How did one of Britain’s most shocking paedophile rings get away with it for so long?

Published

3 months ago

April 15, 2025

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Could a head lice infestation have led to the unravelling of a child rape gang that inflicted unspeakable horror?

Warning: This article contains graphic details of abuse

A paedophile ring, a mix of seven Glasgow men and women, operated in plain sight for seven years despite what may appear to be major red flags.

From 2012, a group of children, including some young enough to still be wearing nappies, were subjected to organised “rape nights” by drug users who plied them with alcohol and cocaine.

None of those present tried to help the children, who were all aged under 13. Instead, they clapped, filmed and paid for the abuse to continue.

One boy remembers hearing a “beep” indicating a timer when one rape would end, and another would begin.

This horror unfolded behind the doors of a dirty drug den – a ground-floor flat in a city suburb infested by insects, which was known as the “beastie house”.

The gang even forced the primary school-age children to eat dog food and abuse each other while their molesters crowded round to spectate.

They were shoved in microwaves and a locked fridge and freezer. One girl was hung by her clothes from a nail in the kitchen.

During the trial in 2023, which eventually saw the seven abusers each receive an order for lifelong restriction, judge Lord Beckett said the scandal plunged to the “depths of human depravity”.

The gang comprised Iain Owens, 46; Elaine Lannery, 40; Lesley Williams, 43; Paul Brannan, 42; Scott Forbes, 51; Barry Watson, 48 and John Clark, 48. They are all now in prison for a total of almost 100 years.

There are questions around how this could have happened in the first place.

The children were visited by social workers and even placed on the child protection register in 2018 before police cracked the case in 2020.

How can it be those youngsters, who were being regularly raped as part of an organised ring, could simultaneously sit on a register designed to prevent them from harm?

The High Court jury heard a selection of evidence from people who had concerns.

Police painstakingly worked through almost 1,000 pieces of evidence – so surely there would be someone willing to discuss the warning signs they spotted?

Sky News tracks down concerned witness

But nobody I encountered, from barbers to local shopkeepers, would speak. Until finally, I tracked down a man who had spoken to detectives as part of the investigation.

Speaking publicly for the first time, he revealed he saw the children regularly and recalled an evening where he spotted head lice on one girl and tried to arrange treatment.

“One of their hair was messy with head lice and because she was the same age as my child, I said ‘why won’t you do your hair’,” he said.

“She left them on her head to try and keep those beasts away from her. The head lice protected her from them.”

The man said he had concerns about how malnourished some of the victims were and described noticing the situation going “wrong” in 2018.

“They were always lingering around adults to try and get food. They were scavenging… It was heartbreaking,” he said.

“The system has failed.”

Sky News has learned concerns were raised with charities too. The actions of social workers, police and child protection services are now being investigated as part of an independent review.

These reviews are commonplace across Britain when serious harm or death is inflicted on a child.

Do reviews actually work?

But how effective are they when a commitment of “lessons will be learned” is then undone when the next tragedy comes along?

One former children’s commissioner for Scotland and leading child protection expert told Sky News the entire review process was being re-examined.

Tam Baillie said: “Learning reviews are important. The challenge for them is how effectively we implement the recommendations that come from reviews, as that is the bit that really counts.

“There is no point in doing the review unless it actively effects change in the system.”

Mr Baillie, who has 35 years of experience in child protection, said the public were right to ask questions about this case.

He said: “Currently, the process of learning reviews is being looked at so that we can make improvements to ensure we don’t keep looking at the same lessons coming up time and time again.”

The gang branded the children liars

I sat in the courtroom during the trial as the paedophiles, who were on bail at the time, laughed and joked in the dock between breaks.

Their sober performance when the jury was present was very different to their behaviour outside the confines of the High Court in Glasgow.

I have been reporting on criminal proceedings for almost 15 years and their boisterous conduct stands in stark contrast to other people accused of such serious crimes who seem to have more respect for the process.

As the Sky News team filmed their mask-covered faces entering and leaving court, they would yell obscenities and threaten to attack us.

One repeatedly shouted that the children were “liars”. The jury did not believe a word of it and found them guilty.

At the end of another gruelling day of evidence, two of the accused walked out to their waiting taxi and threatened to “batter” me. One of them lunged in our direction.

They were swiftly told to “shut up” and “get in” the car by the lingering police officers.

Days later, a jury convicted them of some of the most heinous crimes this country has ever seen.

Leading KC calls it quits after this case

One leading KC, Thomas Leonard Ross, who was involved in the trial, has told Sky News this case was a tipping point for him.

After working on 400 High Court cases, he is so traumatised he says he will never work on a sex abuse case again.

