Results from Freedom of Information Request to West London Mental Health Trust

"... at this stage it must be asked as to why the Trust is unable to state for sure whether it did have such records and what happened to them." - Jan Cosgrove, FPFC

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(LONDON) - Jan Cosgrove, National Secretary of Fair Play for Children, submitted a Freedom of Information Request to the above Trust:

Concerning the access of Jimmy Savile to children and vulnerable adults at Broadmoor Hospital, what checks, including criminal records checks, were carried out on him by your authority or its predecessors during his long association with the hospital?

Are volunteers screened before working at this hospital if they are to have access to these groups?

What responsibilities exist for reporting alleged/suspected abuse?

Were there ever any such reports regarding Jimmy Savile?

The response has led to a series of follow-up letters. In its replies, the Trust has stated that Savile operated within Broadmoor Hospital prior to the introduction of CRBs in early 2002. When asked had checks been done prior to that time, the Trust replied that they would have been. But it has emerged that such records have not been kept by the Trust, and that itb is 'assumed' any such had been destroyed.

Jan Cosgrove: "This enquiry is ongoing - however, at this stage it must be asked as to why the Trust is unable to state for sure whether it did have such records and what happened to them."

The details of the exchange can be read here:
http://www.fairplayforchildren.org/index.php?page=HTML_News&story_id=19221

Fair Play is seeking an Independent Public Inquiry into Institutional Child Abuse in the UK