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Thanks for posting this - always brave to go against the grain!

For me the most unfair paragraph in Makin is 14.3.47:

"The Bishop of Ely’s Safeguarding Adviser responded to an email from a victim stating she had no authority over the South African authorities. While this is true, it demonstrates a lack of persistence to ensure that follow up had taken place to prevent further harm by the abuser. Any report of suspected abuse or safeguarding concern should be actively pursued until safety is ensured - that would have been expected to be the case in 2013."

Oh that any of us had the power to ensure safety...

One other thing puzzles me. Did anyone from Channel 4 News alert the police when Cathy Newman confronted Smyth in 2017? He was in the country and they had an opportunity to question him under caution. It seems that this did not happen (Para 14.3.71) - why didn't this happen? Should it have happened??

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Thanks for that. I had been struck by that paragraph too, and wanted to quote it. But my memory failed me, and I was searching for "assured" and even "assurance" rather than "ensured". It is exactly the attitude that sparked this post.

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