Star date: 10th July 2015 

CHILD ABUSE SURVIVORS PICKET SOCIAL SERVICES CONFERENCE

The Association of Directors of Children's Services held their three day annual conference at the Midland Hotel in Manchester this week, and delegates were met by a lively demonstration outside from people demanding answers and transparency on issues ranging from child abuse to removal of kids from families.

Amongst those present was Mickey Summers who told the Salford Star that police and social services had massively failed him, as a child abuse survivor in Nottingham. The police have subsequently launched a new investigation into abuse at care homes in the area.

Full details here...

This week, the Salford Star heard some horrendous stories of abuse, cover ups and corruption during a picket of the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) conference, held at The Midland Hotel in Manchester.

People travelled from Nottingham, Liverpool and Cheshire to let the directors of council social services know their feelings about being let down time and time again in their fight for justice. One guy held up a big placard reading Cheshire Child Abuse Cover Up, while others railed against forced adoption. Amongst the pickets was Mickey Summers, who has waived his right to anonymity to try to force a public inquiry into abuse at Nottingham care homes.

The police have recently launched a new investigation into alleged abuse at Nottingham care homes and secure units in Nottingham but Mickey wants a full public inquiry...

"I first went to the police in 2003 and they failed to investigate" he explained "That case is now under investigation by the IPCC. My records were destroyed, and at first they denied I ever existed in the care system and we had to prove that I did. I'm here to fight for  a public inquiry, Nottingham is the next Rotherham. Today's protest is not about historic child abuse because I still live with that today. We're no longer victims we're survivors and witnesses, and we will get justice in the end."

Mickey's friend, Mandy Coupland, who helped him trace his past to prove his story, added: "You can't help but get involved with it when you hear what these children went through. Looking at these adults now, you see the destruction it's done to people's lives. We've started doing protests in Nottingham and have been fighting for over a year."

Meanwhile Mark, a spokesperson for the picket, noted how children's care and safeguarding is now becoming a business, with even less openness than in previous years on the cards.

"We have got the corporations stepping in and taking over these things" he explained "There's people in that conference connected to Serco, so we're guessing that this is going to be about privatising children's services in some way. There's nothing there then to protect anyone; you can't even get legal aid now. It also seems like there's an agenda to take children and put them with foster parents. There's so much money involved with all this.

"There's people outside here today who can evidence terrible, sickening crimes that are being helped along by social services, hidden by the mainstream media and covered up" he added.

Unsurprisingly, the mainstream media did not cover this protest...