Victims of doctor who used 'truth serum' drug to paralyse and rape at least 130 children as young as ten at psychiatric hospital finally receive an apology from Matt Hancock for the abuse they suffered in the 1960s
Children suffered at the hands of Dr Kenneth Milner at Derby psychiatric hospital
At least 130 people say they suffered abuse at Aston Hall in the 1960s and 1970s
report found children were drugged, stripped, abused and put in straitjackets
By Luke May For Mailonline 14 December 2020
Victims of a doctor who used a 'truth serum' to paralyse and rape at least 130 children as young as ten at a psychiatric hospital in the 1960s and 70s have received an apology from Matt Hancock. Children at Derby psychiatric hospital Aston Hall were drugged, stripped and abused at the hands of Dr Kenneth Milner, a report revealed in 2018.
Victim Barbara O'Hare, 59, previously revealed she underwent 'treatment,' by Dr Milner, whom she describes as a 'monster,' during an eight month stay at the hospital in 1971. She was told to lie on a mattress, drugged and awoke the next morning with no memory of what happened.
At least 130 men and women have since come forward to say they suffered similar abuse, after it was revealed Dr Milner was sexually and physically abusing children. Mr Hancock has written a letter to victims today, after agreeing a financial settlement in 2019.
Dr Kenneth Milner is thought to have abused at least 130 boys and girls at Aston Hall psychiatric hospital, Derby, by drugging them in the 1960s and 1970s
Dr Kenneth Milner is thought to have abused at least 130 boys and girls at Aston Hall psychiatric hospital, Derby, by drugging them in the 1960s and 1970s
His letter, seen by the Derby Telegraph, reads: 'I would like to assure you that I am deeply sorry for the care and treatment that you received at Aston Hall Hospital. I know that it is still very distressing for you to recall your experiences and that the passage of time has not diminished that. 'I want to assure you that what happened at Aston Hall has been taken very seriously and the NHS has worked closely with all the relevant agencies, including Derbyshire Constabulary, to identify the individuals involved in the treatment at Aston Hall.
'I can assure you that Dr Milner's death has not prevented a thorough and robust investigation of what happened.' In 2018, an independent report found children were given sodium amytal, which was not authorised for use on children.
The report found victims had been given the drug, stripped, abused and put in straitjackets. The majority of allegations centred around Dr Milner.
Aston Hall closed in the 1990s, but a 2018 report revealed the scale of abuse seen in the 1960s. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has now told victims he is 'deeply sorry for the care and treatment received' at the hospital
The doctor would inject his young patients with the paralysing drug in a bid to 'cure' them of their past traumas. He would use the opportunity to sexually assault them.
Police concluded that Dr Milner, who died in 1976, would have been questioned over allegations of rape, indecent assault and child cruelty, had he still been alive. Many of his victims, some who were as young as 10, described how their lives had been blighted by the trauma they suffered, growing up to be alcoholics and drug addicts.
Ms O'Hare told the Daily Mail in 2018: 'Dr Milner played with our bodies and our minds. 'It is so outlandish. No one would believe us. Even my dad told me "you are a liar". There was no-one to tell. No-one was going to listen to us. 'He used to use the phrase 'mental defectives' to describe us, as a cover for his evil. 'The truth is we were human toys. We were a piece of meat for someone to play with, behind closed doors. And this man – this monster – was supposed to be protecting us.'
Solicitor Dianne Collins represented people who were admitted to the hospital in the 1960s and 70s when they were children. Barbara O'Hare was abused by Milner numerous times after being drugged with sodium amytal, a barbituate that was banned from use on chilldren. She said the vile doctor: 'played with our bodies and our minds'
Barbara O'Hare was abused by Milner numerous times after being drugged with sodium amytal, a barbituate that was banned from use on chilldren. She said the vile doctor: 'played with our bodies and our minds'
Speaking after her 80 clients received their apologies she said: 'Throughout this entire process, all the survivors have wanted are answers to their questions, an admission that what happened to them as children should never have been allowed to happen, and an apology. 'The civil claim has been a difficult process for our clients to re-live, and we are pleased that, thanks to the many survivors who found the courage to come forward, all those things have been achieved and they have now been given the justice they deserve. 'While no apology or amount of compensation can change what happened to these people or make up for how they have suffered since. Solicitor Dianne Collins helped 80 victims reveal the horrors that happened at Aston Hall 'I hope the settlement and the end of this long legal claim will help to give them closure and enable them to move forward.'
In August 2019, the Department of Health reached an an agreement with victims to pay at least £8,000 as a starting point to victims if they were 'experimented on' with Dr Milner's 'treatment'. Patients who received between two to five 'treatments' more would receive an additional £2,500 for each extra treatment.
People who received between six and 15 'treatments' would receive an extra £1,500 per treatment. The report published in 2018 by the Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Board - a multi-agency body including police, health and social services, said the claims made by dozens of former patients were genuine.
Derbyshire Police also said it had recorded 33 physical assault and 40 sexual assault allegations after taking witness accounts from 140 people.
Dr Milner's death made it impossible to put the allegations to him, therefore no criminal prosecutions will ever be brought. He ran the hospital from 1947 to the 1970s putting the potential number of his victims in the thousands.
Derbyshire Police said there would have been sufficient evidence to justify interviewing Dr Milner under caution if he was still alive in relation to a number of potential offences - namely rape, indecent assault, child cruelty and assault.
But the report also stated no inference could be drawn as to his guilt.
Many of the victims of abuse and unauthorised drug treatments called a government compensation scheme 'an insult'. Ms Collins added: 'What happened to those children at Aston Hall in the 1960s and 70s is appalling. Sadly, at the time, there were no safeguarding procedures in place to stop it from happening. Moreover, if these very vulnerable, young people tried to tell anyone what had happened to them, they were not believed. 'It is important to note that it is not too late for survivors of Aston Hall to bring a claim under the settlement scheme.
