Families affected by one of Britain's worst paedophiles have accused Labour of failing to protect children 'then and now' over its role in the investigation of the predator years before he was caught.
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he → affect → predator
Current schools minister Georgia Gould was leader of Camden Council in 2021 when 'significant concerns' were reported about nursery worker Vincent Chan by a parent.
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concerns → report → parent
Bosses at Bright Horizons nursery escalated the concerns but saw them sent back by the local authority for the nursery chain to deal with, rather than contacting police, and fiend Chan was later cleared to return to work.
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Chan → escalate → work
Chan was handed an 18-year jail term in February after he admitted sexually assaulting and filming young girls in his care from at least 2022, although police believe they may never know how many children he abused.
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he → hand → children
Families said the council should have acted, and condemned Labour figures - including current Camden council leader and Sir Keir Starmer's successor as MP, Sagal Abdi-Wali - for failing to get answers.
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council → say → answers
Ms Gould was council leader from 2017 until her election as MP in 2024, and Labour insist she would not have been apprised of concerns about Chan in 2021.
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she → insist → 2021
But one mother told the Mail: 'The buck stops at the top.
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buck → tell → top
The leader creates the culture, and if the culture was that they didn't take concerns seriously enough, that is ultimately something that she should take responsibility for.
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she → create → responsibility
I would be very concerned that someone who showed an inability to keep children safe from serious harm in her own council role, whether or not they were suitable to keep children across the UK safe in schools.
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they → show → schools
Vincent Chan has admitted abusing children in his care at the Bright Horizons nursery in Finchley Road, North London, from 2022
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Chan → admit → 2022
The fact that our schools minister, who oversaw the council at the time has not said anything now, either in relation to her responsibility then or in relation to her responsibility for these schoolchildren now, is mind blowing to me.
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who → oversee → me
I think if this wasn't a Labour government trying to protect a Labour council, we would see a very different response from the Government.'
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we → think → Government
Another parent, whose child also had Chan as a key worker, said: 'This may not have fallen on Georgia Gould's desk, but the buck stops with the local authority - the council - and she was in charge.
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she → have → charge
'Paedophiles are infiltrating our nurseries and preying on our kids while we are out at work paying tax to the very Labour institutions that failed to protect those children.
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that → infiltrate → children
It's time for this government to step up, take control and hold Bright Horizons to account.'
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government → step → account
A Department for Education spokesman, responding to questions about Ms Gould, said: 'From the outset, the entire ministerial team has taken this case and its wider ramifications incredibly seriously.
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team → respond → case
We have strengthened recruitment and safeguarding requirements, produced new safeguarding training and we are developing new guidance on digital devices, examining the role of CCTV in nurseries, and strengthening Ofsted's powers to act across nursery groups.
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we → strengthen → groups
Schools minister Georgia Gould, pictured with the then-Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, was leader of Camden Council when it received a complaint about Chan
'A Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review is under way, led by an independent reviewer, which will identify learnings to prevent this from happening again.
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which → picture → this
We will not hesitate to act where further improvements are needed.'
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improvements → hesitate → ?
A Bright Horizons spokesman said: 'In line with our safeguarding procedures, we referred a 2021 concern about Chan to the local authority.
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we → say → authority
For the avoidance of doubt, Chan was placed on duties involving no contact with children while the concern was investigated under the local authority's oversight.
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concern → place → oversight
'Everyone regrets that Chan's offending was not detected sooner and it's right that the independent Child Safeguarding Practice Review will examine every stage of how this case was handled.
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case → regret → stage
'While it is ongoing we are not able to comment further without the express written authorisation of its committee.'
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we → comment → committee
A Camden Council spokesman said: 'We want families to get the answers they deserve, and independent assessment of what has happened, directly through the Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review.'
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what → say → Review
The nursery has since closed.
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nursery → close → ?
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