Latest news with #ScottishChildAbuseInquiry
Edinburgh Live
3 days ago
- Edinburgh Live
Family of Edinburgh man who took took his own life 'still waiting for answers'
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info The family of an Edinburgh man have hit out at a probe into his death, after the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) 'failed him'. Kevin Sutherland was 34-year-old when he posted on social media that he was about to die, while at the Forth Bridges. In 2022 he gave evidence to the SCAI, revealing repeated sexual and physical abuse while in care. He signed an anonymity waiver, though later regretted it. Despite his pleas for it to be removed, it never was - and Kevin blamed the inquiry in his final social media post, reports the Daily Record. His body has never been recovered. Kevin's sister, Melanie Watson, said his family remained angry about his treatment and had lost faith in the independence of the review set up to probe his death. They blame Lady Smith for refusing his plea for anonymity and say she should have no role in the probe into Kevin's death. And they say they have had no contact to explain any progress. Melanie said: "It's seven months since we lost Kevin, and five since Jason Beer KC was put in charge of this supposedly independent review into the circumstances that ended with his death but, short of a letter introducing himself, we've heard nothing. "We assumed a review would start with the people who knew him best and they might want to meet us. If they are doing any work at all on this, who are they speaking to? They are not speaking to us." Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox She said the family were further distressed by the final paragraph in the terms of reference for Beer's review. She said: "It's supposed to be independent of the inquiry, so why does the chair expect to see the report before it is finalised? How is that independent?" Melanie added: "The inquiry knew Kevin was damaged, very vulnerable and unstable. "We cannot understand why they rejected his plea. The fact he went back to them three times must have underlined how important it was to him. By the end he was pleading with them. Why would you refuse someone so desperate?" Melanie acknowledges Kevin's body might never be found, but they will continue to fight for some form of justice. After his death, Lady Smith faced calls to stand down from experts on abuse and trauma who had helped the Scottish Government develop a trauma-informed approach in previous inquiries into child sexual abuse. (Image: Dave Johnston) Anne Macdonald and Sarah Nelson, who have since died, had extensive experience of working with adult survivors, and were among those to denounce the inquiry's "disgraceful" decision. Beer has also been instructed in Scotland's other long-running inquiry into the death in police custody of Sheku Bayoh in Kirkcaldy 10 years ago. He said: "One of my first actions was to make contact with Mr Sutherland's family to explain how I was going to conduct the independent review and invite them to send me evidence or information they felt relevant." He added Melanie replied on February 26. He said: "Ms Watson's reply set out further personal and sensitive information about Mr Sutherland. I did not receive any further replies to my requests for information." Asked whether Lady Smith's expectation to see a draft of the report could be seen as compromising his independence, he said: "I do not think it is appropriate to comment on the mechanics of the independent review whilst it is being conducted." Giles Moffat, chair of the group of survivors from Edinburgh Academy which has featured prominently in the inquiry, said: "It's not fair for the legal team to put the onus on the family of the victim. Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages "The legal team is being paid to investigate. Clearly, the family expected closure and more personal contact. In my own case, I got in touch with them unprompted and provided information and explained I had spoken at length to Kevin about five times. I fully expected they would be in touch but five months on, nothing. "Where is the urgency to explain to a family why this young man died?" He was not surprised Lady Smith and the inquiry wanted first sight of the KC's findings. He said: "To describe it as a draft suggests they reserve the right to change things, which doesn't exactly inspire confidence." The SCAI said it had commissioned the review to consider all aspects of its interactions with Mr Sutherland, adding: "It would be inappropriate to comment." The SCAI has been running for over a decade and had cost the taxpayer £95.3million by March 31 this year. If you've been affected by the content in this story you can find help from The Samaritans.
