Edinburgh's secure accommodation scandal: Nicola Sturgeon urged to intervene

Nicola Sturgeon has been urged to intervene in the scandal over the physical and mental abuse of children in Edinburgh’s secure accommodation.

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Lothian Tory MSP Sue Webber said she was dismayed at the “dismissive” response from SNP council leader Adam McVey and his behaviour in “shutting down” concerns from Conservative councillors at a recent meeting and his claim the Tories are bullying council chief executive Andrew Kerr.

And she said the situation was so serious it required direct action from the First Minister.

She said Cllr McVey’s attitude was “doing nothing to help protect vulnerable children and guarantee this culture has been stamped out once and for all”.

An investigation, prompted by a whistleblower alert, found “illegality, maladministration and injustice” in the running of the city’s secure accommodation. And a report by the council’s monitoring officer highlighted inappropriate restraint, assaults on young people, children being isolated and a toxic management culture. It referred to children with bruised faces and children with burn marks after restraint.

The report was discussed in private at a committee meeting but when it came to full council councillors voted against debating it because it was past the 5pm cut-off time. When Tory councillors tried to raise the issue at another meeting Cllr McVey muted their microphones.

Last week, Holly Hamilton, now 31, who was sexually abused as a teenager at St Katharine’s secure unit, told the Evening News about her experiences and said many of the issues identified by the latest investigation were the same as those highlighted in the report on her case 15 years ago.

The investigation into the secure accommodation was prompted by a whistleblower alert.

Sue Webber said Ms Hamilton’s “harrowing” testimony should be a lesson to everyone and claimed failing to extend the council meeting beyond 5pm so the report could be debated was a “dereliction of duty” to survivors like Ms Hamilton.

She said: “This report laid bare some serious failings to protect vulnerable children. The lessons must be learnt and those grave errors never repeated again.

“However, it appears Edinburgh City Council, including the leader and the chief executive, are in no mood to listen. They have been dismissive and want to shut down debate rather than tackle these issues head on.

“It was quite frankly appalling that the leader of the council muted other members’ microphones and refused to extend the time of the debate beyond 5pm. That shows he isn’t up to this challenge, which is why Nicola Sturgeon must step in.

“She has a duty to ensure our capital is capable of looking after its most vulnerable children. If we cannot do that as a society, we are failing. The SNP have vowed to Keep the Promise over supporting those children with care experience, but progress has been painfully slow.

“I applaud survivors like Holly Hamilton for bravely coming forward and detailing their testimony of abuse. Stories like Holly’s should be what everyone is focusing on here, yet we have a council leader more interested in shutting down opponents.

“This unacceptable response demands the attention of the First Minister who must intervene in this scandal.”

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