
:10:27. > :10:29.their mums again. They thought the idea
:10:30. > :10:31.of being flogged in the middle of the night by a sadistic drunken
:10:32. > :10:34.cottage mother with an ironing What is your estimate of the number
:10:35. > :10:40.of children affected by some I put the figure at over 60%
:10:41. > :10:46.of the kids that went to Fairbridge 60%, and I think if you look
:10:47. > :10:54.at the conditions that prevailed in the other child migrant
:10:55. > :10:56.institutions I'd be staggered if the figure isn't equally high,
:10:57. > :11:00.or even higher, in some of the Catholic boys homes
:11:01. > :11:01.in Western Australia. People will say these
:11:02. > :11:04.were different times, we didn't know what we know now
:11:05. > :11:06.about child development, things were not managed
:11:07. > :11:08.well, is that an excuse? If you go back to the 1950s,
:11:09. > :11:15.the British government sent And they report back
:11:16. > :11:26.and the British government, using standards that prevailed
:11:27. > :11:31.in the 1950s, drew up what they called a blacklist and put
:11:32. > :11:34.Fairbridge farm and other child migrant institutions
:11:35. > :11:36.on the blacklist, defined them The British government not only
:11:37. > :11:42.continued to approve children to be sent,
:11:43. > :11:45.but financially I'm surprised how vulnerable
:11:46. > :11:50.it has made me feel. And to happen to the
:11:51. > :12:05.extent that it did. This is an enquiry that has been
:12:06. > :12:08.quite bitterly condemned for failing to do anything in the view of some
:12:09. > :12:11.people for two and a half years. This is the first time it will have
:12:12. > :12:14.public hearings about the subject From my point of view,
:12:15. > :12:21.only good can come of it. It seems to me that the greater
:12:22. > :12:30.the evil, the stronger the conspiracy to keep it a secret
:12:31. > :12:37.and keep it covered up, so if this enquiry is capable
:12:38. > :12:52.of opening some of that truth, It is almost unbelievable, isn't it?
:12:53. > :12:57.We can speak now to Clifford Walsh, who experienced sexual abuse when he
:12:58. > :13:01.was sent from London to live at a Catholic institution in Australia.
:13:02. > :13:05.Margaret Humphreys is also with us, the director of the child migrants
:13:06. > :13:09.trust. She has dedicated her life to reuniting lost migrant children with
:13:10. > :13:13.their families. I know you are about to go into the inquiry, Margaret, so
:13:14. > :13:24.I will talk to you first, if I may? And Clifford I will be with you in a
:13:25. > :13:29.moment. Tell us what work you have done to try to bring these former
:13:30. > :13:32.children back with their families. I would like to state straightaway
:13:33. > :13:34.that these children were not orphans. They had mothers, fathers,
:13:35. > :13:43.brothers and sisters. Over the years that has been part of
:13:44. > :13:49.the myth. They are not orphans. I would like to make that really clear
:13:50. > :13:51.to your viewers. We have spent 30 years bringing child migrants home
:13:52. > :13:57.to meet their mothers, their fathers, their families and
:13:58. > :14:02.communities. In the early days, 25 or 30 years ago, we used to bring
:14:03. > :14:08.one person home at a time. These were former child migrants, some of
:14:09. > :14:13.whom left here when they were four or five years of age. Over the next
:14:14. > :14:19.few weeks we are going to hear the most horrific stories of their times
:14:20. > :14:30.in these residential institutions overseas. Even with orphans, it
:14:31. > :14:33.seems hard to justify this policy back then. But you are saying they
:14:34. > :14:45.were not orphans. So what on earth was the rationale? I think hopefully
:14:46. > :14:53.the inquiry is going to explore this with people and look at the policy,
:14:54. > :14:57.look at what happened to families, to children, and particularly the
:14:58. > :15:01.emphasis on this really important inquiry. It has taken as 30 years to
:15:02. > :15:07.get this inquiry. Some of those questions have got to be answered. I
:15:08. > :15:14.know you have got to go that anything I can ask one more
:15:15. > :15:18.question, if I may. -- but I think I can ask you one more question. Can
:15:19. > :15:23.you give us examples of the cruelty some of these children were
:15:24. > :15:27.subjected to? Perhaps I can answer it best this way. This week we are
:15:28. > :15:31.going to hear from the child migrants. For the first time in the
:15:32. > :15:35.history of child migration. And we have got a long history of treating
:15:36. > :15:41.our children like this. We are going to hear their voices for the first
:15:42. > :15:46.time. And I would just say let's pause and listen to them. Just for a
:15:47. > :15:51.moment. We will get an idea of what happened to them, what happened to
:15:52. > :15:55.their families. It is going to be hard. It is going to be very hard
:15:56. > :15:57.for us to hear it, but we must listen and we must hear it and we
:15:58. > :16:09.must learn the lessons. Clifford Walsh, thank you for
:16:10. > :16:13.joining us from Australia. You're welcome. You were told, I think,
:16:14. > :16:18.Clifford, that your parents were dead, but that wasn't true? No, not
:16:19. > :16:29.at all. I had a mother. My father, of course, died in the war. And I
:16:30. > :16:33.went through life thinking that I had no parents and it wasn't until
:16:34. > :16:37.Margaret Humphreys came on the scene that I found out I still had a
:16:38. > :16:41.mother and I finally met her when I was 50. Wow, you were nine then,
:16:42. > :16:50.when you stepped off the ship from London. That's right. What did you
:16:51. > :16:55.think was going on? Well, I was basically looking forward to it
:16:56. > :16:59.because they made all these wonderful promises of how great
:17:00. > :17:04.things were in Australia. I was a bit naive because someone in England
:17:05. > :17:11.said that in Australia there was 100 sheep for every person so when we
:17:12. > :17:16.got to the wall at Freemantle, I sort of half hoped I'd see 100 sheep