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Daily Record
Family of man who killed himself after refused anonymity in abuse inquiry slam death probe
Kevin Sutherland blamed the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry from the Forth Bridges area after posting online that he was about to die. The family of a man who took his own life after being refused anonymity by the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) have hit out over a probe into his death. Kevin Sutherland gave evidence to the inquiry in 2022, and revealed he had suffered repeated sexual and physical abuse in care. He signed an anonymity waiver for the inquiry to use his real name but later regretted it when he realised his statement would be online forever. Despite repeated pleas for it to be removed, inquiry chair Lady Smith refused. Shortly before Christmas last year, Kevin, who was 34, posted on social media from the Forth Bridges area that he was about to die, blaming the inquiry. His body has never been recovered. Kevin's sister, Melanie Watson, said his family remained angry about his treatment and had lost faith in the independence of the review set up to probe his death. They blame Lady Smith for refusing his plea for anonymity and say she should have no role in the probe into Kevin's death. And they say they have had no contact to explain any progress. Melanie said: 'It's seven months since we lost Kevin, and five since Jason Beer KC was put in charge of this supposedly independent review into the circumstances that ended with his death but, short of a letter introducing himself, we've heard nothing. 'We assumed a review would start with the people who knew him best and they might want to meet us. If they are doing any work at all on this, who are they speaking to? They are not speaking to us.' She said the family were further distressed by the final paragraph in the terms of reference for Beer's review. She said: 'It's supposed to be independent of the inquiry, so why does the chair expect to see the report before it is finalised? How is that independent?' Melanie added: 'The inquiry knew Kevin was damaged, very vulnerable and unstable. 'We cannot understand why they rejected his plea. The fact he went back to them three times must have underlined how important it was to him. 'By the end he was pleading with them. Why would you refuse someone so desperate?' Melanie acknowledges Kevin's body might never be found, but they will continue to fight for some form of justice. After his death, Lady Smith faced calls to stand down from experts on abuse and trauma who had helped the Scottish Government develop a trauma-informed approach in previous inquiries into child sexual abuse. Anne Macdonald and Sarah Nelson, who have since died, had extensive experience of working with adult survivors, and were among those to denounce the inquiry's 'disgraceful' decision. Beer has also been instructed in Scotland's other long-running inquiry into the death in police custody of Sheku Bayoh in Kirkcaldy 10 years ago. He said: 'One of my first actions was to make contact with Mr Sutherland's family to explain how I was going to conduct the independent review and invite them to send me evidence or information they felt relevant.' He added Melanie replied on February 26. He said: 'Ms Watson's reply set out further personal and sensitive information about Mr Sutherland. I did not receive any further replies to my requests for information.' Asked whether Lady Smith's expectation to see a draft of the report could be seen as compromising his independence, he said: 'I do not think it is appropriate to comment on the mechanics of the independent review whilst it is being conducted.' Giles Moffat, chair of the group of survivors from Edinburgh Academy which has featured prominently in the inquiry, said: 'It's not fair for the legal team to put the onus on the family of the victim. 'The legal team is being paid to investigate. Clearly, the family expected closure and more personal contact. 'In my own case, I got in touch with them unprompted and provided information and explained I had spoken at length to Kevin about five times. I fully expected they would be in touch but five months on, nothing. 'Where is the urgency to explain to a family why this young man died?' He was not surprised Lady Smith and the inquiry wanted first sight of the KC's findings. He said: 'To describe it as a draft suggests they reserve the right to change things, which doesn't exactly inspire confidence.' The SCAI said it had commissioned the review to consider all aspects of its interactions with Mr Sutherland, adding: 'It would be inappropriate to comment.' The SCAI has been running for over a decade and had cost the taxpayer £95.3million by March 31 this year. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. 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The Independent
11-07-2025
- The Independent
Convicted teacher maintains innocence at Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry
A teacher who sexually abused a pupil at a special education school in Fife has maintained his innocence before the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, insisting he is 'completely innocent'. Robert Jennings, 70, was convicted in 2021 of one charge of lewd, indecent & libidinous practices and behaviour during his time at the school in the 1980s and 1990s. He was sentenced to a nine-month restriction of liberty order preventing him from leaving home from 7pm to 7am each day, fined £2,000 and placed on the sex offenders register for five years. Giving evidence at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) on Friday, the maths and PE teacher insisted he did not 'experience or witness any abuse at the school' during his time there. He added that he 'didn't know why anybody would make allegations of abuse' at the school, where he taught in the 1980s and 1990s. During the inquiry, the pensioner was asked what he remembered about his trial, including whether any evidence was heard relating to offences other than that for which he was convicted. Inquiry chair Lady Smith asked him: 'Do you remember the one woman giving evidence about you touching her under her shirt when she was a child?' Jennings replied: 'All I can say is I don't. I am innocent of everything. I never touched her.' She pressed him on whether any other witnesses gave evidence in the trial, saying 'there must have been 'at least two women if not three giving evidence', but he said he couldn't remember, adding that he had 'pushed it out of (his) mind'. Finally, Lady Smith asked him: 'Do you have an explanation as to why she made the allegations against you?' 