The nation’s Independent Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse has heard how British children were sent to Australia to face lives of physical and sexual exploitation at the request of the British government, in order to populate colonial territories with “good, white British stock.”

In order to ensure that enough children were sent across, British authorities would lie to the children, telling them their parents were dead.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt gave a statement to the Inquiry this week, in which he apologised on behalf of the government for the policy which spanned several decades, saying it was “fundamentally flawed”. The policy led to the sexual abuse of thousands of children.

Hunt acknowledged that the abuse was not unknown to British authorities, and said the government would consider the recommendations made by the Inquiry, which are due to be published at the end of this year.

Yesterday saw the last of the public hearings looking at child migrants within the Inquiry’s Child Migration Programmes case study, part of its Protection of Children Outside the UK investigation.

Some links relating to the investigation:

• IICSA Public Hearing, Wednesday 26th July (Transcript)
• Former child migrant criticises former Prime Minister’s comments about abuse
• Inquiry Contact Page 

Photo courtesy of Merseyside Maritime Museum.