Scotland’s First Minister has apologised to those involved in a “deeply distressing” major report into a notorious abuse ring.
John Swinney offered an apology on behalf of the state for any failures outlined in the report into the so-called “Beastie House” gang.
The 75-page report published on Wednesday found several children at the centre of a Glasgow abuse ring were failed by authorities despite clear warnings and cries for help over the course of years.
The learning review found it was “difficult to comprehend” that abuse was not detected earlier despite more than a decade of involvement from social work and a host of other public agencies.
When asked by journalists in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday if he would make an apology for failures outlined in the report, Mr Swinney said: “Yes, I would make that apology because I think the contents of the report are deeply, deeply distressing.
“Lord Beckett – when he summarised the court case and disposed of the case and stressed the extreme nature of what he had experienced, what had been presented to the court – Lord Beckett made the point that the court hears terrible things, but that was of a different order.
“I think that is completely unacceptable, and I apologise to everybody who has been involved.”
Two women and five men were all convicted of gang raping a child and abusing other children, and were given sentences of between eight and 20 years in jail before they can apply for parole.
Iain Owens, 46; Elaine Lannery, 40; Lesley Williams, 43; Paul Brannan, 42; Scott Forbes, 51; Barry Watson, 48; and John Clark, 48, were convicted in November 2023 following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
Four of the group – Owens, Lannery, Brannan and Williams – were found guilty of attempting to murder a child by pushing them into a microwave and trapping them in other places.
Wednesday’s review found staff repeatedly failed to thoroughly investigate abuse and neglect of several children between 2012 and 2019.
This was despite mounting evidence over more than a decade, including adults around them taking drugs, several children missing multiple teeth at a young age, reports the children were dirty and smelled like urine, and one of the children saying they wanted to kill themselves.
Glasgow City Council chief executive Susanne Millar held senior roles in social work services during this time.
In 2012, she became the city’s assistant director for social work and retained the chief social work officer job while taking on roles for planning and strategy until she became interim chief officer role in 2019.
Mr Swinney was asked if Ms Millar should resign given her role in social work during this time period.
He said: “I think, obviously, there’s proper discussions that have got to take place by the individual responsible bodies, and it shouldn’t be for me to comment on those issues.
“For my part, I obviously lead the Government, and this is a deeply distressing report about an extreme example where child protection has clearly failed. There’s no other way to talk about it.
“We have had other examples where there have been failures in performance, and there are measures taken to strengthen that. There is obviously inspection regimes taken forward of individual child protection arrangements. Indeed, this review is part of that process to identify where there are failings, and where those failings have got to be addressed.”
A spokeswoman from Glasgow City Council said: “The Independent Learning Review did not ascribe blame to any individual.
“A recent joint inspection by the Care Inspectorate, Education Scotland, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland, and Healthcare Improvement Scotland gave a “good” rating to Glasgow’s services for children and young people at risk.
“Glasgow City Council accepts the findings of the review and will act, alongside other agencies, to ensure any necessary changes are implemented.”
