James O'Brien's instant reaction to Westminster child sex abuse report
25 February 2020, 13:50
This was James O'Brien's instant reaction to a damning independent report which found senior figures at the highest level of government spent decades turning "a blind eye" to claims of child sex abuse.
"I wonder whether now is a moment to ask whether not being believed is almost as bad as being abused in the first place. And we're not learning any lessons from this at all," James reflected.
The investigation into historical allegations against MPs, peers and civil servants found a culture of high-profile politicians being protected from police action as whips sought to avoid “scandal” that would damage the parties.
Political figures were today accused of a major failure in their response to allegations of child sexual abuse.
The report accused the UK’s political institutions of "regularly” putting “their own reputations or political interests before child protection".
The Prime Minister told LBC's Nick Ferrari last year that spending police budgets on historical child abuse is "spaffing money up the wall."
James was disgusted at Boris Johnson's reference of child abuse investigations as "malarkey" and said, "No wonder he spent half his life hiding in a fridge."
James highlighted once again that this was a tragic tale about society's silence in the face of abuse.
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