A REVIEW team honestly and morally concluded that two former nursery workers had sexually abused children in their care, the team leader has told a High Court judge.
Professor Richard Barker said the team did not prejudge what had happened at Newcastle's Shieldfield nursery, nor did they misrepresent or distort evidence.
Prof Barker, professor of child welfare and head of the subject division of childhood and family studies at Newcastle's University of Northumbria, is being sued by Christopher Lillie and Dawn Reed for libel.
They are also suing Judith Jones, Jacqui Saradjian and Roy Wardell, the other review team members who wrote a 1998 report titled "Abuse in Early Years".
Newcastle City Council - which commissioned the report - and the Newcastle Chronicle and Journal Limited - which published stories based on the report - are also being sued. They are claiming qualified privilege.
The case continues
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