A Midland MP has launched a petition calling on the Prime Minister to “make amends for historic failures” by establishing a national inquiry into allegations of organised child sex abuse.
Tom Watson, Labour MP for West Bromwich East, stated “many survivors of child abuse believe they have been let down by the system of child protection in the UK”.
The petition’s launch followed the Home Office’s disclosure that 100 official files relating to historic abuse allegations had gone missing.
Mark Sedwill, permanent secretary to the Home Office, said the files relating to a 20-year period between 1979 and 1999 were “presumed destroyed, missing or not found”.
In a letter to Prime Minister David Cameron, he also said he was appointing a senior legal figure to review how the Home Office dealt with a dossier alleging paedophile activity at Westminster in the 1980s.
Launching the petition today, Mr Watson said: “Many survivors of child abuse believe they have been let down by system of child protection in the UK.
“Thousands had nowhere to turn.
“Nobody listened and nobody helped.
“The missing Home Office files and the failure of previous police and local authority inquiries has meant that MPs from all the political parties have supported calls for an overarching national inquiry.
“Government should make amends for historic failures to act by establishing an independent national inquiry into organised child abuse.
“We owe it to the survivors – they expect nothing less.”
Sign: https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/david-cameron-and-theresa-may-establish-a-national-inquiry-into-allegations-of-organised-child-abuse