Webchat with Tom Watson MP, Thursday 4 September, 1-2pm

[VikkiMumsnet]

Labour MP Tom Watson is joining us at MNHQ for a webchat nextThursday 4 September, from1-2pm, to talk about the developing situation concerning allegations of child sexual abuse, especially those relating to people in positions of power in Westminster and beyond.

Tom is Labour MP for West Bromwich East and, earlier this year, he launched a petition calling on the Prime Minister to establish a national enquiry into allegations of organised child sex abuse, after it emerged that Home Office files – relating to allegations which may have involved senior Westminster and Whitehall figures in the 1970s and 1980s – had gone missing.

Unfortunately, parliamentary privilege does not extend to Mumsnet webchats - so please don't post allegations about named or identifiable individuals; we may have to delete posts that do. And please remember our usual webchat guidelines:

1. One question per member plus a follow-up question if appropriate, i.e. once you've had a response.
2. Keep your question brief
3. Don't be disappointed if your specific question doesn't get answered and do try not to keep posting "What about me?".
4. Do be civil/polite.

@comfortmewithapples

I just can't believe that the "powers that be" - eg the House of Lords and the House of Commons - can allow the full truth about routine sexual abuse of children in state-run children's homes to come out.

Do you honestly believe that all those who abused the most vulnerable of children will be called to account? Or will the crimes be attributed almost entirely to people who are now dead?

I'm not sure yet. But I'm going to have a good go at trying.

@BeyondRepair

Oh yes and the police force in Rotherham, will they be subjected to intense scrutiny as to why they never acted to protect the children.

Let's hope so.

@enriquetheringbearinglizard

Of the other answers I was particularly pleased with the brief ones here Listening seems to be the rarest commodity in politics I hope some politicians read and learn from that comment

Don't buy The Sun
Amen to that

and
The people who turned a blind eye disgust me
and so say all of us

Thank you Tom for responding to my question.

If this was Mailonline I'd give you a thumbs up ;-)

Hi Tom, what can be done about the way the media report victims stories and the language they use.

The terms rent boy or child prostitute is very common and does not convey the image of terrified very young children being abused against their will and implys some sort of agreed arrangement which is wrong on so many levels.

No questions, just wanted to say more power to you Tom, you sound determined and knowledgeable.

Thank you for taking up this cause.

@CaptChaos

Thanks for coming.

Do you really believe that 'fear of being seen as racist' is an adequate excuse? Or do you think that actually society views children from poor families and looked after children as somehow dispensable and unreliable as complainants, and that, when it comes down to it, that was the main problem that caused the inertia in Rotherham and elsewhere? How do you think we can change society's view of those children?

There is no excuse for turning a blind eye to child abuse.

Is there a class bias? Well I've met a lot of survivors from boarding schools who would say there isn't but when it comes to poorer kids, there is only the public services there to help them. Poorer kids don't have the resources of wealthier families to seek out justice.

One family I met have very generously spent tens of thousands of pounds on trying to get justice for their child as well as the children of poorer families from the same school. Without them, the poorer kids wouldn't have got anywhere.

@sunnyrosegarden

Hi Tom! Hope they're treating you well.

Blimey - it's amazing. Coffee, water, apples and now fancy biscuits. They also have gin but it's a bit early in the day.

I've run over.

Thanks for taking the time for sharing your views.

I'll tweet the pic of the fancy biscuits. I'm @tom_watson.

Thank you very much for replying to my question Tom, will send you somemore information later when I am back home.

It's bad enough with the ever emerging situation with Elm House, Rotherham, PIE, and all the other investigations into abults who have been abused as children and the way victims have been failed in the past in such a complete way, but when there is both a clause actually built into Sentencing Guidelines (not current ones) stating that victims only have 12 months to disclose - plus if that timescale is passed, the other offence that could be used is specifically prohibited from being used - quite unbelievable and totally inexcusable. Only ones who would benefit from this is the offenders (who get away with their crime)

Thank you again.

Super webchat - thanks again, Tom, and well done MNHQ for arranging.

Thank you so much for coming in.

Bloody hell, now I have biscuit envy!

Normally I would be but I think Tom deserves those biscuits. Well done and thank you for coming in. Proper bloody stoic Englishman!

Ahh he replied to my question what a great man, great man, and amazing job he is doing, heartening to see him invited on, well done MNHQ

I was unable to join in but would like to add my thanks to him and to the people who asked such intelligent questions.

I can't believe I forgot this and forgot to add a question. Excellent web chat :)

Really great webchat. Really like Tom, and more power to his elbow. His tenacity and bravery, taking on some really tough stuff, he's a breath of fresh air!

Well done MNHQ

Sad I missed it. My question would have been: could you please stand for PM?

He'd be a great one. Imagine it! - a PM with principles!

Steady on there Dida! I think we're all only just getting used to there being MPs with principles!

But yes, I've often wondered if Tom might stand for leadership - he has certainly led the way on many daring issues, important on both sides of the establishment.

It was a good webchat, sad to have missed it live. For me though, the only thing missing was finding out who Tom would support in leading the inquiry, and who else might be in the running. Not clear from his discussion whether he does or doesn't support Mansfield, or anyone else for that matter.

Hello, could anybody give me a bit of advice please, I had my baby daughter 8 weeks ago, while I was pregnant just weeks before our daughter was born I found my partner had been sending inappropriate messages to other females and I left him! He blamed me for him doing this, due to me being moody, it wasn't the first time he had done this either, but I had forgiven him in the past! I went through labour, sleepless nights, everything alone, and it's hard but I am coping, he has never stopped trying for us to get back together, in fact paid more attention to that than his daughter, promising me he will change and all he wants is me and his daughter, but my family and friends dislike him a lot, due to his behaviour as he is very up and down, one day declaring his love and the next day he despises me, which is the last thing you need after having a baby and my family could see it was making me feel very down! The problem is I still love him, very much but I'm scared to give him another chance and get hurt once again, do you really think people are capable of changing? Or am I being stupid to even think about going back, Thanks

Hi Jenna you will get more help if you start a fresh thread.

Yes, Jenna, start a thread in relationships - they are great in there

Sorry to hear you're having a hard time though - does sound like he needs to prove he's changed, rather than just promising, not that you should hang around waiting though.

Thank you to Tom Watson and those who asked questions. Sorry I missed this. I would have been interested to know if he has experienced any pressure to back off this campaign.

You have been very quiet during the Rotherham horrors . How come?