Urgent call for answers over children failed in Glasgow abuse gang case

"We must have some answers now" on how authorities failed three children subjected to horrific abuse, a Scottish minister has been told.

The children, all under the age of 13, suffered sexual abuse, violence and neglect at the hands of an adult gang between 2012 and 2019.

The youngsters were known to social work and had been deemed to be at-risk in 2018.

However, the offences against them – including rape, attempted murder and assault – only came to light two years later after an adult known to them saw signs of distress and spoke to the children.

On Monday the perpetrators – Iain Owens, 46; Elaine Lannery, 40; Lesley Williams, 43; Paul Brannan, 42; Scott Forbes, 51; Barry Watson, 48, and John Clark, 49 – were jailed at the High Court in Glasgow for terms of between eight and 20 years and given orders for lifelong restriction.

An independently-led case learning review will look into why the children's ordeals were missed by authorities.

The lead for that process has yet to be appointed and it is not known how long the review, organised by the Glasgow Child Protection Committee, will take.

In the Scottish Parliament today, MSPs called for urgent action by the Scottish Government. Glasgow Labour MSP Pauline McNeill told children's minister Natalie Don-Innes: "We must have some answers now and not in a year's time, and perhaps you could clarify the timescale. 

"How was it possible for those who were protecting those children, 13 years of age and under, how could they have missed the signs of deep levels of abuse in a flat where there were children screaming, and there were comings and goings?

"Surely the minister is not satisfied simply to leave it to a case-led review to give us some answers to that key question? I ask the minister if anything could be done to give some preliminary answers now, because if we are expected to wait longer than this then I don't really see how the minister can say that she's satisfied that all Scotland's children can be, in fact, or are, in fact, protected."

McNeill's query followed an urgent question on the case by Alba MSP Ash Regan, a former community safety minister.

Regan said the case "reeks of institutional failures": "These children were on the child protection register, yet they were failed. These children were known to agencies with a duty of care to protect them, yet they were failed. These children were chronically absent from school, yet they were failed. And these children showed blatant signs of neglect, yet they were failed. The Scottish Government has presided over this catastrophic failure at every single level. Minister, are the children of Scotland safe?"

Regan said "a child's background, a child's behaviour and a child's perceived social status must never impact on how they are protected in a civilised society" and "fear of creating offence must never overshadow the instinct and the duty to protect children".

Don-Innes said the case "absolutely horrifies" her and "there is no getting away from the fact that these children were failed". 

She told the chamber: "Keeping children safe is our utmost priority. The news from yesterday's trial is horrific and my thoughts are with the children who have suffered such abhorrent abuse. No sentence can take away their suffering. However, the perpetrators have only been brought to justice because of the bravery of their victims coming forward. 

"All of us are understandably shocked when we hear about such terrible crimes and I welcome the news that an independently-led case learning review is under way, in line with national guidance to ensure that child protection in Scotland is as robust as it can be, and that all learning is acted upon."

The news comes after the UK Government announced it will make the non-reporting of abuses against children and young people a criminal offence.

The Scottish Government has said professions here are already obliged to report concerns. 

A taskforce on child abuse and exploitation has been established to examine what more can be done to improve safeguarding. However, it is not known if mandatory reporting will be included in its terms of reference.