Sir - I was a member of the former Hereford and Worcester County Council when David Tombs was its head of social services.
When he says that “he warned senior civil servants in the Department of Health in the 1990s about the threat of child abuse by people in power but was ignored” (Worcester News on-line, 12th July), I am prepared to believe him.
The minister responsible for social services at the time, Mr Tim Yeo, asserts that it would be “incredible” that “any remotely credible evidence” of child abuse by people in power would have been ignored, describing such an allegation as “extraordinary”.
I would urge David Tombs to name the senior civil servants who waved away his allegation when a successor to Baroness Butler-Sloss has been appointed, and to seek an explanation from Tim Yeo for the firmness and finality of tone he has used in being equally dismissive.
To my knowledge, David Tombs is neither “incredible” nor “extraordinary”. He deserves to be heard and his allegation to be fully investigated.
Peter Nielsen
Worcester
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