If they received narco-analysis treatment while a patient at the hospital and the records exist that document those treatments, they will be entitled to compensation under the scheme. 'Although many survivors may be disappointed that no criminal prosecutions are to be brought, it is always important to report any abuse that has happened, however long ago it was. Abusers have to realise they are not in the clear simply because of the passage of time.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9052317/Aston-Hall-victims-receive-apology-doctor-abused-130-children-young-10.html
Dozens of sex attacks on children at Derbyshire hospital investigated
Police are looking into claims youngsters were assaulted while sedated with drugs By Isaac Crowson Crime Reporter 25 JUL 2018
The story of Aston Hall
Police are investigating dozens of alleged sex attacks on children at a Derbyshire hospital. The assaults were carried out while the boys and girls were sedated with drugs, a report out today reveals. The alleged incidents were perpetrated at Aston Hall mental hospital, just outside Derby. Police, medical and child protection authorities have released a report into the claims made by a total of 65 victims. A total of 77 crimes have been reported, including serious physical abuse and sexual abuse, including rape. Derbyshire Live first reported in February 2016 how there were claims a growing number of people, now adults, were abused at Aston Hall in the 1970s.
Shocking sexual abuse cases
The trials were said to have been carried out by controversial medical Dr Kenneth Milner. He is accused of sedating children using ether or using a drug called sodium amytal, commonly known as a “truth serum", in a bid to correct "deviant" behaviour. https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/live-dozens-sex-attacks-children-1823203
Aston Hall - Investigation of historical abuse
On 25 July 2018, the Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Board published an independent assurance report reflecting on the current multi-agency safeguarding arrangements within Derbyshire, with reference to Aston Hall Hospital
Published alongside it is the Police Findings Report of Derbyshire Constabulary, which is a detailed account of the investigation of the allegations of abuse at Aston Hall. https://www.ddscp.org.uk/latest-news/aston-hall/
Government says sorry to victims of horrific abuse at Aston Hall - Derbyshire Live By Matthew Lodge Senior reporter 14 DEC 2020
Traumatised victims of horrific sexual abuse at a Derbyshire psychiatric hospital have received a letter of apology from Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
The letter has been sent to 80 victims who stayed at Aston Hall, in Aston-on-Trent, which took in vulnerable children during the 60s and 70s.
Victim Audrey Poxon said that the Government apology felt empty though she was grateful to receive the letter.
Traumatised victims of horrific sexual abuse at a Derbyshire psychiatric hospital have received a letter of apology from Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
The letter has been sent to 80 victims who stayed at Aston Hall, in Aston-on-Trent, which took in vulnerable children during the 60s and 70s.
Victim Audrey Poxon said that the Government apology felt empty though she was grateful to receive the letter.
She was one off scores of children who were drugged and abused by head physician Dr Kenneth Milner, crimes that did not come to light until early 2016 when the Derby Telegraph published the first of many stories about the horrors that took place at Aston Hall.
Mr Hancock's letter reads: "I would like to assure you that I am deeply sorry for the care and treatment that you received at Aston Hall Hospital. I know that it is still very distressing for you to recall your experiences and that the passage of time has not diminished that.
"I want to assure you that what happened at Aston Hall has been taken very seriously and the NHS has worked closely with all the relevant agencies, including Derbyshire Constabulary, to identify the individuals involved in the treatment at Aston Hall. "I can assure you that Dr Milner's death has not prevented a thorough and robust investigation of what happened.
"Whilst I recognise that no amount of financial compensation can make up for your experiences at Aston Hall, I very much hope that you will be able to move forward following settlement of your claim."
The letter comes as the liability potentially arising from victims' legal claims has been transferred to the Department for Health and Social Care from now abolished health authorities.
Ms Poxon, who was abused multiple times at the hospital over three years she was there, says nothing can make up for the impact it's had on her life. "I am grateful to get the letter," she said. "It's taken a lot of effort to get to this point. I know Matt Hancock probably means well, but does he really know our stories? "I appreciate I got a letter, but it feels a bit like empty words. "The thing that would help things for me is if someone who was working there at the time came out and spoke about what happened, but I don't think that's going to happen."
The 65-year-old says the physical abuse she underwent, which included being strapped down and people sitting on her chest, leaving her unable to breathe and has left a huge impact on her life. "I do tend to be overprotective, especially with my grand kids," she said. "If I see anything to do with sexual offences I get very angry. I think everybody had just got it into their heads that it had happened and didn't realise how bad it was. "We can't change what happened, I just hope it never happens again."
The experiments run by head physician Dr Kenneth Milner have been exposed as having been a means to abuse vulnerable children rather than therapy.
Victims have said they were injected with a drug called sodium amytal, commonly known as "truth serum", leaving them traumatised, with others saying they were sexually abused while under the drug's influence.
In August 2019 victims of the scandal became eligible to receive thousands of pounds in compensation for the abuse they suffered.
Allegations into Dr Milner's behaviour were first highlighted by an investigation by the Derby Telegraph in February 2016. Following this story, dozens of other victims came forward and Derbyshire police launched its biggest ever child abuse investigation. A 2018 report by the Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Board said these claims were credible, while Derbyshire police said it had recorded 33 physical assault and 40 sexual assault allegations....
Medical experts interviewed during the police investigation said the use of the drug to knock out the children was not a recognised treatment during that time period and was therefore not being used appropriately.
Dr Milner died in 1975, meaning the allegations could not be put to him and, as a result, no criminal prosecution could take place.
