Total of 135 people make compensation claims over care home abuse

135 abuse claims at home where 'any child likely to face significant harm' 1 hour ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Emma Glasbey Yorkshire home and social affairs correspondent BBC Malcolm Phillips was found unfit to stand trial so a finding of facts hearing took place instead An expert report into abuse at a council children's home concluded that any child placed there was "likely to suffer significant harm", a BBC investigation can reveal. Our research has also discovered that 135 people have made compensation claims over allegations of either physical or sexual abuse at the home in Halifax, West Yorkshire, with 14 claims so far settled. The report, which has never been previously fully released, was commissioned into Calderdale Council-run Skircoat Lodge. Earlier this year, a jury concluded the former home manager, now 93, had sexually abused six children over three decades. He had previously been found guilty in 2001 of sexually abusing eight girls and was jailed for seven years. His former assistant was found guilty of indecently assaulting a boy and facilitating the abuse of another. Warning - this report includes details some readers may find distressing The 1994 report was created by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) after the charity was commissioned to look into what was happening at the home by the local authority after a report of sexual abuse by the home manager. The 190-page document's author uncovered a catalogue of allegations of abuse and neglect. As well as sexual abuse, this included accounts of; Children being denied sleep as a punishment Forced standing where youngsters had to remain in one spot and stare at a wall for hours during the night A practice known as "walling up" where children would be grabbed by the neck of their clothes and pinned against a wall Children in bare feet and bed clothes being forced to stand on cold floors One youngster having 40 bruises on their body but no welfare check being completed Another young person attempting to kill themself and then being sent back to school A culture of provocation and confrontation among staff to children Staff who expressed concern about what was going on being ridiculed and victimised The report's author described Skircoat Lodge as "abusive" and "dangerous" and said the positive statements made about the home by some staff indicated "collective collusion with an abusive regime". West Yorkshire Police Linda Brunning worked as Malcolm Phillips' assistant at Skircoat Lodge children's home Former manager Malcolm Phillips, who was in charge of the home when it opened in 1976 and was suspended 18 years later in 1994, was deemed not fit to stand trial after being charged in 2025. Phillip, described as a "master manipulator" in court, was given an absolute discharge, with the judge saying she had "no choice". He also received a sexual harm prevention order. According to the Sentencing Council , an absolute discharge means that "th