“It is the worst example of child abuse I have ever heard. It was awful to sit and listen to,” he said.

“You were left with the impression that these children were known to the social work department. It seemed surprising that steps hadn’t been taken to remove them from the scenario they were in earlier.

“Questions were raised, and I understand why the public are seeking answers to those questions.”

It is unclear when the independent review will report on its findings, but Glasgow City Council has told Sky News it will implement all recommendations in full.

A spokesperson said: “This is a uniquely complicated case involving unusually sensitive issues and a number of individuals, and our focus remains on supporting everyone involved in this process.”

There is a consensus these children were failed. But our investigation raises fresh questions about how Scotland’s largest paedophile gang managed to cause such prolonged pain.

UK

MasterChef presenter John Torode sacked

Published

1 hour ago

July 15, 2025

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MasterChef presenter John Torode will no longer work on the show after an allegation he used an “extremely offensive racist term” was upheld, the BBC has said.

His co-host Gregg Wallace was also sacked last week after claims of inappropriate behaviour.

On Monday, Torode said an allegation he used racist language was upheld in a report into the behaviour of Wallace. The report found more than half of 83 allegations against Wallace were substantiated.

Torode, 59, insisted he had “absolutely no recollection” of the alleged incident involving him and he “did not believe that it happened,” adding “racial language is wholly unacceptable in any environment”.

In a statement on Tuesday, a BBC spokesperson said the allegation “involves an extremely offensive racist term being used in the workplace”.

The claim was “investigated and substantiated by the independent investigation led by the law firm Lewis Silkin”, they added.

“The BBC takes this upheld finding extremely seriously,” the spokesperson said.

“We will not tolerate racist language of any kind… we told Banijay UK, the makers of MasterChef, that action must be taken.

“John Torode’s contract on MasterChef will not be renewed.”

Australian-born Torode started presenting MasterChef alongside Wallace, 60, in 2005.

A statement from Banijay UK said it “takes this matter incredibly seriously” and Lewis Silkin “substantiated an accusation of highly offensive racist language against John Torode which occurred in 2018”.

“This matter has been formally discussed with John Torode by Banijay UK, and whilst we note that John says he does not recall the incident, Lewis Silkin have upheld the very serious complaint,” the TV production company added.

“Banijay UK and the BBC are agreed that we will not renew his contract on MasterChef.”

Earlier, as the BBC released its annual report, its director-general Tim Davie addressed MasterChef’s future, saying it can survive as it is “much bigger than individuals”.

Speaking to BBC News after Torode was sacked, Mr Davie said a decision is yet to be taken over whether an unseen MasterChef series – filmed with both Wallace and Torode last year – will be aired.

“It’s a difficult one because… those amateur chefs gave a lot to take part – it means a lot, it can be an enormous break if you come through the show,” he added.

“I want to just reflect on that with the team and make a decision, and we’ll communicate that in due course.”

Mr Davie refused to say what the “seriously racist term” Torode was alleged to have used but said: “I certainly think we’ve drawn a line in the sand.”

In 2022, Torode was made an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, for services to food and charity.

UK

David Fuller: Offences committed by hospital worker who sexually abused dozens of corpses ‘could happen again’

Published

7 hours ago

July 15, 2025

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David Fuller: Offences committed by hospital worker who sexually abused dozens of corpses 'could happen again'

An inquiry into the case of a hospital worker who sexually abused dozens of corpses has concluded that “offences such as those committed by David Fuller could happen again”.

It found that “current arrangements in England for the regulation and oversight of the care of people after death are partial, ineffective and, in significant areas, completely lacking”.

The first phase of the inquiry found Fuller, 70, was able to offend for 15 years in mortuaries without being suspected or caught due to “serious failings” at the hospitals where he worked.

Phase 2 of the inquiry has examined the broader national picture and considered if procedures and practices in other hospital and non-hospital settings, where deceased people are kept, safeguard their security and dignity.

What were Fuller’s crimes?

Fuller was given a whole-life prison term in December 2021 for the murders of Wendy Knell and Caroline Pierce in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, in 1987.

During his time as a maintenance worker, he also abused the corpses of at least 101 women and girls at Kent and Sussex Hospital and the Tunbridge Wells Hospital before his arrest in December 2020.

His victims ranged in age from nine to 100.

Phase 1 of the inquiry found he entered one mortuary 444 times in the space of one year “unnoticed and unchecked” and that deceased people were also left out of fridges and overnight during working hours.

‘Inadequate management, governance and processes’

Presenting the findings on Tuesday, Sir Jonathan Michael, chair of the inquiry, said: “This is the first time that the security and dignity of people after death has been reviewed so comprehensively.

