Barnardos

Barnardos is a UK Children's charity, founded by Thomas Barnardo.

Cherie Blair, wife of Tony Blair, is President of Barnardo's. Martin Narey, formerly of the prison service, is the chief executive of Barnardo's.

"A couple of friends were brought up in a Barnardo's home in my home town of Kidderminster. They used to talk about the vicious predatory paedophile who was one of their care workers." Tom Watson - Labour MP: Barnardo's and the truth

"After his first homes for orphans began to open in the 1870s, Barnardo used photographs of his rescued children to use in adverts for fundraising - of which he was a master. 'Before' and 'after' pictures would be taken, showing orphans in a state of neglect immediately after they had been rescued from the street, and then afterwards, all scrubbed clean and full of promise.

"But in 1877 Barnardo found himself accused of artificially staging the photographs, alongside other allegations that he enriched himself with charity money and that children were physically abused in his homes." The echoes of Barnardo's altered imagery Society ...

The Independent, 22 September 2004, ( Independent Online Edition > Crime) reported that two former childcare workers had received jail sentences for the repeated sexual abuse of children in their care.

Margaret Hewitt, was jailed for 11 years. Her former co-worker, George Anderson, was jailed for 18 years for offences committed in a Barnardos home in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Mr Justice Weir said: "Such incompetence and neglect on the part of Barnardos' then management is difficult to comprehend."

(Robert Napier left a comment on this post: "Regarding George Anderson and Margaret Hewitt - I notice you haven't troubled to report that they were acquited and released after two of their accusers admitted to lying and to having conspired with the other five to make false allegations for the purpose of claiming compensation.")

Barnardo's faces Canada action (From The Guardian, 19 June 2002)

"Barnardo's, the UK's biggest children's charity, is accused in a £400m lawsuit of shipping destitute children before the second world war to work as farm labourers in Canada.

A class action launched at Ontario's superior court alleges the charity sent youngsters to Canada even though some still had parents living in Britain. Many were sent without the consent, or even the knowledge, of their parents.

The older ones went as indentured labourers to Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. Many of those who were "migrated", between 1870 and 1939, were subsequently abused.

The action was launched on behalf of 86-year-old Harold Vennell, of Windsor, Ontario, who was shipped to Canada at the age of 14.

He had been a Barnardo's boy since 1923, when he became ill with rickets and his single mother could not look after him. Mr Vennell claims he ended up on an Ontario farm working 18 hours a day, seven days a week, was given meagre food and was abused."

Barnardo's no longer run orphanages - they "provide support to 110,000 vulnerable children, young people and their families through running 383 projects at home, school and in the local community." Children's charity - Barnardo's supports children and young people ...

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