Kincora Boys" Home Will Not Be Included in UK Child Abuse Inquiry, Says Theresa Villiers

By Claire Cromie
Belfast Telegraph
October 21, 2014

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/kincora-boys-home-will-not-be-included-in-uk-child-abuse-inquiry-says-theresa-villiers-30680993.html

Kincora Boys' Home

Kincora Boys' Home abuse allegations will not be included in the new UK-wide inquiry into child sex abuse.

Secretary of State Theresa Villiers has said the best way to address the claims was for them to be examined by Sir Anthony Hart’s Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry in Northern Ireland.

DUP, UUP, Sinn Fein, SDLP and Alliance politicians have all called for the east Belfast case to be part of the Home Office probe chaired by Fiona Woolf.

First Minister Peter Robinson said it was a "national scandal" with questions that needed to be answered about an alleged cover-up.

The UK inquiry will consider whether, and to what extent, public bodies and other institutions fulfilled their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse.

But this morning Ms Villiers said Sir Anthony’s inquiry is the "best placed body" to look at Kincora.

"All government departments and agencies who receive a request for information or documents from the Inquiry will co-operate to the utmost of their ability in determining what material they hold that might be relevant," she said.

Alliance MP Naomi Long said this vow “totally missed the point” and was a let down for the victims and survivors of Kincora.

“Kincora is under the spotlight not just for allegations of abuse but also claims that security services participated in blackmail and cover-ups around it," she said.

"While the Secretary of State is correct in saying the welfare of children is a devolved matter to Northern Ireland, the security services are not.

"The Home Office inquiry has dragged its feet for months now in not responding to my calls for Kincora to be included in it and this is just the latest disappointment.

“If Kincora is not to be included in the Home Office inquiry, I would call for a separate, independent inquiry with statutory powers to be established and Kincora to be included in it. That now appears to be the only way the victims and survivors of the home will gain the justice they deserve.”

More to follow...