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'Abuse' payouts for all ex-residents of Shirley Oaks home Shirley Oaks ex-residents to get 'abuse' payouts
(35 minutes later)
Every resident of a former network of children's homes in south London is to receive compensation for being at risk of abuse dating back decades.Every resident of a former network of children's homes in south London is to receive compensation for being at risk of abuse dating back decades.
Lambeth Council is set to pay tens of millions of pounds to people whether or not they were abused at Shirley Oaks.Lambeth Council is set to pay tens of millions of pounds to people whether or not they were abused at Shirley Oaks.
A report from ex-residents outlining abuse on an "industrial scale" has named 27 men as alleged abusers.A report from ex-residents outlining abuse on an "industrial scale" has named 27 men as alleged abusers.
The investigation says at least 60 abusers were active, and accuses some police officers of corruption.The investigation says at least 60 abusers were active, and accuses some police officers of corruption.
The publication of the report by the Shirley Oaks Survivors Association (SOSA) covers a period from the 1950s to the closure of the homes in 1983.The publication of the report by the Shirley Oaks Survivors Association (SOSA) covers a period from the 1950s to the closure of the homes in 1983.
BBC home affairs correspondent Tom Symonds says details of the compensation scheme have yet to be finalised, but the council says a key principle would be that there would be a blanket payment to any resident in the Shirley Oaks homes because all were judged to be at risk.BBC home affairs correspondent Tom Symonds says details of the compensation scheme have yet to be finalised, but the council says a key principle would be that there would be a blanket payment to any resident in the Shirley Oaks homes because all were judged to be at risk.
The payments will not be large in many cases but there will be higher payments to those who were abused, our correspondent added.The payments will not be large in many cases but there will be higher payments to those who were abused, our correspondent added.
'Link' to deaths
Shirley Oaks was an 80-acre site near Croydon in south London that included cottages where children in care were looked after by house mothers and fathers. The site also included a school, swimming pool, sick bay and playing fields.Shirley Oaks was an 80-acre site near Croydon in south London that included cottages where children in care were looked after by house mothers and fathers. The site also included a school, swimming pool, sick bay and playing fields.
The SOSA has spent two years investigating claims of abuse at the home and spoke to more than 400 people. The SOSA, which spent two years investigating claims of abuse at the home and spoke to more than 400 people, says it was "shocked" by what it had found.
It says in the report that it was "shocked" by what it had found. The group said both boys and girls had been abused, including young infants.
Both boys and girls had been abused, including young infants, the group says. The report accuses one named police officer of "providing misleading information to victims" and of "informing one victim their abuser was dead when in fact he was alive".
Two of those named in the report - William Hook and Philip Temple - have been convicted of child sexual abuse relating to Shirley Oaks. It links 20 deaths to Shirley Oaks. Some of those named died while residents at the home, others years later, but none are classed as homicides. However, the report states "at the time of their deaths no-one considered whether their lives had been blighted by the extenuating circumstances of being brought up in a Lambeth children's home".
The report also accuses one named police officer of "providing misleading information to victims" and of "informing one victim their abuser was dead when in fact he was alive". Another claim says Shirley Oaks generated a culture in which children sexually abused one another.
The report, authored by SOSA founder Raymond Stevenson, also criticises a series of police inquiries and official reports relating to Lambeth children's homes.
"Some of the omissions and failing of past inquiries contradict our findings and suggest that these prior inquiries were economical with the truth and aimed at concealing the extent of the abuse of children," it adds.
Liability admitted
Two of the people named in the report - William Hook and Philip Temple - have been convicted of child sexual abuse relating to Shirley Oaks.
The SOSA has had unprecedented co-operation from Lambeth Council, which has disclosed some of its files, apologised for the abuse and admitted liability.The SOSA has had unprecedented co-operation from Lambeth Council, which has disclosed some of its files, apologised for the abuse and admitted liability.
Lambeth Council leader, Lib Peck, said: "The council accepts that the system set up to protect vulnerable children failed. But the group alleges the council destroyed 140 care records in the mid-2000s despite being required by law to keep them for a further 70 years.
She added: "Lambeth Council has previously publicly apologised to those who were so badly let down. The investigation by the Shirley Oaks Survivor's Association has shone further light on the suffering of those entrusted into the council's care. Chief executive of Lambeth council Sean Harriss said: "All the children that were in Shirley Oaks during periods of time when paedophiles were operating were at risk. We've acknowledged that the council has put all of those children at risk."
"Lambeth Council is preparing a new, far reaching redress scheme for survivors of historical abuse in the borough. It will allow them to secure compensation quickly whilst minimising legal fees." Council leader Lib Peck said the authority had previously publicly apologised to those who were "so badly let down".
She added: "The investigation by the Shirley Oaks Survivor's Association has shone further light on the suffering of those entrusted into the council's care. Lambeth Council is preparing a new, far reaching redress scheme for survivors of historical abuse in the borough. It will allow them to secure compensation quickly whilst minimising legal fees."
Last month the survivors association pulled out of the independent inquiry into historical child sexual abuse in England and Wales because of concerns over its leadership.Last month the survivors association pulled out of the independent inquiry into historical child sexual abuse in England and Wales because of concerns over its leadership.
Labour MP Chuka Umunna, who sits on the Home Affairs Select Committee and whose Stratham constituency falls within Lambeth, said it was a "sad indictment" the SOSA did not have confidence in the inquiry and "felt their only choice was to withdraw from that investigation and publish their own report".