John Major Government ignored files documenting Knowl View abuse

Cyril Smith

The independent inquiry into historic child sex abuse will investigate claims that a minister under John Major’s Government failed to act when presented with files documenting widespread child abuse at a children’s home in Rochdale frequented by the late paedophile MP Cyril Smith.

The claims have emerged from the QC leading an inquiry ordered by Rochdale Council into a cover up of child abuse at Knowl View, the former residential school. The letter sent by Neil Garnham QC confirmed that a dossier containing detailed claims of rape and sexual abuse at Knowl View was sent to the office of Gillian Shephard, the then education secretary, in 1995.

Baroness Shephard has confirmed that her office received the file but insists she knew nothing about it. In an interview with the Guardian she said that the file containing allegations of boys as young as eight being raped at the school had been sent back to Rochdale Council.

“I have checked with the Department for Education. There was correspondence [about Knowl View] in 1995. They can find no evidence that I personally received it nor that I was personally involved in responding to it,” she said. “Everybody has got sympathy with victims in Rochdale. But it really was the responsibility of the council.”

Calling this a significant development in that it acknowledges for the first time that central Government was aware of the allegations of serious child abuse at the school, Rochdale’s MP Simon Danczuk said that ministers should have intervened.

“It’s one of the country’s worst ever child sex scandals and the fact that documents outlining the abuse taking place were sent to a cabinet minister and not acted on is shocking.

“It’s hard to fathom just what government officials were thinking of by sending a dossier about council failings straight back to the council. It’s as though Knowl View was a hot potato that no one wanted to catch and address. They just kept throwing it to someone else in the hope it would go away,” he said.

He also paid tribute to the former head of care at the school and whistleblower, Martin Digan, for his persistence in trying to get people in authority to hold the abusers to account.

“Martin Digan spent almost 20 years trying to get people in authority to listen to him about what had gone on at Knowl View School. He gave up his career because he wanted justice for the boys and only now people are finally listening to him,” he said.