Thirty years after Alison Taylor first exposed the way that vulnerable children had been exploited in north Wales and twenty years after William Hague (as Secretary of State for Wales) set up an inquiry to meet mounting public disquiet, a conviction of one of the key perpetrators has been achieved.
I recall that one of my first speeches to a Welsh Liberal Democrat conference was on the subject of Bryn Estyn and related matters. One of the most eminent of LD lawyers, Martin Thomas (now Lord Thomas of Gresford) replied in the debate. In his speech he expressed shock that people he knew locally - had even played rugby with - had been able to keep their dark secrets so successfully. Now that we know for certain that one of the perpetrators was a senior police officer, the mystery does not seem so inexplicable. Perhaps the taking down of Anglesea will embolden those to come forward who know of other people in key positions who were involved in the cover-up.
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