Lord Morrow has described allegations that children from the former Brindley House care home in Killadeas were “prostituted out” to a gang of convicted criminals as “sinister, disturbing and deeply troubling”.

The former Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA has called on the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) to re-examine the decision not to prosecute 11 men arrested at the time. He is also demanding an investigation into the actions of the agencies involved when matters became known, in particular the roles of the then health minister and secretary of state.

“With recent revelations unprecedented and nothing short of horrific, the latest further suggest brutal exploitation of children, supposed to be safe in a care facility,” he said.

Lord Morrow has said he “remains convinced” that the investigation into both alleged child abuse and apparent failures should be taken over by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

“However, it is clear police did investigate Brindley House, arresting 11 men in relation to sexual abuse and prostituting of children, but the PPS decided against prosecution.

“This struck a particular chord with me having spent years researching and preparing for the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Act which is grounded on protecting any person, adult or child, from exploitation as the hands, or for the profit, of others.”

While Brindley House took place long before the Act came into law, the alleged victims were children “therefore sexual abuse was exactly that, and new law was not required to make it criminal”, says Lord Morrow.

He claims what occurred however was “an elongated process of reviews, reports and recommendations, through the well-rehearsed ‘multi-agency’ system, running some three years and without a substantive end result”.

“The phrase ‘multi-agency’ always sets alarm bells ringing for me. Such investigations should function like a well-oiled spring but instead create a chain of passing responsibility, rarely resulting in overall, definitive accountability.

“Each sector cannot apparently function without linkage to another, who in turn link with another and another. After a while, instead of working toward answers, matters just endlessly spin,” he said.

Lord Morrow added: “The Minister of Health at the time must have been aware of these matters. This was also prior to the devolution of justice so the relevant Secretary of State must have been briefed. A fulsome explanation as to why no prosecutions took place, against a backdrop of child safeguarding failures, must be forthcoming”.

Concluding his statement, Lord Morrow said it is time for “in-depth scrutiny of this sinister, disturbing and deeply troubling chapter of Fermanagh’s past”.

“This horror is not going to conveniently evaporate. Victims are suffering to this day. They need answers and deserve justice. Why there is apparent reluctance to comprehend this is mystifying, but society demands and expects protection of the vulnerable and prosecution of the abusers.

“I am earnestly calling on the PPS to examine this case as a matter of urgency and either reverse the original decision against prosecution, or explain why this cannot now be actioned,” he said.