At last the children are heard

After three decades of anguish the voices of the children have finally been heard. The Government will today announce a national inquiry into the systematic sexual and physical abuse of hundreds of young people, who lived in terror in homes throughout Britain.

The Prime Minister will also order a separate judicial inquiry into the scandal of homes in Clwyd, where more than 100 children were abused. At least 12 former residents have died in circumstances related to their experiences.

The decision to address the scandal of the homes, where some of the most vulnerable children in society were sent for protection, only to be betrayed by their carers, follows a campaign by the Independent to expose loopholes in the system.

Children as young as six were abandoned to the care of paedophiles, and were too afraid to talk of their experiences for years. Those who did turn to the authorities were often ignored and the abusers continued unchecked, or moved on to homes elsewhere.

Both the inquiries were welcomed by the most distinguished authorities on child abuse in homes, including Allan Levy, QC, who led the report into the abuse of more than 150 children in Staffordshire between 1983 and 1989.

Mr Levy said: "This is the way ahead, and for the victims it is vital. It means that at last they are being heard for the first time on a national scale. Their voices have finally reached the highest level of government."

But he added: "The inquiries have got to be conducted speedily and backed up by action. The sheer extent of the abuse, and the immense push it has received by this campaign, has finally had an effect."

In a separate move, the Home Secretary will next week announce plans for a register of sex offenders, including an index of paedophiles, although the Government will face calls for it to also include those who have been cautioned for sex offences.

The inquiries that will finally break the silence have been called for by the Prime Minister, who will meet Stephen Dorrell, the Secretary of State for Health, and William Hague, the Secretary of State for Wales, to discuss the details. The impact of a recent report into the abuses in Clwyd was undermined by attempts to suppress its publication.

In Cheshire, where the biggest inquiry into abuse in homes is underway, more than 300 children were abused in cases that span from the late 1960s to 1993. A group of parents of 40 of the children wrote to John Major earlier this month, calling for an inquiry.

A senior Government source said last night: "The issue is being treated as a matter of great concern by the Prime Minister."

The Government has previously failed to respond to recommendations for change from other inquiries into abuse scandals. Instead, a system that had allowed abusers to work undetected was allowed to continue largely unchanged for decades.

Among the most prominent scandals in children's homes that brought the extent of the problem to light was the sexual abuse of more than 100 children in Leicestershire between 1973 and 1986. Frank Beck, who ran local homes, exercised his infamous "regression therapy", in which he forced children to wear nappies, before he was convicted of rape and buggery.

An inquiry into the abuse of more than 61 children in care in Islington, north London, was launched last year, amid allegations that a paedophile network had been operating in homes since 1979; and further cases have also emerged in Norfolk, Hereford, Worcester, Essex and Berkshire.

Only when the first victims of abuses in homes came forward did others find the courage to follow. But for a handful the strain of recalling the events of their childhood in care proved too much, and their adult lives ended in suicide.

Although victims have started to receive compensation for their experiences in care, many say their greatest motivation for bringing the abuse to light is to protect current generations of children going through care.

For experts in childcare and abuse, the priorities for change are: a general council, to act as a professional and disciplinary body; improved inspection of homes; a central register of care workers; and improved training and pay for one of the most beleaguered sectors in the social services.

Daphne Statham, director of the National Institute for Social Work, which has persistently also called for change, said yesterday: "It is wonderful news the Government is taking this seriously. Whatever comes out of it, it means these people's complaints have finally been taken seriously. It also means we can protect those going through the system now, and get things improved for the future."