Former pupils who were sexually and physically abused at a school in Liverpool have begun legal action against the city council that ran it.
The former pupils, who call themselves ‘The Forgotten Boys’, have said Liverpool City Council allowed abuse at Lower Lee boarding school in Woolton to go unchecked in the 1980s and 90s.
Child care officer Thomas Curbishley and head of care Peter Amundsen were jailed for offences related to the abuse in the 1990s. The latter, who admitted 53 offences against eight boys, was hired despite reportedly having no qualifications.
A spokesperson for the council said they were ‘truly sorry’ for the impact the abuse had on the survivors.
‘The young people were let down by those who were supposed to be taking care of them, and it should never have been allowed to happen,’ they said.
‘We worked closely with Merseyside Police on the Operation Care investigation in the 1990s which brought to justice some of those responsible and, more recently, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.’