Beechwood abuse inquiry: Worker 'could have lost job'

Michelle Foster told the inquiry staff were not properly checked before being employed at Beechwood

A children's home worker was told she would lose her job if she revealed residents were having sex and taking drugs, an inquiry heard.

Michelle Foster, who worked at Beechwood Community Home from 2000, said she was ordered not to reveal such details at the inquest of a resident who had taken her own life.

She also told the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) the home was overcrowded and understaffed.

Margaret Mackechnie denied the claims.

The then-assistant director of children's provider services for Nottingham City Council also rejected allegations she had threatened Ms Foster with dismissal.

'Liar'

A statement was read out to the inquiry in which Ms Foster described how Ms Mackechnie had visited her the day before the inquest.

"She said to me that in the interests of the children and my job, I shouldn't say anything to the inquest about children having sex in the unit," the panel heard.

"She said to me that if I disclosed to the inquest that children were having sex and taking drugs in that it would cost me my job."

When asked to confirm the details, Ms Foster replied: "She did say that."

When told that Ms Mackechnie had denied threatening her with dismissal if she gave such evidence, Ms Foster responded: "The woman is a liar."

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Ms Foster told the hearing staff training and monitoring at the home was poor and the "incompetence" of management left staff working 30-hour shifts.

When she raised concerns with the unit and service managers, she claimed they "obstructed anything I put to them".

"They were more interested in people that were going to be 'yes men', and anybody else was called a trouble-[maker]," she said.

Ms Foster said there was a "really toxic mix" of people at Beechwood, with troubled children put in shared rooms and bullying a common occurrence.

'Never absolved myself'

Ms Mackechnie, who worked for the city council from 1998 to 2007, said she occasionally visited Beechwood and other homes for which she had "strategic oversight", but day-to-day management was carried out by other staff.

She said Ms Foster's comments about continued overcrowding of Beechwood was "not the case" but happened on "emergency" occasions.

Regarding the allegations that she pressured Ms Foster, she said: "I deny that I told her she would lose her job if she said anything to the inquest."

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Ms Mackechnie also addressed comments made by Bronwen Cooper, a former investigations officer who previously gave evidence to the inquiry.

Ms Cooper had recommended closing Beechwood in a draft report in 2001, saying "inappropriate behaviour" by staff had left children "at a high level of risk" of abuse.

But she claimed she had been "convinced" to remove the recommendation by Ms Mackechnie.

Although she was commissioned to carry out independent investigations, Ms Cooper was employed by the council, which she said "slightly compromised" her position.

Ms Mackechnie said she did not restrict Ms Cooper's investigation. She added she had "never absolved myself of responsibility" for what happened at the home.

The inquiry continues.