Deputy First Minister John Swinney has ordered new investigations into the former Fornethy House Residential School, The Courier can reveal.
They will focus on the circumstances around why children were sent to Fornethy House where many former residents now claim they were subjected to sexual, mental and physical abuse within its walls.
Last year The Courier released a special investigation which included interviews with former pupils of the school, which is now a derelict ruin a few miles from Kirriemuir in Angus.
The news of further inquiries was broken to victims in a letter from Kerry Morgan, deputy director of Redress, Relations and Response at the Children and Families Directorate of the Scottish Government.
In her letter she said: “The Deputy First Minister has instructed me, and officials within my division, to conduct further enquiries with Glasgow City Council in relation to the circumstances in which children came to be placed in Fornethy House and the limited records and information relating to Fornethy House. These enquiries will begin imminently.”
Many of those victims were sent to the school in the 1960s and 70s by the former Glasgow Corporation, which later became Glasgow City Council.
Fornethy began as a “convalescent” school for deprived girls. Pupils were sent there for a “holiday” to the countryside. The investigation is set to find out more details about why children were sent there.
Long-awaited investigation
Many victims have said they were left unable to claim compensation from Redress, a government scheme set up to support victims of child sex abuse in Scotland, because it was deemed they had only been placed at Fornethy for “short-term care”.
Mr Swinney has previously met victims to hear their stories and told The Courier “this abuse should never have happened”.
Confirming the new development, a Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Officials are conducting further inquiries with Glasgow City Council to establish the circumstances in which children came to be placed in Fornethy House and to investigate the limited records and information relating to Fornethy House.
“Deputy First Minister John Swinney has previously met with members of the Fornethy House Survivors Group and will continue to engage with the group and listen to members’ concerns.”
Mr Swinney’s office would not explain why this development was happening now after previously being criticised of “fobbing off” victims.
It would also not say if the investigations was part of a move to change victims’ eligibility to the Redress scheme.
Victims’ hopes
Marion Reid, a victim and campaigner for Fornethy survivors, said that the latest step was a positive one towards justice.
Marion, 65, from Glasgow, said: “On the surface it looks positive. I’m just always bit wary but I hope I am wrong.”
Elaine McLaughlin, 63, also from Glasgow, who revealed to The Courier how she was sexually abused at Fornethy House, said she welcomes the investigation but believes why victims were sent there matters far less than what happened when they arrived.
“The point is we were sent there and we were abused,” she added.
