Abuse Survivors Call for Judge’s Removal from Scottish Inquiry

Individuals who experienced abuse at private educational institutions and provided testimony have appealed to the first minister to remove the judge overseeing the investigation. Lady Smith, the chair of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI), faces allegations of exhibiting “thinly veiled favouritism” toward independent schools. A letter, signed by 28 former students, specifically requests John Swinney to relieve her of her duties. A spokesperson for the inquiry stated that characterizing its work as biased would be “incorrect,” while a separate collective of advocates cautioned that Lady Smith’s removal would be “devastating.” The inquiry has been examining instances of child abuse in care settings for eight years. Public bodies involved have expended a total of £24.9m, based on information provided to BBC Scotland through freedom of information legislation. The Scottish government has allocated £1.9m to the inquiry since July 2016 for Lady Smith’s remuneration as its chairwoman. Previous students from Loretto, Fettes, Queen Victoria School in Dunblane (QVS), and Edinburgh Academy have now requested the first minister’s intervention. They assert that Lady Smith has demonstrated “thinly-veiled favouritism” toward these schools and their leadership, in contrast to a perceived absence of empathy for management within orphanages and religious organizations. The correspondence indicated that Lady Smith had been “very sympathetic towards former headmasters,” and the authors expressed being “astonished” upon discovering her past service on the board of governors at St George’s School for Girls in Edinburgh, a position she vacated in 2011. “The case studies on orphanages and religious institutions are gruesome and damning,” the letter stated. “There is no attempt to emphasise how things have improved in these environments.” It further noted: “There is none of the sympathy towards management that runs through the private school reports.” The letter additionally expressed concern that Lady Smith and lead counsel Andrew Brown KC had “caused considerable distress to whistle-blowers and survivors.” It highlighted that rather than exonerating whistle-blower David Stock, she characterized him in the Loretto School report as “uncompromising and antagonistic.” Mr. Stock, a former English teacher and one of the letter’s signatories, was the initial individual to reveal the prevalence of violence and sexual abuse at Loretto, having personally endured abuse during his childhood. The correspondence also indicated that Glenn Harrison, the teacher at QVS in Dunblane who initially reported abuse, was labeled “paranoid” and “not competent.” “This has been going on for a few years,” the letter stated. “We have complained many times in writing, and we have received unsatisfactory replies.” It further asserted: “For the chair of an inquiry into abuse to treat witnesses so unkindly is wholly unacceptable.” Giles Moffatt, the primary signatory of the letter and co-founder of Edinburgh Academy Survivors, indicated that they have harbored reservations regarding the inquiry’s impartiality since the Loretto School report’s release last year. “Every time we have been critical we have been told they are right and we are wrong,” he informed BBC Scotland, concluding that seeking assistance from the first minister now represents their “only option.” A spokesperson for the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry informed BBC Scotland that Lady Smith possesses a “legal duty to be fair” and evaluates all evidence “rather than focusing only on parts of that evidence.” “It is incorrect to suggest that the work of the inquiry or its findings are biased,” the spokesperson stated. “All her case study findings are based on the wide range of evidence heard from witnesses and from documentary sources.“In addition to findings published in relation to Loretto and Queen Victoria School, which contained significant criticism of the school hierarchy, as well as a recognition of sexual, physical and emotional abuse, several other boarding schools have been found to have been establishments where abuse thrived unchecked by those in senior leadership positions.” These institutions encompass Gordonstoun, Morrison’s Academy, the Benedictine school Carlekemp and Fort Augustus Abbey, St Joseph’s and St Columba’s, which were run by the Marist Brothers, and St Ninian’s, the Christian Brothers’ school located in Fife. The organization In Care Abuse Survivors (Incas), which advocated for 12 years for an investigation into child abuse within state care, commented that the concerns brought forward “highlight the complexity of the inquiry.” Helen Holland, a spokeswoman for Incas, noted that although the cases were distressing, the complete findings would remain unpublished until all care facilities had undergone investigation. She informed BBC Scotland News: “It would be devastating for the hundreds of survivors who have participated in this inquiry and have spoken of their positive experiences of being believed and treated with empathy, dignity and respect by the full SCAI team, for Lady Smith to be asked to step down as chair.” Ms. Holland remarked that Lady Smith holds “one of the most difficult posts in Scotland today.” She further stated: “Fee paying schools, I believe, would have been better investigated outwith an inquiry set up to investigate institutions for children whom the state had full parental control over.” Simon Collins, an Incas lawyer, affirmed that its legal team would “resist any suggestion that Lady Smith should step down.” “Without seeking to detract from the concerns raised by those who have written to John Swinney, their experience is not that of the hundreds of survivors that we represent,” he commented. Mr. Collins also mentioned that Incas does not represent any survivors from the independent schools referenced in the letter. He expressed: “I would hope that survivors who are considering engaging with the inquiry are not discouraged from doing so as a result of the views expressed in the letter.” Lady Smith has not yet released her case study findings concerning Edinburgh Academy, Keil, Merchiston Castle, and Fettes. Loretto, Fettes, QVS, and Edinburgh Academy have extended apologies for past abuse within their institutions. A spokesperson for the Scottish government stated: “The letter has been received and a response will issue in due course.”