Abuse must never be allowed again

After a court case lasting many months and a quest for justice lasting decades, a pair of abusive teachers from a Fife school are finally behind bars. Their crimes, and the extent of them, were grotesque and unimaginable to those with any semblance of a conscience.

That they managed to get away with them for so long is also despicable.

The youngsters who fell in to the clutches of depraved John Farrell and Paul Kelly were already vulnerable, from deprived backgrounds with few of the chances most other people are given.

Their arrival at St Ninian’s in Falkland should have heralded an opportunity to reform their lives. Instead it ruined them. Many will never recover. Were it not for the bravery of one victim, who refused to give up his battle for justice, Farrell and Kelly would still be at large.

The pair’s movements since leaving the school — one became a priest and the other taught in England — must now be examined for other criminal activity.

The victims cannot get back lost time but at least some have seen justice.

The Scottish Government is overseeing a national public inquiry into historical abuse of children in institutional care.

It must be forensic in nature, and wrongdoing, if discovered, must be punished remorselessly.