Boy, 9, died trying to escape abuse at Fife school as family make ‘cover-up’ claim

The brother of a nine-year-old boy who died while trying to escape a Fife residential school has accused the UK Government of a cover-up.

The youngster was knocked down and killed as police chased him along the M90 in May 1972.

It was the 13th time the boy had run away from Corsbie Hall, in Thornton, amid claims of horrific abuse.

A Fife MP later claimed the school could be part of “a major education scandal”.

However, Secretary of State for Scotland Gordon Campbell rejected calls for an inquiry.

The family of the youngster who died told the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry they were astonished at Lord Campbell of Croy’s reaction.

They claim documents suggest the secretary of state and George Taylor-Bryant, Corsbie Hall’s headteacher, were friends.

Francis, the boy’s brother, said: “They’ve airbrushed everything out of existence and it will come back to haunt them.

“My reaction is it’s a cover-up.”

Children beaten and starved at Thornton abuse school

Corsbie Hall was located in the old Thornton Fever Hospital, near Glenrothes, from 1970 to 1972.

The inquiry heard children were regularly beaten, starved and forced to take cold showers at the school for “mentally and socially disturbed pupils”.

And Margaret Thatcher, education secretary at the time, stopped English youngsters from attending.

The nine-year-old boy who died cannot be named due to legal restrictions.

However, the inquiry heard he was removed from his Stirling home against his family’s wishes because was dyslexic.

Francis and sister Sharon, both pseudonyms, said their brother complained of being locked in a cupboard in just his pants almost every night.

He spoke of being hit with sticks, refused food and forced to scrub floors and carry rocks.

Then, in a letter home, the youngster told how he had run away 12 times but promised not to do it again.

However, Sharon said: “He ran away one more time and that’s when he was killed.”

‘No more than a boyish escapade’

The youngster’s death had a devastating impact on his family and many years later they started looking for answers.

They discovered Parliamentary records which show Fife Labour MP Willie Hamilton pushed several times for an official inquiry into Corsbie Hall.

He said the situation was “extremely unsatisfactory”.

However, a letter from the secretary of state described their brother running away as “no more than a boyish escapade”.

‘I don’t think an inquiry will serve any useful purpose’

And Lord Campbell, who died in 2005 aged 83, said: “No blame can be attached to the school.”

He later accused Mr Hamilton of “being a little hard on the school”, adding: “I don’t think an inquiry will serve any useful purpose.”

The records show Corsbie Hall headteacher Mr Taylor-Bryant had no teaching or childcare qualifications.

They also revealed one of the teachers had previously been charged with sexual offences against children.