I was victim of sex abuse as child says MP Galloway

Published on Monday 20 July 2009 01:29

GEORGE Galloway said he was the victim of child abuse today, as he gave his backing to a new government vetting system for those working with youngsters.

The Respect MP said he suffered abuse at the hands of a janitor when he was 11. Mr Galloway made the revelations in his regular column in a daily newspaper.

He said every person whose work brings them into regular contact with children should be proven fit to do so.

The member for Bethnal Green and Bow said: "Every time a Soham murderer or a Dunblane Thomas Hamilton emerges, I die a little inside as I remember that dirty old man driven by the same perverted interest in sexually attacking kids.

"I told no-one, not even my wives, of what happened to me.

"All I feel is ashamed, though I was the child victim and he the aggressive predator."

A scheme to vet everyone who wants to work or volunteer with children will begin in October.

The Independent Safeguarding Authority will carry out the checks in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on behalf of the Home Office.

The checks are being introduced after the murders of schoolgirls Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells by school caretaker Ian Huntley in 2002. Several children's authors have spoken out against the new system.

Writer Michael Morpurgo said he will no longer make school visits when it is brought in, describing it as a "step too far".

But Mr Galloway said it will be worth it if it spares just one child the "horrors" of sexual abuse.

"Trust me", he said, "I know".