:17:17. > :17:24.waiting for me, but that didn't materialise. I didn't realise they
:17:25. > :17:33.only outnumbered us 100-1. We were sent to two days quarantine. Until
:17:34. > :17:39.this point, I had every faith in adults, but it quickly diminished
:17:40. > :17:48.after that. After I was flogged on the second day I was there because
:17:49. > :17:51.myself and another boy couldn't carry a crowbar three miles in the
:17:52. > :17:58.desired time. It was just too heavy for us. And we were beaten within an
:17:59. > :18:05.inch you are our lives and then he sat us on his knee and said I don't
:18:06. > :18:11.like to hit boys because it hurts me, you know. What a load of rubbish
:18:12. > :18:18.that was because I was sure he enjoyed it. I never saw a man beat
:18:19. > :18:24.children more than he did. This was the Catholic institution... Yes, he
:18:25. > :18:30.was a clishian Brother. And you were also sexually abused at that place
:18:31. > :18:36.as well? At least 30 times. Wow. Five by one person and at least 25
:18:37. > :18:44.by a person who was in charge of me for a few months. It wasn't until he
:18:45. > :18:51.tried to rape me or half succeeded in raping me and I was screaming and
:18:52. > :19:00.so forth and he put his old fella in my mouth and evak lated and left
:19:01. > :19:05.gurgling and spluttering for 25 minutes that he let me out and I
:19:06. > :19:12.went and I saw the priest in charge, I won't mention his name, and I told
:19:13. > :19:16.him and he then reported it to the principal. The principal called me
:19:17. > :19:21.to his office and he spoke so harshly to me, I thought I was this
:19:22. > :19:25.trouble and I didn't dare say anything about this brother. So I
:19:26. > :19:32.said the priest must have misunderstood what I said and that
:19:33. > :19:36.was the end of that. I was let go mercifully because I thought I was
:19:37. > :19:45.in for another sound thrashing and because I opened my mouth I was
:19:46. > :19:48.shipped off. Can I ask you Clifford, I mean such horrors perpetrated
:19:49. > :19:54.against you as a boy. What impact does that have on you as you're
:19:55. > :20:00.growing up into adult life? Well, for the first 11 years, I joined the
:20:01. > :20:05.Navy and I was very much a loner. I wouldn't trust anybody. And even,
:20:06. > :20:11.even when I got married, I didn't like anybody to touch me, no one to
:20:12. > :20:16.put their arms around me, no one. Male for female and that goes, that
:20:17. > :20:21.still continues today. I don't want anybody to touch me. I don't know
:20:22. > :20:24.how I imagined to have children because I didn't even like my wife
:20:25. > :20:32.to sit next to me and I love her dearly. It's a scandal that this
:20:33. > :20:37.independent inquiry into child sex abuse is going to explore and
:20:38. > :20:43.investigate. Do you think that 60 years on, it can get to the heart of
:20:44. > :20:51.why this decision was made to send thousands of British children
:20:52. > :20:57.abroad? Well, it's got to come out because we must see that this can
:20:58. > :21:00.never happen because in the 80s they sent convicts out to Australia, but
:21:01. > :21:05.we didn't steal anything. We didn't commit any crime. Yet we were dumped
:21:06. > :21:09.in a hell that I honestly think was worse on the convicts had.
:21:10. > :21:14.Clifford, thank you very much for talking to us. We appreciate your
:21:15. > :21:17.time and your openness, thank you. You're welcome. Thank you very much,
:21:18. > :21:24.Clifford Walsh. And we will bring you the start
:21:25. > :21:32.of the abuse inquiry at 10.30am. All these British children were
:21:33. > :21:37.isn't abroad for a better life is because some of the former child
:21:38. > :21:41.migrants are nearing the end of their life which is why they're
:21:42. > :21:50.starting the child sex abuse inquiry with this area. We'll bring you the
:21:51. > :21:55.proceedings live just after 10.30am. We'll go back to LA and talk about
:21:56. > :22:00.the mess-up and look at other notorious mix-ups.
:22:01. > :22:03.Is it an insult to disabled people to suggest that those who are,
:22:04. > :22:09.quote, taking pills at home who suffer from anxiety are not,
:22:10. > :22:15.The words were uttered by the head of Theresa May's policy board
:22:16. > :22:23.At issue is who in future should such receive benefits.
:22:24. > :22:26.Benefits tribunals have ruled that ministers should extend the scope
:22:27. > :22:29.of the new personal independence payments to another 160,000 people
:22:30. > :22:51.They are facing a backlash and it is not the first time this Government
:22:52. > :22:57.got into difficulties and suffered grief over curbs to disability
:22:58. > :23:01.benefits. You think about the last Budget of George Osborne when he
:23:02. > :23:03.tried to push through cuts to personal independence payments and
:23:04. > :23:07.Iain Duncan Smith resigned from the Cabinet. It was almost the start of
:23:08. > :23:11.the unravelling of the Cameron-Osborne Government. Well,
:23:12. > :23:14.now there is another head of steam building up following this court
:23:15. > :23:19.ruling which in effect means many, many more people will be able to
:23:20. > :23:22.claim personal independence payments becausically, extending it to people
:23:23. > :23:26.who have mental health issues, people who suffer from dementia or
:23:27. > :23:30.who suffered a stroke or are suffering from schizophrenia and the
:23:31. > :23:35.Government have reacted basically by saying we cannot afford this. It's
:23:36. > :23:39.going to cost nearly ?4 billion by 2022 and they sthuk out an
:23:40. > :23:42.announcement saying they were reversing this court ruling. On
:23:43. > :23:45.Thursday, on Friday, on the day of the by-election results when all of
:23:46. > :23:50.us were looking elsewhere, we weren't focussed on this. That has
:23:51. > :23:55.added to the grief and let me read this. This is from the oldest
:23:56. > :23:57.Conservative think-tank the Bow Group, they said, "This is the
:23:58. > :24:01.behaviour that gives the Conservative Party a bad name,
:24:02. > :24:07.attacking the most in need and kicking people when they're down."
