Theresa May pledges support for Waterhouse inquiry investigation into care home child abuse

THE Home Secretary will update MPs today on plans to “look very carefully” into the police’s treatment of historic allegations of child abuse in North Wales.

• Theresa May is due to brief MPs today on the progress of investigations into allegations of child abuse at a north Wales care home

• Original inquiry, conducted by Sir Ronald Waterhouse, was criticised for revealing only a fraction of the scale of allegations

• Steve Messham, one of the victims of abuse at Bryn Estyn children’s home, says he was “sold” for sex, adding senior Tory politician was among those involved

Amid claims that a senior Tory was involved in the care homes abuse scandal, Theresa May said the Government needed to ensure everything had been “done properly” to get to the bottom of the original allegations.

Prime Minister David Cameron has already announced an investigation into whether an official inquiry which reported in 2000 was adequate.

Mrs May, who will be making a statement to the Commons this afternoon, said that North Wales police would also be given “support” to consider the original police investigation into the claims, which date back to the 1970s and 1980s.

“Given the nature of these concerns, given the background, given the appalling nature of child abuse, we need to look very carefully to make sure that what was done in the past did indeed cover everything it needed to do, and was done properly,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“I will obviously be making a statement in the House today about how support will be able to be given to North Wales Police in terms of looking at the police investigation.”

The moves come after one of the victims came forward to say the Waterhouse Inquiry into abuse at the Bryn Estyn children’s home, which reported in 2000, looked at only a fraction of the allegations.

In an interview with BBC2’s Newsnight on Friday, Steve Messham criticised the way Sir Ronald Waterhouse conducted his inquiry, arguing the terms of reference meant he was not able to raise the issue of abuse outside the care system.

He said he was taken out of Bryn Estyn and “sold” to men for sexual abuse at a nearby hotel and that a senior Tory from the time, who was not named by the programme, was among the perpetrators.