MP makes Commons plea for paedophile nursery worker to name children she abused

Paedophile nursery worker Vanessa George has faced fresh demands to name children she abused to help ease their suffering.

Labour MP Luke Pollard warned George “maintains a power” over some of her victims given she has not released information which would properly pinpoint those in the pictures she took.

The self-styled “paedo whore mum” was jailed indefinitely in 2009 and told to serve a minimum of seven years behind bars for abusing toddlers at Little Ted’s Nursery in Plymouth.

George, who was convicted of multiple counts of sexual abuse and taking and distributing indecent images of children, was released from prison in 2019 after serving 10 years.

Mr Pollard’s plea came as key legislation, known as “Helen’s Law”, moved closer to becoming law after MPs rejected a Lords amendment following further changes by the Government to support victims.

The Prisoners (Disclosure of Information About Victims) Bill is named after Helen McCourt, whose murderer Ian Simms was released from prison earlier this year despite never revealing where her remains are.

The legislation places a statutory obligation on the Parole Board to take into account specific offenders’ non-disclosure of certain information when making a decision about their release from prison.

It applies to prisoners serving a sentence for murder or manslaughter or for taking or making an indecent photograph of a child.

Speaking in the Commons, Mr Pollard (Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport) said: “We don’t believe every child at Little Ted’s Nursery was abused by Vanessa George but we don’t know which child was.

“That means every single family that sent their most precious gift in the world, their child, to this nursery is living with the uncertainty whether it was their child that was abused or not, whether it is their child whose image of that abuse is festering on some dark corner of the web.

“That is a cancer that eats away at you and the courage and determination of the families throughout this has been a real source of strength to me.”

He concluded his speech by saying: “The final remark on this is to Vanessa George herself.

“She maintains a power over the victims by withholding the names.

“She will know the names of some of the children she abused and photographed and shared the images of.

“Wherever she is in Britain at this point, she could help those families relieve part of their suffering and uncertainty by naming some of the children she abused.

“She must know the names, she must know that naming the kids would enormously help the healing process and is something I appeal to her to do because for as long as she holds those names, those families will not have peace, and I think that’s a really important part.”

The House of Lords had amended the Bill in a bid to ensure the families of some victims were kept informed when their killer or abuser is seeking release from prison.

They supported a proposal designed to prevent the distress suffered by relatives when they find out about an offender being freed via the press or social media.

Justice minister Chris Philp said what the amendment sought to achieve is already done by other means, explaining a Victim Contact Scheme already exists.

Mr Philp added a pilot scheme has been running on making communications with victims and their families automatic unless they opt-out, telling MPs: “Subsequent to the House of Lords consideration of this matter, a decision has been taken to roll out that programme on a national basis, as part of the new Victims’ Code – which we expect to come into operation early 2021.”

Mr Philp said talks would take place between the Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, MPs, victims and families about improvements to the contact scheme.

The Bill now requires final approval from the Lords and, if no further amendments are made, it will progress towards receiving royal assent.