:24:08. > :24:11.This morning Heidi Allen had this message for the disabilities
:24:12. > :24:17.minister. If I was in her shoes I would, I think, take the financial
:24:18. > :24:20.hit, say OK, we need to accept this. Now, let's really look at this
:24:21. > :24:24.policy which is something that needs it happen anyway and just review the
:24:25. > :24:28.whole thing from top to bottom and I think in the end if we did that,
:24:29. > :24:32.we'd work hand-in-hand with charities and people who were
:24:33. > :24:35.disabled because they would know we're trying to build a system that
:24:36. > :24:40.works. What added fuel to the fire is the comments by George Freeman
:24:41. > :24:46.who is Mrs May's head of her policy unit. So he is, if you like, her big
:24:47. > :24:51.brains. And over the weekend, he said that the court rulings were
:24:52. > :24:57.bizarre, these were just tweaks to the system, but the most incendiary
:24:58. > :25:01.remarks was when he suggested these people who would get PIPs were not
:25:02. > :25:05.really disabled, they were just people taking pills to help them
:25:06. > :25:10.cope with anxiety. Listen to what he said. Look, the truth on the
:25:11. > :25:13.disability budget is we spend ?50 billion a year on disability
:25:14. > :25:17.benefits and what we're trying to make sure is we get them to the
:25:18. > :25:22.right people who are most in need. He didn't mention these tweaks are
:25:23. > :25:27.actually to do with rolling back some bizarre decisions through the
:25:28. > :25:31.tribunals which means that benefits are given to people who take pills
:25:32. > :25:36.at home. We want to make sure we get the money to the really disabled
:25:37. > :25:41.people who need it. He put out a tweet. He says, "Having suffered
:25:42. > :25:47.myself as a child from childhood anxiety and depression, I don't need
:25:48. > :25:56.any lectures on the damage anxiety does." Well, what gives this more
:25:57. > :25:59.resonance, Theresa May made mental health one of her cornerstone
:26:00. > :26:03.issues, remember that speech saying she wanted to end the stigma
:26:04. > :26:08.attached to mental health. Here is a reminder of what she said. This is a
:26:09. > :26:12.historic opportunity to right a wrong and give people deserving of
:26:13. > :26:17.compassion and support the attention and treatment they deserve. And for
:26:18. > :26:21.all of us to change the way we view mental illness so striving to
:26:22. > :26:25.improve mental well-being is seen as just as natural, positive and good
:26:26. > :26:29.as striving to improve our physical well-being.
:26:30. > :26:33.Not that long ago. We've got the Budget on the horizon. Any chance of
:26:34. > :26:37.it, things being changed before then? Well, it's possible because
:26:38. > :26:41.let's be honest, it has happened before. You think of George Osborne
:26:42. > :26:43.backing down over personal independence payments and tax
:26:44. > :26:48.credits so it has happened before. They won't want to back doub, but I
:26:49. > :26:52.think they're in a real jam here because the disability charities are
:26:53. > :26:57.up in arms because they say look, if you suffer from say dementia, you
:26:58. > :27:02.can have as profound problems out and about as if you are blind. So
:27:03. > :27:06.why shouldn't they get this benefit? More than that, the disability
:27:07. > :27:11.tribunals, they went through the cases in real detail and you know,
:27:12. > :27:15.we clearly know increasingly the difficulties people have with mental
:27:16. > :27:18.health issues. So they're under pressure, not just politically, but
:27:19. > :27:21.from the mental health charities and the last thing to say is the
:27:22. > :27:26.Government, before they announced they were going to try and rewrite
:27:27. > :27:30.the rules without anyone noticing, they didn't consult anyone, they
:27:31. > :27:35.didn't consult Parliament or the disclaket charities and they tried
:27:36. > :27:39.to sneak it out, for that and for Mr Freeman's comments, there is a real
:27:40. > :27:45.backlash building up. Thank you, Norman.
:27:46. > :27:51.If you are somebody who takes pills at home for anxiety, get in touch
:27:52. > :27:56.with me. We'd like to get in touch with you.