'Not at all,' Jennings replied. Earlier, the inquiry heard evidence from a former senior staff member referred to as 'Martin', who worked at the independent Starley Hall school in Fife for a number of years. He was given an alias as he was granted anonymity by the inquiry. Martin was asked about 'various allegations' of abusive behaviour that had been made against him by former pupils at Starley Hall, a residential school for children with special educational needs. These included, the inquiry heard, that he kicked and punched a child who had missed a bus home from a school trip, that he pulled a child out of bed by the legs, and that held a child down in a chair by the arms. He denied the allegations, saying he never physically assaulted any child during his time at the school, which had up to 39 pupils at any one time. He also dismissed more general allegations about the school, including that pupils were ever force-fed, or that children who wet the bed were mocked and forced to carry their bedclothes down to the laundry. He also told the inquiry that complaints made about residential schools are sometimes caused by 'misunderstandings'. 'A lot of people wanted to say bad things happened at Starley Hall school,' he said. 'Some people's lives didn't turn out as they wanted to them to, and there's a lot of reasons for that.' He added: 'Some people have been encouraged to make statements and have been in contact with each other and have encouraged each other.' Martin explained this can lead to people changing how they remember events, and that something that was 'dealt with at the time' can come to be described 'much more seriously' 20 years later. He acknowledged this risked sounding 'trite' in front of an inquiry set up to look into allegations of child abuse across Scotland. 'It is not dismissing the fact difficult and wrong things happened,' he said, 'but I do think some of the stories that have come out have come from people talking to each other and encouraging each other.' The witness was also asked about how the school maintained discipline, including its policy on the use of restraint for physically disruptive pupils. He explained that for many years there was no specific standard for restraining pupils, but that this changed when the school had staff trained in the 'management of violence' programme. Developed for dealing with young offenders, the inquiry heard it involved some holds that worked using 'pain control' to restrain pupils, with staff pressing on pupils' pressure points. Martin said it was the 'only course' the school could find, at the time, and the fact it included pain control was one reason why the school changed to a different restraint policy after two years. The inquiry is investigating abuse in residential settings including boarding schools, religious establishments and foster care. The inquiry before Lady Smith continues.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Yahoo
Convicted teacher maintains innocence at Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry
A teacher who sexually abused a pupil at a special education school in Fife has maintained his innocence before the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, insisting he is 'completely innocent'. Robert Jennings, 70, was convicted in 2021 of one charge of lewd, indecent & libidinous practices and behaviour during his time at the school in the 1980s and 1990s. He was sentenced to a nine-month restriction of liberty order preventing him from leaving home from 7pm to 7am each day, fined £2,000 and placed on the sex offenders register for five years. Giving evidence at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) on Friday, the maths and PE teacher insisted he did not 'experience or witness any abuse at the school' during his time there. He added that he 'didn't know why anybody would make allegations of abuse' at the school, where he taught in the 1980s and 1990s. During the inquiry, the pensioner was asked what he remembered about his trial, including whether any evidence was heard relating to offences other than that for which he was convicted. Inquiry chair Lady Smith asked him: 'Do you remember the one woman giving evidence about you touching her under her shirt when she was a child?' Jennings replied: 'All I can say is I don't. I am innocent of everything. I never touched her.' She pressed him on whether any other witnesses gave evidence in the trial, saying 'there must have been 'at least two women if not three giving evidence', but he said he couldn't remember, adding that he had 'pushed it out of (his) mind'. Finally, Lady Smith asked him: 'Do you have an explanation as to why she made the allegations against you?' 