Soham school didn't check Huntley's references

13 April 2012

The school which hired Ian Huntley as a caretaker just months before he killed Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells never checked his references, an inquiry heard today.

Huntley applied to Soham Village College armed with open references headed "To whom it may concern" but their authenticity was only verified after his arrest for double murder.

And it also emerged the company responsible for coordinating checks on staff for many Cambridgeshire schools never verified certain details such as former addresses or possible aliases.

Maureen Cooper, director of Employment Personnel Management Ltd (EPM), said they relied on the "honesty of the applicant".

The revelations came on day nine of the Bichard Inquiry, which is investigating how Huntley slipped through the net, despite a string of previous sex allegations.

Howard Gilbert, the Soham Village College principal, admitted that Huntley's references were not checked despite Education Department guidance stating it was "not good practice" to accept them on face value.

In the references, many of which were undated, Huntley was described as "reliable, honest and trustworthy".

In his application he also told the college he felt he had "a lot to offer".

"At the end of the day they should have been called in. A letter should have been sent to confirm that the references were genuine and authentic," Mr Gilbert told the inquiry.

In December, after Huntley's conviction, Mr Gilbert said the school had done "everything we had to do" in his appointment.

The headteacher remembers that Huntley was "thoughtful and mature" during the interview and that he brought references from four previous employers with him.
Cambridgeshire County Council now believes it would be a good idea for support staff to face questions about their suitability to work with young children during the application process.

Police checked Huntley's references after his arrest and found there were gaps in his employment history.

One other employer who was not mentioned on the application form was found, the inquiry was told.

Police confirmed that Huntley had worked for the companies he put on his application.

What checks were done on Huntley at the time, including police vetting, passed through EPM, who was acting on behalf of the school.

But Mrs Cooper revealed to the inquiry the company did not verify certain details themselves, including previous addresses.

She said a form filled out by the applicants for the police checks required them to list any addresses they had lived at for the last five years.

But she admitted the company only checked to see the details on the form accounted for the time period and could not verify that they were accurate.

She said they relied on the honesty of the individual and this was a flaw that still remains in the national system - the national Criminal Records Bureau.

Mr Eadie suggested one need to check the accuracy of addresses was to ensure all the relevant police forces were contacted to carry out vetting.

He said: "If I was a person with a serious conviction for a sexual offence and I was determined to get in to a school with children in it, it is not very likely I would choose to disclose the police area in which that happened?"

Mrs Cooper said: "That's why I described it as a flaw and why it is of serious concern to me that it is still."

Huntley was employed by the school in November 2001 and just 10 months later murdered Holly and Jessica.

It was only after his conviction that previous sex allegations, including four suspected rapes, emerged.

The inquiry was adjourned until 2pm on Tuesday.

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