'She gave no apology'

In the mid-Nineties, during the 12 years of "thinking about those issues" that Margaret Hodge has referred to, Demetrious Panton wrote her a six-page letter setting out the details of his abuse at a residential unit in Elwood Street, Islington. The home's brutal superintendent, Bernie Bain, had sexually abused him, he said, "three or four times a week for over a year". Panton was, at the very least, looking for an apology to allow him closure.

But Hodge, who had left the council in 1992 to be subsequently elected MP for Barking, sent a reply that astounded him. "There were just four lines on headed paper. She referred me to Islington. There was no apology, nothing. I found that amazing. Still do. And she has the gall to say that she has spent the past 12 years listening to young people who were abused."

It is true that some of the people who were abused in Islington care homes as children are now so psychologically scarred as adults that their testimony would not stand up to forensic scrutiny.

But Panton - confident and articulate - does not fall into this category. Instead, his is a story of courageous triumph over tragedy.

For after he left care, where he had languished since the age of 10, he went on to university where he graduated with a degree in philosophy. And he is currently employed as a consultant to the government on urban renewal schemes, including - ironically - Sure Start child welfare projects under Hodge's ultimate control. His client list includes the office of John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister.

After years of persistence, Panton finally did get his apology from the council and a few thousand pounds in compensation.

In May 1998, Milton Babullal, the new chair of social services, made a formal Statement of Regret to him at the town hall. "The Local Authority acknowledges the incidents of abuse which occurred whilst you were looked after in Islington and recognises the distress which you must have felt and continue to feel. The Local Authority is profoundly sorry for the experiences that you underwent as a child. I express my deep regret to you."

"That statement," says Panton, "meant everything to me. Milton was big enough to apologise even though it didn't happen on his watch. It allowed me to begin healing and make a fresh start."