UK Government apologises to child migrants

The Prime Minister has apologised to child migrants sent from the UK to former colonies. Many suffered physical and emotional abuse. He has also announced a fund to reunite families torn apart. Gordon Brown described the Child Migrant Programme as “misguided” and said that he was “truly sorry.” The Australian government made a similar apology in 2009.  

Whilst the Child Migrant Trust described the significance of the apology as immense and the suffering of children sent overseas is indeed tragic, one should not forget that child abuse within the United Kingdom has long been an issue. The following are examples.

• Disturbances at the Carlton Approved School on 29 and 30 August 1959 (Report of Inquiry by Mr Victor Durand QC January 1960, Cmnd.937) – this inquiry was set up to investigate Carlton Approved School after a series of incidents involving staff and pupils. It is a helpful summary of the practice in approved schools at the time.  
• Administration of Punishment at Court Lees Approved School (Report of Inquiry by Brian Gibbens QC, August 1967, Cmnd. 3367) – again this is an investigation into the use of corporal punishment at approved schools.  
• Report of the Committee of Inquiry into the Care and Supervision provided in relation to Maria Colwell (DHSS) 1974 
• Report into Child Abuse in Cleveland 1987 (Cm 412 London, HMSO, 1988) – this examined the arrangements for dealing with suspected cases of child abuse in Cleveland and to make recommendations.  
• The Inquiry into the Removal of Children from Orkney in February 1991 (London, HMSO, 1992) – this involved the actions taken by social services in relation to children in Orkneys arising out of abuse allegations.   
• The Pindown Experience and the Protection of Children : The Report of the Staffordshire Child Care Inquiry (Staffordshire County Council, 1991) – this was an investigation into children’s homes in Staffordshire.  
• The Leicestershire Inquiry 1992, Leicestershire Social Services 1993 - this inquiry examined the activities of Frank Beck, convicted of child abuse in a Leicestershire Children’s Home. Various Claimants v Leicestershire County Council (Potts J  2 April 1996, unreported) was the civil case that came out of this inquiry  
• Report of the Inquiry into the Management of Child Care in the London Borough of Islington, 1995 – this inquiry centred on allegations of staff misconduct and in appropriate treatment of children and young people in the case of Islington Council.  
• “People Like Us” – The Report of the Review of the Safeguards for Children Living Away from Home – Sir William Utting – the Department of Health and the Welsh Office (HMSO, 1997) 
• Report of the Tribunal of Inquiry into the Abuse of Children in Care in the Former County Council Areas of Gwynedd and Clwyd since 1974 (February 2000 HC 201) – this investigated the abuse of children in North Wales and covered the period 1974 to 1990.  

Local authority reports into individual cases  

• Jasmine Beckford, London Borough of Brent and Brent Health Authority, published December 1985
• Kimberley Carlile, London Borough of Greenwich and Greenwich Health Authority, published December 1987
• Tyra Henry – London Borough of Lambeth, published 1987
• The Victoria Climbié Inquiry – Report of an Inquiry by Lord Laming – January 2003 – www.victoria-climbie-inquiry.org.uk. 

 There is also the issue of compensation. Apologies are important but they do not necessarily lead to compensation. Any former child migrants making claims would probaly have to bring them in the jurisdictions where the abuse occurred, and there would huge limitation problems. As for the actual  decision to send these children overseas, it would very difficult to challenge that so long after the event. The Irish government dealt with the problem of historic child abuse by setting up a compensation fund, which is understood to have been relatively successful.  Here in the UK, the law does allow claims to be made many years after the event, but only in certain circumstances. See the case of A v Hoare 2008.

See BBC News