:27:57. > :27:59.The NHS has mislaid more than half a million items of patients'
:28:00. > :28:00.confidential medical correspondence, including treatment plans
:28:01. > :28:04.The documents, sent between GPs and hospitals over a period
:28:05. > :28:06.of five years, did not reach their recipients
:28:07. > :28:09.because they were mistakenly stored in a warehouse by private company
:28:10. > :28:24.So, where are they? Well, Victoria, NHS England say they have tracked
:28:25. > :28:29.down all these letters now. This was over a period of five years from
:28:30. > :28:34.2011 to 2016. They were 500,000 items of correspondence, spent from
:28:35. > :28:37.hospitals to GPs, telling the GP about where the patient's treatment
:28:38. > :28:42.had got to and what needed to be followed up. They were items which
:28:43. > :28:45.couldn't get to the GP surgery because they were sent back because
:28:46. > :28:49.the patient had moved, in most cases, so this firm were brought in
:28:50. > :28:52.to sort of redirect them to get to the proper Distin nation where the
:28:53. > :28:56.patient was. The trouble is they ended up in a warehouse and that's
:28:57. > :29:01.the nub of the problem. NHS England say they have managed to get hold of
:29:02. > :29:07.them all and follow them all up and the 500,000 has boiled down to 2500
:29:08. > :29:11.patients whose treatment might have been affected because the GP didn't
:29:12. > :29:15.know the full story and quite a few of the 500,000 were fairly routine
:29:16. > :29:20.bits of correspondence, but it does raise a lot of questions about
:29:21. > :29:24.whether the 200 or more have been seriously affected. Right. And when
:29:25. > :29:29.will we know the answer to that? Who is trying to find out how seriously
:29:30. > :29:33.afeted or otherwise? NHS England say there is no evidence that anyone has
:29:34. > :29:37.been affected of those 2500, but they are still pursuing it. Labour
:29:38. > :29:42.are saying we got wind of this last summer, at the very end of the
:29:43. > :29:46.Parliamentary session, the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, put out a
:29:47. > :29:49.brief statement saying there was a problem with redirecting the
:29:50. > :29:55.correspondence, but we weren't told the 500,000. Labour want to know why
:29:56. > :29:58.has it taken so long for this emerge and what was the full story? Why
:29:59. > :30:01.were they in a warehouse and what was going on and Labour are pushing
:30:02. > :30:05.for answers in the House of Commons so we may yet learn more about this
:30:06. > :30:12.as the day goes on. Thank you very much, Hugh Pym is our health editor.
:30:13. > :30:18.We will cross live shortly to the beginning of the public hearings
:30:19. > :30:23.into the inquiry into child sex abuse.
:30:24. > :30:26.Glyn says, "I have to say I'm fed-up as a disabled person being picked on
:30:27. > :30:31.by the Government. They simply have no idea what they're doing to us. I
:30:32. > :30:36.can't help being disabled and I didn't ask to be like this, but to
:30:37. > :30:40.be targeted by the Government is appalling. It makes me worry about
:30:41. > :30:58.any cuts which has an impact on me and makes my condition worse."
:30:59. > :31:01.Theindependent inquiry into child sexual abuse in England and Wales
:31:02. > :31:04.is holding its first public hearings today, more than two and a half
:31:05. > :31:09.It'll begin by examining the appalling mistreatment
:31:10. > :31:11.of British children many whom were orphans or from poor
:31:12. > :31:14.families, who were sent to Australia in the years
:31:15. > :31:18.The inquiry will be told that the scale of abuse
:31:19. > :31:21.they suffered was much wider than previously thought.
:31:22. > :31:24.Organisers of this year's Oscars say they're still trying to work out how
:31:25. > :31:26.the ceremony ended in chaos, after the wrong film
:31:27. > :31:29.The Hollywood musical La La Land was mistakenly
:31:30. > :31:31.revealed as the winner, but during the acceptance speeches
:31:32. > :31:34.it was discovered the award should have gone to Moonlight,
:31:35. > :31:37.which is a drama about a gay black youth coming to terms
:31:38. > :31:46.The firm that counts the votes, PriceWaterhouseCoopers,
:31:47. > :31:48.has apologised, saying there was a mix-up with
:31:49. > :31:52.The NHS has mislaid more than half a million items of patients'
:31:53. > :31:58.confidential medical correspondence, including treatment plans
:31:59. > :32:00.The government is facing calls from Conservative MPs to scrap
:32:01. > :32:02.plans to limit access to a key disability benefit.
:32:03. > :32:04.It's thought changes to the rules on who qualifies for
:32:05. > :32:07.the personal independence payment could affect around 160,000 people.
:32:08. > :32:09.It comes as a key aide to Theresa May said
:32:10. > :32:12.were needed to roll back the bizarre decisions of tribunals.
:32:13. > :32:15.That's a summary of the latest news, join me for BBC
:32:16. > :32:18.Here's Jessica again now with the sports headlines.
:32:19. > :32:21.Manchester United have picked up their first piece of silverware
:32:22. > :32:23.of the season by beating Southampton to win the EFL Cup.
:32:24. > :32:26.Manager Jose Mourinho has called on fans to camp outside
:32:27. > :32:29.Zlatan Ibrahimovic's house to ensure he stays another season at the club
:32:30. > :32:31.after the striker scored the winner in the 87th minute
:32:32. > :32:37.A third hat trick in nine games for Tottenham striker Harry Kane
:32:38. > :32:40.helped Spurs to a 4-0 win over Stoke that moves them up to second
:32:41. > :32:44.And England head coach Eddie Jones has criticised Italy
:32:45. > :32:48.for their tactics in yesterday's Six Nations match.
:32:49. > :33:09.England came back from 10-5 down, to win 36-15 at Twickenham.
:33:10. > :33:15.A chaotic night at the Oscars. This was the moment Faye Dunaway and
:33:16. > :33:16.Warren Beatty made the wrong announcement when they were given
:33:17. > :33:23.the wrong envelope. Moonlight, you guys
:33:24. > :34:00.won best picture. I'm afraid they read the wrong
:34:01. > :34:01.thing. This is not a joke. Moonlight has won best picture. Moonlight,
:34:02. > :34:07.best picture. Let's go live to LA now and we can
:34:08. > :34:28.talk to Sandro Monetti, a British The inquest is beginning. The mother
:34:29. > :34:32.of all mix-ups. Rain has been accepted by PricewaterhouseCoopers,
:34:33. > :34:36.who for 83 years have tabulated the results and prepared the envelopes.
:34:37. > :34:44.-- blame has been accepted. Don't bet on getting another year, PwC!
