Child abuse inquiry must look at migrants programme, says Gordon Brown

An inquiry into historic abuse must consider the 200 Scottish youngsters who were amongst the thousands of child migrants abused after being sent to Australia and other Commonwealth nations, Gordon Brown has said.

The former PM said that in some cases, “abuse was piled upon abuse” for those involved in the Child Migrants Programme, which ran from the 1920s to the 1960s.

It saw poor children sent to a ”better life” in Australia and elsewhere, but many of them were physically, emotionally or sexually abused.

Mr Brown said: “Approximate 200 Scots boys and girls were child migrants. The separate Scottish inquiry into sexual exploitation, chaired by Rt Hon Lady Smith, should make this a subject of their investigations.”

The former PM, who formally apologised in 2010 for the UK’s role in sending thousands of its children to former colonies, also wants the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in England and Wales to “examine in detail” claims from survivors that they were sexually abused, after these emerged in evidence given to the Royal Commission in Australia.

He said: “Separating the child migrants forever from families without any choice in the matter was an inhumane violation of these children’s rights.

“But then for governments of the day to know of abuse and yet to continue the policy for another decade-and-a-half was criminal negligence of the most vulnerable children who had been entrusted to their care.”

Some youngsters suffered “shocking” abuse, he said, adding: “That such abuse was allowed to happen and remain undetected was unforgivable.”

He continued: “Perhaps most insidious of all, we now know some church and charity leaders came from Australia to Britain to handpick British boys for their own gratification through systematic molestation.

“In some cases, that molestation and rape started within a few hours of them setting out on their long journey to Australia.”

Mr Brown issued a statement on abuse almost seven years after making an apology in the House of Commons for the “misguided” Child Migrants Programme, which he said had “ruined” the lives of many.

An estimated 150,000 poor youngsters aged three to 14 were sent to Commonwealth countries such as Australia and Canada, but many ended up being abused in foster homes, state-run orphanages and religious institutions.

Children were often told their parents were dead, while parents were given very little information about where their offspring were going.

Survivors said that on arrival, they were separated from brothers and sisters and often subjected to brutal physical and sexual abuse by those who were meant to be caring for them.

Education Secretary John Swinney has previously rejected calls for the remit of Scotland’s historic abuse inquiry to be expanded.

The inquiry was set up to examine allegations of abuse from youngsters placed in children’s homes and foster care, as well as those cared for by faith-based organisations or in long-term hospital care and boarding schools.

But while some abuse survivors have called for the terms to be expanded, Mr Swinney said such a move would mean the inquiry would take ”many more years to conclude”.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The Child Abuse Inquiry’s remit covers children whose care was arranged in Scotland and who were subsequently sent abroad as part of these arrangements, whether the abuse took place in Scotland or overseas.

“Our In Care Survivor Support Fund is also working with a number of survivors living outside Scotland to address their needs.”

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