Wales Child Abuse Scandal - Jillings Report

Jillings Report

There were then allegations that members of the police force had themselves colluded in covering up allegations. In March 1994 Clwyd County Council commissioned a further inquiry, the Jillings Report, undertaken by a panel headed by John Jillings, a former director of social services with Derbyshire County Council. The panel of Jillings, Professor Jane Tunstall and Gerrilyn Smith met with considerable opposition:

• The then newly appointed North Wales chief constable refused to meet them or help with access to the police major-incident database. This resulted in the need to collect 70 duplicate and additional witness statements, obtained by local councillors and MPs, who included Ann Clwyd the MP for Cynon Valley since 1984.
• 130 boxes of material handed over by the council to the police were not made available to the panel.
• The council did not allow the inquiry to place a notice in the local press seeking information. "This was considered to be unacceptable to the insurers", says the final report.

The Jillings Report stated that allegations involving famous names and paedophile rings were beyond its remit, and something best addressed at a potential later public inquiry. It found a child care system in which physical and sexual violence were common, from beatings and bullying, to indecent assault and rape. Children who complained of abuse were not believed, or were punished for making false allegations. The report stated that the number of children who were abused is not clear, but estimates range up to 200; in the early 1990s, around 150 had sought compensation. At least 12 former residents were found to have died from unnatural causes. The report states that some staff linked to abuse may have been allowed to resign or retire early. The report concludes that its panel members had considered quitting before publication, due to: "...the considerable constraints placed upon us." The final report's appendices included limited copies of the key witness statements taken by North Wales Police during their earlier investigation.

The final report was not published because of concerns over libel, and legal advice and concerns from the council's insurers, Municipal Mutual Insurance, which warned that the report would encourage court cases and compensation claims. The report also states that Municipal Mutual suggested that the then chair of the council's social services committee, Malcolm King, be sacked if he spoke out. In November 2012, King commented:

It was assumed until November 2012 that all publicly held copies of the Jillings Report had been destroyed, and hence it could not be published. In light of the re-emergence of the scandal that month, one of the few legally held remaining copies was sent to the Children's Commissioner for Wales, Keith Towler.

In November 2012, Anne Clwyd MP called for the legal archive copy of the report to be published, claiming that she was shown a copy in 1994: "I would say please get the Jillings report published because it shows... rape, bestiality, violent assaults and torture, and the effects on those young boys at that time cannot be under-estimated." BBC Wales subsequently spoke to Jillings about Ms Clwyd's claim of bestiality, but Jillings said his report did not unearth any such claims. Jillings also commented that public figures were not among names given by victims, and that: "The people the investigation focussed on, because these were the people that the children spoke to us about, were staff members." Jillings commented to other media:

In November 2012 Flintshire County Council uncovered a copy of the Jillings Report in their archive. The six north Wales councils are now taking legal advice about whether it can be made available under Freedom of Information legislation.