:34:45. > :34:47.Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty were handed the wrong envelope. There are
:34:48. > :34:51.duplicates backstage and they had been handed the envelope for best
:34:52. > :34:56.actress, which was Emma Stone, La La Land. Warren Beatty seems to realise
:34:57. > :35:06.the mistake and Faye Dunaway looks over, sees La La Land, calls it out,
:35:07. > :35:06.comment at the after party. Now been seen
:35:07. > :35:13.there is a lot of finger-pointing. And whoever mixed up the envelopes,
:35:14. > :35:17.I don't fancy their future employment chances! But it means he
:35:18. > :35:21.will never ever forget who won best picture at this year's Oscars
:35:22. > :35:27.ceremony. Some people can't even remember who won last year! And
:35:28. > :35:30.Jordan Horrowitz, the producer of La La Land, who took charge of the
:35:31. > :35:34.whole thing, maybe he should produce the Oscars next year because he
:35:35. > :35:38.seems to know what he is doing! He rescued it and handed it to
:35:39. > :35:43.Moonlight. I thought I had seen it all covering Hollywood but this was
:35:44. > :35:46.a first. What a total fiasco. The Oscars are hugely enjoyable and now
:35:47. > :35:54.they are covered in huge embarrassment. What a mess but what
:35:55. > :35:58.a laugh! We will probably interrupted our conversation as we
:35:59. > :36:01.go to a live event here in the UK. Why do you think Warren Beatty just
:36:02. > :36:07.handed that envelope to Faye Dunaway instead of saying, hang on, this
:36:08. > :36:10.isn't right? And conferring with the host, Jimmy Kimmel? He knew there
:36:11. > :36:19.was an issue so why didn't he say something? They were celebrating the
:36:20. > :36:25.50th anniversary of Bonnie and Clyde. They are still causing chaos
:36:26. > :36:30.50 years later obviously. Who knows? That is the big question. What was
:36:31. > :36:35.going on in Warren Beatty's mind? He is being destroyed on social media.
:36:36. > :36:41.Faye Dunaway was the one who read it out, not him, but he explained that
:36:42. > :36:47.he had that momentary pause... We have got to interrupted. Thank you
:36:48. > :36:52.very much. We are pausing there to go live to the inquiry, the
:36:53. > :37:01.Independent inquiry into child sex abuse, which is just about to begin.
:37:02. > :37:09.This is the chair. Finishing next Friday, the 10th of March, 2017. The
:37:10. > :37:13.case study into child migration programmes is a part of the
:37:14. > :37:20.inquiry's wide investigation into institutional failures in connection
:37:21. > :37:24.with the abuse of children outside of the United Kingdom. This is an
:37:25. > :37:27.important day for the work of the inquiry and for the core
:37:28. > :37:35.participants and witnesses taking part in this case study. Today marks
:37:36. > :37:37.not only the first day of this hearing on child migration
:37:38. > :37:44.programmes, but the opening of the first public hearing in which the
:37:45. > :37:49.inquiry will hear live and read evidence from complainants and their
:37:50. > :37:55.experiences of sexual abuse. As you all know, the task of the chair and
:37:56. > :38:00.panel of the inquiry is to examine the extent to which public and
:38:01. > :38:05.private institutions in England and Wales have failed to protect
:38:06. > :38:09.children from sexual abuse in the past and for us to make meaningful
:38:10. > :38:15.recommendations to keep children safe today and in the future. The
:38:16. > :38:24.definition and scope of this case study was published on the inquiry
:38:25. > :38:29.website in May 20 16. To fulfil our task, the inquiry will hold two
:38:30. > :38:36.hearings in the child migration case study during 2017. This hearing,
:38:37. > :38:40.known as the part one hearing, will provide an introduction to the
:38:41. > :38:43.history of the child migration programmes and the institutions
:38:44. > :38:47.involved and the nature of the allegations of sexual abuse that
:38:48. > :38:55.have been made by former child migrants. The part two hearings will
:38:56. > :39:00.commence on the 10th of July 2017 and will focus on whether
:39:01. > :39:05.institutions based in England and Wales took sufficient care to
:39:06. > :39:09.protect children in the migration programmes and the response of those
:39:10. > :39:16.institutions to the alleged sexual abuse of child migrants. The
:39:17. > :39:22.inquiry's broader programme of work was published in its December 2016
:39:23. > :39:26.report. The two hearings in the child migration case study are part
:39:27. > :39:34.of a full timetable of substantive hearings and seminars and a number
:39:35. > :39:43.of investigations which will be held in 2017 and into 2018. As part of
:39:44. > :39:46.this case study, as in all investigations, the inquiry
:39:47. > :39:49.continues to receive and review very large volumes of evidence relating
:39:50. > :39:53.to sexual abuse and institutional responses to it. And you will hear
:39:54. > :40:00.more detail on the evidence shortly from counsel. To all the core
:40:01. > :40:03.participants and their legal teams, we thank you for the hard work you
:40:04. > :40:10.have done in preparing for this hearing. And for the ongoing work
:40:11. > :40:14.involved in this case study. To the former child migrants who will give
:40:15. > :40:19.evidence before the inquiry during these hearings, and to those who
:40:20. > :40:25.have given written testimony, we are grateful for your courage in coming
:40:26. > :40:28.forward to be a witness. We are conscious of the great challenges
:40:29. > :40:36.that many of you have encountered as a result of your experiences as
:40:37. > :40:39.children. I want to ensure you of the high priority the inquiry places
:40:40. > :40:45.on case study and on hearing your experiences. We thank those of you
:40:46. > :40:53.who have travelled long distances in order to testify before us. I would
:40:54. > :40:57.now like to introduce the core participants and where appropriate
:40:58. > :41:07.their representatives as follows. Counsel for the child migrants
:41:08. > :41:21.trust. Counsel for the participant Oliver Cosgrove, Mr Imran Khan. Core
:41:22. > :41:25.participant Mr David Hill. Counsel for Barnardos, Mr Stephen Ford QC.
