Knowl View abuse report 'suppressed'

Phil Shepherd, a health professional who reported widespread child abuse at Knowl View School in Rochdale has told the BBC he believes his report was "suppressed".

Mr Shepherd visited the school 1991 and says he was told boys as young as eight were working as prostitutes while others had been "forced" to have sex.

In the report, dated March 1991, he wrote: "…parents of children at the school would be horrified were the facts to be known.

"Unless some incisive action is taken soon it is more than likely that this activity will become a public scandal".

He goes on to detail claims that men from as far away as Sheffield were travelling to Rochdale to abuse five boys aged between eight and 13 who were working as prostitutes at public toilets. He wrote at the time that police were "aware of the problem" but "what action has been taken is not known".

A council investigation was requested a month after Mr Shepherd's report. Despite it detailing abuse and prostitution, an investigation was ruled out six weeks later.

Mr Shepherd believes not enough was done to help the children.

Two other reports were written about Knowl View in the early 1990s. They were commissioned by Rochdale Council and, like Mr Shepherd's report, detailed the abuse of boys.

Martin Digan was a social worker at Knowl View and also believes all three reports were ignored; that parents were never told what had happened to their boys.

"It's a complete cover-up by Rochdale Council. Not one parent has seen a report; not one of the children has seen a report."

MP for Rochdale, Simon Danczuk was interviewed by Annabel Tiffin for BBC North West Tonight outside Rochdale Town Hall and asked about the extent of Council Leader elect, Councillor Richard Farnell's knowledge of the reports as he was the leader of the Council at the time the reports were produced.

Mr Danczuk said Councillor Farnell had assured him that he knew nothing of the abuse at Knowl View. Mr Danczuk suggested that Councillor Farnell was being smeared for political purposes and that the focus should be on the victims.

Councillor Farnell is understood to have spoken to the BBC and categorically denied ever seeing any reports connected to the allegations.