Thousands of abuse victims to get justice as case deadline lifted

Published on Monday 18 February 2008 21:00

THE floodgates are set to open within weeks for compensation awards to thousands of abuse victims, with a legal ruling which will overturn a ban on historical claims.

A lawyer representing about 1,000 victims of historic abuse in children's homes in Scotland has told The Scotsman he "fully expects" a "time-bar" rule to be swept aside following a House of Lords ruling last month.

Under Scots law, personal- injuries claims can only be lodged within three years of the incident occurring. When the victims are children, claims must be made within three years of their 16th birthday.

Last year, appeal judges ruled three former residents of Nazareth House in Glasgow could not pursue their actions because the alleged abuse, which occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, happened too long ago. The judgment shattered the hopes of hundreds of victims who have waited for years to have their day in court.

But those hopes have now been revived by a law lords' ruling last month involving the "Lotto rapist" Iorworth Hoare. The House of Lords ruled that a woman whose life was ruined following an attempted rape by Hoare now has the right to pursue a damages claim against him, despite the time limit.

Cameron Fyfe, who said that on his books he has 1,000 former children's home residents claiming abuse, added he expects the time bar north of the Border to be overturned at the Court of Session next month.

Judges will decide whether an action raised by Catherine Glen, a former pupil of Kerelaw school in Ayrshire who is seeking 35,000 in damages from Glasgow City Council, can go ahead – despite the alleged abuse taking place more than a decade ago.

Mr Fyfe said: "This will be the first time a Scottish court has been asked to rule on a historic abuse case since the Lords judgment. The implications for victims of abuse in Scotland will be huge if we are successful.

"It is not automatic that the ruling will apply in Scotland, but the law in England and Scotland is very similar so we fully expect the courts will follow the lead.

"The House of Lords is a higher authority than the Court of Session, and we already have appeals lodged on the Nazareth House cases so I believe the timebar will be removed."

Mr Fyfe said only one of the cases he is handling currently overcomes the time-bar hurdle. "There will be many more cases to follow if we succeed next month," he said. They include 28 former pupils of Kerelaw, each seeking between 30,000 and 40,000 damages.

A three-year investigation into the residential unit claimed to have uncovered about 40 alleged abusers among staff. Investigators also warned more workers knew of the abuse, but did nothing about it.

About 400 former residents of Nazareth House schools in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh are also ready to launch compensation claims, along with another 200 people who attended schools run by monks from the Catholic order De La Salle, and former residents of Quarriers Homes in Bridge of Weir.

If all the cases were proved in court, the total damages bill would hit 20 million.

Some of the pursuers have already received thousands of pounds in government-funded criminal-injuries compensation, but Mr Fyfe said money was not their objective.

"They want the authorities to admit guilt for what happened to them. For most of them, it's not about the money," he said.

Last night Margaret Smith, the Lib Dem justice spokeswoman, said she would "very much welcome" the time restriction being lifted for historic abuse cases.

"The time-bar in cases like these does seem to be particularly unfair.

"If we are really serious about making sure these people get justice, this is exactly the sort of move that needs to be made."

ROBBED OF CHILDHOOD

LOOKING back on her three years at Kerelaw school, Catherine Glen, 29, only feels pain.

"They were supposed to be caring for us, but they robbed us of our childhood," she says.

It began when Ms Glen was 14. There were random acts of violence, psychological torture and sexual abuse.

Two of the main offenders were art teacher Matt George and residential care worker John Muldoon, who were jailed for their crimes.

She came forward after she was told police were investigating abuse claims in 2001.

Ms Glen's lawyers are pursuing a 35,000 compensation claim, but all she wants is for the full truth to come out. "To the people who say the staff are innocent, I say 'listen to my story'. Then tell me whether you believe they are innocent."