:41:26. > :41:37.Counsel for the sisters of Nazareth, Mr Bilal Croat. Counsel for the
:41:38. > :41:44.Catholic counsel, Kate gathered QC. Counsel for the Secretary of State
:41:45. > :41:49.for Health, Samantha Lewthwaite QC. Good morning to everybody and
:41:50. > :41:53.welcome to this hearing. Before we hear from counsel, a couple of
:41:54. > :41:58.points on practical arrangements. We will sit each day from 10:30am
:41:59. > :42:03.except on the days we are hearing evidence by video link from the east
:42:04. > :42:10.coast of Australia. Then we will start early at 8am. Those days are
:42:11. > :42:18.day six, the 7th of March, and day seven, the 8th of March. Ordinarily,
:42:19. > :42:24.we will take a 15 minute break at around 11:45am. On days when we are
:42:25. > :42:28.sitting early, we may take an early break during the morning. We will
:42:29. > :42:36.break for lunch at one o'clock, returning at 2 o'clock. We intend to
:42:37. > :42:40.sit until around 4 o'clock each day. By way of an agenda, we rely on the
:42:41. > :42:47.hearing timetable which sets out the order in which witnesses will be
:42:48. > :42:50.called. The hearing transcript is recorded simultaneously on screens
:42:51. > :42:58.throughout the room and will be published at the end of each date on
:42:59. > :43:03.the inquiry website. Any directions arising from the day's hearing will
:43:04. > :43:07.also be published on the website. As you will hear in more detail from
:43:08. > :43:13.counsel, there are anonymity arrangements in place for witnesses.
:43:14. > :43:16.Ciphering and reductions have also been used in relation to the
:43:17. > :43:21.evidence in accordance with the inquiry's redaction protocol and
:43:22. > :43:26.restriction order, both of which are available on the website. If there
:43:27. > :43:30.is any inadvertent breach of a restriction order, I would ask that
:43:31. > :43:32.the simultaneous recording be stopped momentarily so that the
:43:33. > :43:39.issue can be addressed as appropriate. I now invite leading
:43:40. > :43:45.counsel to the inquiry in relation to the case study on child migration
:43:46. > :43:51.programmes Henrietta Hild QC to address the panel. Please go ahead.
:43:52. > :44:01.Thank you, chair and members of the panel. I appear to date with junior
:44:02. > :44:05.counsel of this case study, and Paul Davison are also working on this
:44:06. > :44:09.case study but are not present at the case today. Chair, on opening
:44:10. > :44:12.the proceedings of the half of the inquiry I would like to first of all
:44:13. > :44:17.explain the scope and purpose of the case study, secondly provide an
:44:18. > :44:20.overview of the child migration schemes, thirdly summarise the
:44:21. > :44:24.evidence we anticipate he will hear during the case study, and finally
:44:25. > :44:28.remind everybody of some logistical issues in respect of the witnesses.
:44:29. > :44:33.Turning first to the scope and purpose of this case study. This
:44:34. > :44:37.case study, as you have said, is part of the inquiry's protection of
:44:38. > :44:41.children outside the UK investigation. That investigation
:44:42. > :44:45.seeks to explore the extent to which institutions and organisations based
:44:46. > :44:49.in England and Wales have taken seriously their responsibilities to
:44:50. > :44:53.protect older outside of the United Kingdom from sexual abuse. The
:44:54. > :44:57.inquiry has decided to divide that broad investigation into a number of
:44:58. > :45:02.narrow case studies, of which this case study on the child migration
:45:03. > :45:07.programmes is the first. In summary, you and the panel will hear that the
:45:08. > :45:12.child migration programmes were large-scale schemes in which
:45:13. > :45:16.thousands of children, many of them vulnerable, poor, abandoned,
:45:17. > :45:20.illegitimate or in the care of the state, were systematically and
:45:21. > :45:24.permanently migrated to remote parts of the British Empire by various
:45:25. > :45:28.institutions in England and Wales and with the knowledge and approval
:45:29. > :45:29.of the British government. Many allegations of sexual abuse have
:45:30. > :45:40.been made by former child migrants. First whether Government
:45:41. > :45:43.departments, public authorities, private and or charitable
:45:44. > :45:47.institutions based in England and Wales, took sufficient care to
:45:48. > :45:52.protect those children involved in child migration programmes. Second,
:45:53. > :45:56.the extent to which those same bodies were aware or should have
:45:57. > :46:00.been aware of allegations of evidence or evidence of sexual abuse
:46:01. > :46:05.concerning those children. And whether appropriate steps were taken
:46:06. > :46:09.in response. And third, the adequacy of support and repar rations that
:46:10. > :46:13.have been offered to individuals who suffered sexual abuse relating to
:46:14. > :46:19.their inclusion into child migration programmes. As you've indicated
:46:20. > :46:31.chair, the inquiry has recognised seven core participants, the child
:46:32. > :46:34.migrants trust, Oliver cos grove and David Hill, Barnardo's, and the
:46:35. > :46:37.Secretary of State for Health. It is understood chair as you know that
:46:38. > :46:41.the Secretary of State for Health will represent the interests of
:46:42. > :46:44.other Government departments such as the Home Office, the Foreign and
:46:45. > :46:49.Commonwealth Office, and the Department for Education. As you've
:46:50. > :46:52.indicated chair the inquiry seeks to meet its terms of reference by
:46:53. > :46:57.conducting two public hearings in this case study. A part one hearing
:46:58. > :47:00.intended to provide an introduction to the child migration programmes
:47:01. > :47:04.and what previous inquiries have established about the incidents of
:47:05. > :47:08.sexual abuse of child migrants and to hear direct evidence from former
:47:09. > :47:12.child migrants of their experiences. And a part two hearing which will
:47:13. > :47:15.focus on the position of the institutions involved, in
:47:16. > :47:19.particular, what steps they took to protect children, what they knew or
:47:20. > :47:25.should have known of the sexual abuse of child migrants, the
:47:26. > :47:28.adequacy of their responses and the issue of support and repar ration.
