'Few books have managed to get to the heart of a story of abuse as thoroughly and accurately as Abuse of Trust.' — Christian Wolmar, Journalist

'Important and in-depth analysis of a case involving members of the establishment' — Dr Liz Davies, London Metropolitan University

NEW: Chapter on Labour MP Greville Janner

For the first time in 18 years, the definitive account of one of Britain's worst child abuse scandals is re-published — with a new chapter looking at the role of the Labour MP Greville Janner.

Janner, a lawyer, backbencher and influential figure in Labour, repeatedly managed to avoid prosecution for his involvement in the Leicestershire care scandal in the 1980s and 1990s, despite being named as an abuser in a high-profile trial.

In an epilogue to this new, enlarged edition of this acclaimed book on the scandal, the respected journalist Paul Gosling deals with Janner's dominance of the local Labour Party, his influence within the wider parliamentary party, his role in public life, and the failed police investigations into him.

Detectives carrying out the latest investigation into Janner are working on the theory that he abused children with care manager Frank Beck: the main focus of this book.

Re-published for the first time since 1998, Abuse of Trust has long been viewed by social work professionals as an important audit of a notorious case. In it Gosling and his co-author, the experienced BBC journalist Mark D'Arcy, investigate how Beck and his cronies came to rampage through children's homes in Leicestershire for more than a decade. Despite complaints from children, they continued their psychopathic reign of terror for 13 years, aided by — at best — incompetence at Leicestershire County Council, Leicestershire Police, and the Crown Prosecution Service.

Hundreds of children in the care of the local authority were damaged, and some tragically died. One is suspected, now, of being murdered.

At the time Beck was brought to justice for the scandal, allegations that the local MP Greville Janner was also involved were roundly dismissed in the House of Commons, where Janner was supported by his fellow Leicestershire MPs.

Gosling and D'Arcy investigate the delays in stopping Beck and highlight the lessons for safeguarding vulnerable children.

NEW: Paul Gosling's epilogue on Greville Janner contains previously unreported material.

A revealing read for anyone affected by the Leicestershire children's home scandal, a guide for social workers and care managers — and a lasting documentary record of how a small gang of men abused children with impunity for more than a decade.

With one important question still not fully answered: why weren't they stopped earlier?

Review

Today when the pendulum seems to swinging again to start disbelieving claims by survivors that they were sexually abused the republication of a book examining one of the first major child sex scandals is a timely reminder of what victims faced in the 1970s and 1980s.

Abuse of Trust looks at the case of the long-dead Frank Beck, a charismatic social worker who got away with abusing possibly up to 200 children for two decades before finally being caught and convicted.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to remind themselves about the sheer nastiness, brutality and cover-ups that seem to dog this area.

David Hencke, investigative journalist, DavidHencke.com

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