'Not at all,' Jennings replied. Earlier, the inquiry heard evidence from a former senior staff member referred to as 'Martin', who worked at the independent Starley Hall school in Fife for a number of years. He was given an alias as he was granted anonymity by the inquiry. Martin was asked about 'various allegations' of abusive behaviour that had been made against him by former pupils at Starley Hall, a residential school for children with special educational needs. These included, the inquiry heard, that he kicked and punched a child who had missed a bus home from a school trip, that he pulled a child out of bed by the legs, and that held a child down in a chair by the arms. He denied the allegations, saying he never physically assaulted any child during his time at the school, which had up to 39 pupils at any one time. He also dismissed more general allegations about the school, including that pupils were ever force-fed, or that children who wet the bed were mocked and forced to carry their bedclothes down to the laundry. He also told the inquiry that complaints made about residential schools are sometimes caused by 'misunderstandings'. 'A lot of people wanted to say bad things happened at Starley Hall school,' he said. 'Some people's lives didn't turn out as they wanted to them to, and there's a lot of reasons for that.' He added: 'Some people have been encouraged to make statements and have been in contact with each other and have encouraged each other.' Martin explained this can lead to people changing how they remember events, and that something that was 'dealt with at the time' can come to be described 'much more seriously' 20 years later. He acknowledged this risked sounding 'trite' in front of an inquiry set up to look into allegations of child abuse across Scotland. 'It is not dismissing the fact difficult and wrong things happened,' he said, 'but I do think some of the stories that have come out have come from people talking to each other and encouraging each other.' The witness was also asked about how the school maintained discipline, including its policy on the use of restraint for physically disruptive pupils. He explained that for many years there was no specific standard for restraining pupils, but that this changed when the school had staff trained in the 'management of violence' programme. Developed for dealing with young offenders, the inquiry heard it involved some holds that worked using 'pain control' to restrain pupils, with staff pressing on pupils' pressure points. Martin said it was the 'only course' the school could find, at the time, and the fact it included pain control was one reason why the school changed to a different restraint policy after two years. The inquiry is investigating abuse in residential settings including boarding schools, religious establishments and foster care. The inquiry before Lady Smith continues.
The Independent
09-07-2025
- The Independent
Former children's home employee dismisses abuse claims as ‘absolute nonsense'
A former employee at a Fife children's home has told the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) that allegations of abuse made against him by former residents are 'absolute nonsense'. The inquiry was hearing evidence on Wednesday from a witness known as 'Toby', who worked at Linwood Hall in Leven from 1975 to 1995, initially working for a house parent and later becoming a senior house parent. He was given an alias as he was given anonymity by the inquiry. Toby was asked about allegations made against him in 2001 by a former resident, who claimed Toby had sexually assaulted him while he was a child at the home. He also alleged that Toby had 'dragged' him out of bed in the middle of the night and taken him to the staffroom on two occasions, once as a punishment for disobeying his foster parents. He also alleged that while on a school trip to a beach area near the school he was given 'about three cans' of beer by two members of staff, and that he was drugged and raped. Toby dismissed the allegations as an 'absolute fabrication', and told the inquiry he had 'no idea why he would say all those things'. 'It's absolute nonsense,' he said. 'There is nothing in me that would ever want or dream of wanting to do anything like that towards a child or towards anybody.' He also pointed out a number of problems with the allegations, including that they would have been witnessed by other children or staff who would, he said, have reported them at the time. The former senior house parent also denied the allegation that staff 'made' boys fight one another, but acknowledged that on occasions staff allowed children to have a short fight to get a disagreement out of their systems. 'It was just a couple of young kids trying to sort something out themselves. It was just an opportunity for them to have a wee thump at each other.' he said. The former employee was also asked about David Murphy, another staff member at the home who started at about the same time as Toby, who has since been convicted of abusing children at the facility. Toby told the inquiry he was 'absolutely gutted' and 'disgusted' when he learned of Murphy's wrongdoing, and that he had now 'cut off all contact with him'. When asked whether he was aware of how abuse could have been carried out at the home, he replied: 'I do not really know,' and added that he had 'never heard' about any children who were abused by Murphy. Toby was also asked about his more general experience of the home, which was operated by Fife Council. The former employee said he he had not need any qualifications when he applied for the role in 1975, and did not know whether his referees were contacted. He said that when he started he did not receive any training in his role, and that he was expected to 'pick up' what to do from other staff. He was also critical of training staff received in how to restrain young people, using a method he described as 'more of an assault that a restraint'. He described the technique as involving two members of staff holding a child by each arm, taking a step forward and pulling them to the floor, which he said risked breaking the child's arm. 'It was a based on a restraint method that was developed in the prison sector for dealing with adults,' he explained. 'You cannot change that over and use it for young people.' The inquiry is investigating abuse in residential settings including boarding schools, religious establishments and foster care. The inquiry continues in front of Lady Smith.