:47:29. > :47:35.Today is the first day of that part one hearing. The part two hearing
:47:36. > :47:41.about commence on 10th July 2017. Turning then to an overview of the
:47:42. > :47:46.child migration programmes. Chair, the child migration case study
:47:47. > :47:50.relates to a lengthy episode in child welfare in England and Wales.
:47:51. > :47:53.Child migration programmes achieved a degree of public recognition in
:47:54. > :47:58.2010 when the then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, issued a formal
:47:59. > :48:04.apology to former child migrants. But there remains little public
:48:05. > :48:07.awareness of the full extept of these programmes, of how they were
:48:08. > :48:11.conducted and their effects on the children subjected to them and
:48:12. > :48:13.particularly of the allegations of sexual abuse related to them. It is
:48:14. > :48:18.estimated that you will hear evidence that over 100,000 British
:48:19. > :48:22.children were sent abroad as subjects of the child migration
:48:23. > :48:26.programmes, mostly to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and what was
:48:27. > :48:31.then southern Rhodesia, modern day Zimbabwe. We anticipate that you
:48:32. > :48:36.will hear that most British child migrants, around 90,000 were sent to
:48:37. > :48:40.Canada between 1869 and 1924. The focus of this case study is the
:48:41. > :48:43.post-war period. But it is recognised that child migration
:48:44. > :48:48.schemes that operated for a lengthy period before then. As to the period
:48:49. > :48:53.after 1945, we anticipated that you will hear from the experts that over
:48:54. > :48:58.3,000 children were sent to Australia, between 1947 and 1965,
:48:59. > :49:07.with a few thereafter until the early 1970s. Around 559 were sent to
:49:08. > :49:13.New Zealand. 329 were September to one institution in Canada, between
:49:14. > :49:21.1935 and 1948 and 276 were sent to southern owe Decemberia between 1946
:49:22. > :49:26.and 1956. Chair, you'll hear evidence as to the ration nationals,
:49:27. > :49:30.you are likely to hear both British and colonial governments regarded
:49:31. > :49:36.the programmes as carrying the perceived benefits of reducing the
:49:37. > :49:41.cost to the State of maintaining destitute children. Many of the
:49:42. > :49:45.organisations advanced a humanitarian rational, ie they were
:49:46. > :49:47.rescuing children from poor and unsuitable environments and
:49:48. > :49:53.providing them with new and better opportunities overseas. Child
:49:54. > :49:58.migration assisted in populating the empire with white, Anglo-Saxon
:49:59. > :50:00.settlers. It is argued that it met religious concerns about
:50:01. > :50:05.safeguarding children's religious beliefs and it sought to ensure that
:50:06. > :50:11.a particular religious denomination was well represented among the
:50:12. > :50:14.imperial settlers. As to the funding for child migration, you'll hear
:50:15. > :50:18.initially the sceles were funded by a combination of charitable
:50:19. > :50:22.donations and funding from local unions. However, the empire
:50:23. > :50:28.settlement Act of 1922 and those that followed provided that partial
:50:29. > :50:31.public funding was available for any approved migration scheme, whether
:50:32. > :50:38.it was run by the Government or by a voluntary organisation. Additional
:50:39. > :50:41.funding was provided by national and regional governments overseas.
:50:42. > :50:45.According to the available records, chair, children as young as two were
:50:46. > :50:47.migrated under these programmes. We anticipate that you will hear
:50:48. > :50:51.evidence that these children were put on board ships departing from
:50:52. > :50:55.England and Wales, without being given any real understanding of
:50:56. > :50:58.where they were going, what they were doing and why they were being
:50:59. > :51:01.isn't. Many will say they were taken without the consent or the informed
:51:02. > :51:04.consent of their parents or guardians. Many will say that they
:51:05. > :51:08.were wrongly told that they were orphans. Separated from their
:51:09. > :51:12.siblings, and deprived of basic details about their identities.
:51:13. > :51:18.Making it much harder if not impossible to reunite themselves
:51:19. > :51:20.with their families in the future. In the receiving countries, most
:51:21. > :51:25.children were placed in institutions or in farm schools where they
:51:26. > :51:30.provide I had labour and domestic services or with families. In those
:51:31. > :51:33.institutions or schools, child migrants have given evidence that
:51:34. > :51:36.they were frequently subjected to extremely harsh conditions. Hard
:51:37. > :51:41.labour, and physical abuse by those responsible for their welfare. In
:51:42. > :51:44.addition, there are allegation of widespread and systematic sexual
:51:45. > :51:51.abuse taking place in those institutions. Or some of them. Some
:51:52. > :51:54.former child migrants alleged they were subjected to sexual abuse prior
:51:55. > :51:59.to their migration in homes in England and Wales. There is some
:52:00. > :52:01.evidence that you will hear of child migrants being sexually abused
:52:02. > :52:06.during the jurpb which from England and Wales. Others described sexual
:52:07. > :52:10.abuse in work environments to which they were sent. And some have
:52:11. > :52:17.described sexual abuse in holiday placements from the institutions.
