Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)

Uni sued for ‘bad’ degree by ex student

Devastated after being told abuser wouldn’t face trial Calls for full public inquiry grow as scale of inaction over child sex claims is exposed Whistleblo­wersare punished for raising concern over trail of rape, violence & drugs

- BY HELEN WHITEHOUSE BY GERALDINE MCKELVIE and NICK SOMMERLAD Investigat­ions Editor

A GRADUATE is suing her university for £60,000, saying her “Mickey Mouse” internatio­nal business management degree has not helped her get a job.

Pok Wong, 29, got a first from Anglia Ruskin in 2013 but says it misreprese­nted itself and has filed papers with a county court.

In them she claims “since graduating, it has been proven that the degree does not play a role to help secure a rewarding job with prospects”.

She said: “It is a Mickey Mouse degree.”

Anglia Ruskin has rejected her claims is defending the litigation. TWO whistleblo­wers were punished for trying to expose Britain’s worst child abuse scandal which affected up to 1,000 girls for 40 years, the Mirror can reveal today.

A Labour MP last night joined calls for a public inquiry after girls as young as 11 were lured from families to be drugged, beaten and raped in an epidemic that, say victims, continues today.

Three were murdered and two others died in tragedies linked to the scandal.

As our case histories show, many were ignored after reporting rapes to police.

But, despite similar high-profile cases in Rochdale and Rotherham, authoritie­s in Telford did nothing for years to stop the horrific abuse network exposed yesterday by The Sunday Mirror.

Hundreds of victims have been failed. Police even told one victim they had destroyed evidence of her rape claim after they tried to contact her.

A council-commission­ed report told how social workers knew of the child sex crimes in the late 90s. And in 2016, whislteblo­wing police chaplain Keith Osmund-smith was suspended after passing papers to the Mirror.

We asked police what was done about allegation­s of abuse in the 150-page report and they said they had not been properly logged.

A second whistleblo­wer employed by Axis Counsellin­g – a charity helping sex abuse victims – was forced to leave her post after speaking out. Notes of her disciplina­ry meeting show officials admitted she had done nothing wrong but feared funding from authoritie­s would be cut if she kept expressing views about the lack of action over the scandal by the council and police.

The majority of Axis Counsellin­g’s funding comes from West Mercia Police and Crime FIRST targeted in 2014 at nightclubs in Telford at 15, the girl claims to have been repeatedly raped and abused for four years.

She was devastated when police told her late last year a man alleged to have raped her in January 2017 would not go on trial.

Police files confirm she gave extensive forensic evidence to officers hours after she said she was attacked. She told officers she Commission­er, John Campion – a vocal critic of an MP and the Sunday Mirror’s push for a Rotherham-style inquiry into child sexual exploitati­on in Telford.

In September 2016, Tory MP for Telford, Lucy Allan, called for an inquiry after an abuse victim told her that many of the worst offenders had not been prosecuted and still lived in the area.

The same month, Tory Campion and nine others on the Labour-run council wrote to Home Secretary Amber Rudd, saying the inquiry was not necessary.

The whistleblo­wers’ concerns came on top of complaints from victims who were ignored or treated like criminals.

Becky Watson, 13, died in a car crash described as a “prank”. But she had suffered two years of abuse by an Asian had been given drugs and remembers little. The man was also spotted leaving her house on CCTV. She suffered broken ribs.

A police dossier, seen by our team, shows forensic evidence was destroyed by officers after they tried to contact the victim. grooming gang. Her mum Torron Watson said she repeatedly told police Becky was being abused and named suspects.

But, she said: “Girls like Becky were treated like criminals.”

In another case, Lucy Lowe, 16, was killed with her mum Eileen and 17-yearold sister Sarah in an a house fire set by her abuser Azhar Ali Mehmood, 44.

Cabbie Mehmood targeted Lucy in 1997 and she was just 14 when she gave birth to his daughter. He was jailed in 2001 for murdering Lucy, her mum Eileen and 17-year-old sister Sarah.

But he was never arrested or charged over child sex crimes concerning his illegal relationsh­ip with the schoolgirl.

Vicky Round, a friend of Becky, was abused by the same gang who got her

 ??  ?? PROBE Sunday Mirror yesterday Mubarek Ali was sent down for 14 years Ahdel Ali got 18 years for horrific abuse Azhar Ali Mehmood jailed for murder
PROBE Sunday Mirror yesterday Mubarek Ali was sent down for 14 years Ahdel Ali got 18 years for horrific abuse Azhar Ali Mehmood jailed for murder
 ??  ?? LEGAL ACTION Pok Wong
LEGAL ACTION Pok Wong
 ??  ?? WHISTLEBLO­WER Chaplain Keith and Mr Campion
WHISTLEBLO­WER Chaplain Keith and Mr Campion

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