Edinburgh council to target 'old boys' network' which protected serial abuser Sean Bell

Council chiefs want to identify members of an "old boys’ network" blamed for protecting former senior social worker Sean Bell from multiple allegations of sexual abuse involving a number of victims over three decades.
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The independent inquiry led by top QC Susanne Tanner into the council's handling of the allegations found senior officials failed to act when they were told of the claims.

And several witnesses told the inquiry they believed Mr Bell was part of an old boy's network whose members looked after their own.

Susanne Tanner QCSusanne Tanner QC
Susanne Tanner QC
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Now the council has agreed to ask the inquiry team for details of those described as being part of the network so it can look at any disciplinary issues or complaints they handled.

And Ms Tanner has indicated she is happy to help.

Mr Bell was found dead at the foot of Salisbury Crags in August 2020 while he was awaiting trial on charges of historic sexual assault, domestic abuse and rape.

A meeting of the full council unanimously agreed to apologise to victims of his abuse and accept the inquiry's recommendations in full, including:

Alistair GawAlistair Gaw
Alistair Gaw

- an independent unit of trained investigators to look into all allegations against council employees of a sexual nature, domestic abuse, physical violence, harassment or stalking

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- mandatory training for all line managers on domestic abuse and coercive control

- a redress scheme to compensate those who abused by Sean Bell

Council leader Adam McVey said the failures in dealing with the allegations went back 25 years. “Our job when presented with circumstance like this is to take actions which give us the maximum level of assurance we can get that this can never happen again.”

Depute leader Cammy Day said senior officers had failed to follow correct procedures which could have stopped “the horrific violence and sexual assaults of a man whom I hope rots in hell”.

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And education vice-convener Alison Dickie said the inquiry report must not be seen as a full stop but a fresh beginning.

She said: “I think survivors need a sense of hope from us, especially as they may have relived their trauma to show us what needs to change.”

And she quoted words from the report – “old boys’ network – untouchable – protected – investigating each other – victims not being believed – intimidated – safer to stay silent”.

She said: “These are all familiar words because they have been shared by a good number of individuals who have come to me in desperation for help, some having felt forced to leave the jobs they love or enduring every day with deep anxiety. Even this week three people came to me.

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“This open and transparent airing of these issues is one healthy step forward, as is embracing recommendations which seek to create an environment in which nobody feels intimidated, discredited or fearful for raising concerns and complaints about abuse and where we move away from networks investigating and protecting each other.

“If we are to prevent further behaviour and systems failures it starts with being open to the possibility there are other survivors out there who may now come forward, and possibly with other old boy network names too, and we must not do anything to shut this down.”

Ms Tanner told the meeting the inquiry team understands those identified by witnesses as being part of the old boys’ network within the children and families department are no longer employed by the council.

"The evidence was that a number of men who had started at the council at around the same time and progressed through the ranks looked out for on another."

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She said she was willing to have a discussion to provide the names so other investigations carried out by them could be looked into.

And she said her separate review of the wider organisational culture of the council would look at the question of any other networks elsewhere in the organisation.

But she told meeting: “As the years and decades have moved on, society has changed and one would hope an old boys' network of this type wouldn't be able to begin and permeate itself into a department in the way I have heard in this case and if it was I would hope it was called out.”

The inquiry report criticised two former senior officers, former education director Alistair Gaw and Andy Jeffries, a senior manager in the children and families department, for “dereliction of duty” in failing to act appropriately after being presented with allegation against Sean Bell.

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But Mr Gaw resigned last year and Mr Jeffries quit in August after being shown the inquiry’s draft report.

The council agreed to ask for a briefing by chief executive Andrew Kerr on the circumstances of their departure and information on the ability of the council to continue disciplinary processes after an employee has resigned.

Councillor shouted at female team member

The QC who led the Sean Bell inquiry told the council it will be getting a letter highlighting the behaviour of an unnamed councillor who shouted at a junior female member of the inquiry team.

Susanne Tanner said 34 out of the 63 councillors took the opportunity to visit the offices of law firm Pinsent Masons to read the full report which has been kept confidential to protect the identities of certain survivors.

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But she said: “There were complaints around the timing of sessions when you were invited to come in and read the report.

“Those complaints were clearly personal to councillors rather than thinking about the interests of survivors or the overall process of the inquiry because they involved such things as recess, half term holidays etc.

“We accommodated every single councillor who said they wanted to come and read the report, we put on extra sessions, we offered evening sessions, we had sessions into the following week.

“Perhaps the request could have been put to my team in a different way, if I can put it like that.”

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And she said during the reading sessions there had been “excessive questions” from some councillors.

“I hope I and my team did our best to answer all the questions put to us.

“Again some of them might have been put in a different way or with a different tone, but that's a matter for you and how you conduct yourself as professionals.”

She continued: “There was only one councillor who I believe, although I was not present, crossed the line of what I would consider acceptable behaviour in a professional context in terms of shouting at a junior female member of the inquiry team and a letter is being sent about that separately."

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Depute council leader Cammy Day said he was “appalled” to hear of such behaviour by an elected member.

And Labour backbencher Scott Arthur said: "I hope your letter generates a prompt apology."

Sue Bruce ‘did not see abuse dossier’

Former city chief executive Dame Sue Bruce has told the Sean Bell inquiry she was never shown a dossier of allegations against the former social worker.

The inquiry report said in 2011 a dossier of allegations had been widely circulated and one witness had suggested it had even been seen by the chief executive at the time.

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However Susanne Tanner QC, who led the inquiry, said they had contacted Dame Sue. "Her position is quite categorical that she has never had sight of the document prior to it being provided to her by the inquiry team."

Ms Tanner told the council the inquiry had spoken to the author of the dossier which included an allegation that Sean Bell had committed abuse against another employee and also allegations in relation to misuse of public funds.

“The document was disseminated on an anonymous basis by the old fashioned method of putting it in people's pigeonholes. The person disseminating the dossier did not keep a list of who it was given to, there was no way for us to verify exactly who had received a copy.

“It did lead to two fair treatment at work investigations and a public interest disclosure investigation in relation to the misuse of funds, Unfortunately it did not lead to appropriate action on the abuse of an individual.”

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Tory councillor Andrew Johnston asked why the inquiry had not interviewed other chief executives who were in charge of the council during the period of the allegations from the 1990s to the present.

Ms Tanner said there had been no suggestion the issues had been escalated to a level above Mr Gaw and that was why criticism had been levelled at him.

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