:52:18. > :52:21.You're likely to hear chair very emotional accounts of the decades of
:52:22. > :52:26.pain their experiences have caused. In respect of the institutions
:52:27. > :52:31.involved, the UK Government provided partial funding for child migration
:52:32. > :52:33.schemes, approved the residential institutions to receive child
:52:34. > :52:36.migrants and was responsible for consenting to the migration of
:52:37. > :52:40.children sent from local authority care. Local authorities sent a
:52:41. > :52:44.relatively small proportion of children in their care overseas and
:52:45. > :52:49.had no regulatory role or oversight of the children sent by voluntary
:52:50. > :52:51.organisations. Overseas organisations had varying
:52:52. > :52:56.responsibilities for the guardianship, partial funding and
:52:57. > :52:59.monitoring of child migrants. It was voluntary organisations including
:53:00. > :53:03.religious bodies, who oversaw the selection and transportation of many
:53:04. > :53:07.child migrants from their own residential holes or directly from
:53:08. > :53:11.their families the they sometimes worked with organisations to arrange
:53:12. > :53:15.migration. Voluntary organisations also often placed the children in
:53:16. > :53:18.residential homes overseas, that were either part of the same
:53:19. > :53:24.organisation, or an affiliate of it or were part of the same religious
:53:25. > :53:28.denomination. Given the scope of the case study, chair, the inquiry will
:53:29. > :53:32.not consider the role of overseas bodies in child migration in any
:53:33. > :53:35.detail. Say to the extent the same is necessary to understand the
:53:36. > :53:40.roles, responsibilities and response of those institutions based in
:53:41. > :53:43.England and Wales. In terms of the voluntary organisations involved,
:53:44. > :53:48.you will hear evidence from a selection of children, who were
:53:49. > :53:51.migrated overseas by the Fairbridge Society, the Church of England
:53:52. > :53:58.Children's Society, Cornwall County Council, the sisters of Nazareth,
:53:59. > :54:03.Southwark Catholic rescue society, the royal overseas league, the
:54:04. > :54:07.National Children's Home, Father Hudson Society. It has not been
:54:08. > :54:10.possible to identify or call a witness who was migrated by every
:54:11. > :54:20.institution involved in the scheme, but he will hear you will hear from
:54:21. > :54:23.the experts. We anticipate chair that the experts will apine that
:54:24. > :54:27.child migration schemes were never accepted practise of the day, but
:54:28. > :54:31.attracted criticism of their working methods as well as support. That
:54:32. > :54:34.there was increasing concern about the schemes from some parts of the
:54:35. > :54:39.UK Government, in the light of the childcare standards set out in the
:54:40. > :54:44.Curtis Report of 1946 and that these concerns formed part of the reasons
:54:45. > :54:49.why child migration schemes ended. Turning now briefly to the role of
:54:50. > :54:53.other inquiries and investigations. In 1998, the House of Commons Select
:54:54. > :54:59.Committee on health investigated the issue of child migration. It found
:55:00. > :55:02.that the sexual abuse of child migrants in some institutions in
:55:03. > :55:06.Australia was widespread and systematic and to quote the language
:55:07. > :55:09.of their report, exceptionally depraved. The responsibility of some
:55:10. > :55:15.of the receiving institutions for the sexual abuse of children and the
:55:16. > :55:19.adequacy of repar rations to former child migrants are being
:55:20. > :55:23.investigated by the Australian Royal Commission. The Australian
:55:24. > :55:26.commission has carried out three case study investigations into
:55:27. > :55:32.institutions to which British child migrants were sent. It has found
:55:33. > :55:37.that at Salvation Army homes in Queensland and New South Wales it
:55:38. > :55:43.heard graphic and shocking accounts of how boys were treated. There was
:55:44. > :55:48.sex sexual abuse by officers or from employees and from other boys
:55:49. > :55:52.resident in the home from 1956 until the closure of the homes. The
:55:53. > :55:57.Australian Royal Commission found at Christian brothers institutions in
:55:58. > :56:04.Australia, children were isolated, inadequately educated and sexually
:56:05. > :56:09.abused and with regards to St Joseph's orphanage, there was cruel
:56:10. > :56:14.punishment of the children there. Some children had various barriers
:56:15. > :56:18.to reporting sexual abuse and some who did complain were not believed
:56:19. > :56:21.or were punished in. January, the Northern Ireland historical abuse
:56:22. > :56:24.inquiry which investigated children sent from institutions in Northern
:56:25. > :56:28.Ireland to Australia, in the years after World War II, found numerous
:56:29. > :56:31.failures in respect of the Northern Irish Government and various
:56:32. > :56:38.institutions that sent children to Australia. The Scottish child abuse
:56:39. > :56:41.inquiry is also conducting an investigation into child migration.
:56:42. > :56:45.The United Kingdom Government has acknowledged that children in child
:56:46. > :56:50.migration programmes endured the harshest of the conditions, neglect
:56:51. > :56:54.and abuse, but made no specific mention of sexual abuse. To date no
:56:55. > :56:58.public inquiry into the United Kingdom has under taken analysis of
:56:59. > :57:01.allegation of sexual abuse of child migrants and possible failings by
:57:02. > :57:07.institutions based in England and Wales in relation to that abuse.
:57:08. > :57:10.Previous reports and reviews on child migration only considered
:57:11. > :57:14.sexual abuse in a limited way. The present case study therefore, chair,
:57:15. > :57:18.for the first time considers whether the various England and Wales bodies
:57:19. > :57:21.took sufficient care to protect children who were child migrants
:57:22. > :57:31.from sexual abuse and whether after that abuse came to light there has
:57:32. > :57:32.been adequate response. There is an added urgency to this case given the