“Inadequate management, governance and processes helped create the environment in which David Fuller was able to offend for so long.”

He said that these “weaknesses” are not confined to where Fuller operated, adding that he found examples from “across the country”.

“I have asked myself whether there could be a recurrence of the appalling crimes committed by David Fuller. – I have concluded that yes, it is entirely possible that such offences could be repeated, particularly in those sectors that lack any form of statutory regulation.”

Sir Jonathan called for a statutory regulation to “protect the security and dignity of people after death”.

After an initial glance, his interim report already called for urgent regulation to safeguard the “security and dignity of the deceased”.

On publication of his final report he describes regulation and oversight of care as “ineffective, and in significant areas completely lacking”.

David Fuller was an electrician who committed sexual offences against at least 100 deceased women and girls in the mortuaries of the Kent and Sussex Hospital and the Tunbridge Wells Hospital. His victims ranged in age from nine to 100.

This first phase of the inquiry found Fuller entered the mortuary 444 times in a single year, “unnoticed and unchecked”.

It was highly critical of the systems in place that allowed this to happen.

His shocking discovery, looking at the broader industry – be it other NHS Trusts or the 4,500 funeral directors in England – is that it could easily have happened elsewhere.

The conditions described suggest someone like Fuller could get away with it again.

UK

MasterChef is ‘bigger than individuals’ and ‘can survive’, BBC says

Published

7 hours ago

July 15, 2025

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MasterChef is 'bigger than individuals' and 'can survive', BBC says

BBC director-general Tim Davie has said MasterChef can survive its current scandal as it is “much bigger than individuals” – but the corporation must “make sure we’re in the right place in terms of the culture of the show”.

On Monday, it was revealed an independent review into “inappropriate behaviour” by MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace had upheld more than half of the allegations against him.

A few hours later, Wallace’s former MasterChef co-presenter, John Torode, said an allegation he used “racial language” was upheld in the report as part of a review.

After the report was published, Wallace, 60, said he was “deeply sorry” for causing any distress, and never set out to “harm or humiliate”.

Torode, 59, said he had “no recollection of the incident” and said he “did not believe that it happened,” and said he was “shocked and saddened by the allegation”.

Mr Davie said the BBC’s leadership team would not “tolerate behaviour that is not in line with our values,” while BBC chair Samir Shah acknowledged there were still pockets within the broadcaster where “powerful individuals” can still “make life for their colleagues unbearable”.

They said several BBC staff members had been dismissed in the last three months, following an independent review into workplace culture.

Wallace, who was sacked from MasterChef last week, is not included in that count as he was not directly contracted by the corporation, but employed by independent production company Banijay.

The corporation has yet to decide if the unseen MasterChef series – filmed with both Wallace and Torode last year – will be aired or not.

News of the findings in the Gregg Wallace report came just hours before the BBC was deemed to have breached its editorial guidelines by failing to disclose that the child narrator of a Gaza documentary was the son of a Hamas official.

Media watchdog Ofcom subsequently launched its own investigation into the programme.

While the 2024-25 annual report showed a small rise in trust overall for the corporation, Mr Davie acknowledged it had been a year which saw the reputation of the BBC damaged by “serious failings” in the making of the documentary.

The BBC boss acknowledged: “It was important that the BBC took full responsibility for those failings and apologised for them,” and later in response to a question, called the documentary – Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone – “the most challenging editorial issue I’ve had to deal with”.

He went on: “The importance of fair balance reporting, the need for high-quality homegrown programming in the face of massive pressure, I think has never, ever been greater. And I believe my leadership and the team I’ve assembled can really help the BBC thrive in that environment and very competitive environment.”

BBC boss has chair’s ‘full support’

Despite a series of failings in recent months – including livestreaming the controversial Bob Vylan set at Glastonbury last month – Mr Davie insisted he can “lead” the organisation in the right direction.

When asked if he would resign, he replied: “I simply think I’m in a place where I can work to improve dramatically the BBC and lead it in the right way.

“We will make mistakes, but I think as a leadership and myself, I’ve been very clear, and I think we have been decisive.”

He said the organisation was setting a “global standard” for media.

Mr Shah, reiterated his support for Mr Davie.

“Tim Davie and his team, and Tim in particular, has shown very strong leadership throughout all this period and he has my full support.”

The report also revealed its top earners, which saw former Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker top the chart once again.

Meanwhile, Australian children’s cartoon Bluey proved a boon for the broadcaster, and was the most watched show in the US across all genres – with 55 billion minutes viewed.

The top 10 shows watched over Christmas 2024 were also all from the BBC.

Recent annual reviews have been overshadowed by the Huw Edwards scandal and allegations of a toxic environment around flagship show Strictly Come Dancing.

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