Police investigating alleged sexual exploitation within city's care services
Inquirer investigation uncovers failings amid care workers' fears of a cover-up
Welcome to your midweek Inquirer which features a special investigation into the city’s care services. Jolene Campbell has spent the last few months speaking to current and former city council staff with concerns about the way care services for young people in particular have been run.
Her investigation has uncovered the suspension of at least eight council-employed care workers, and the sacking of another, following a series of complaints from whistleblowers.
As a result of her work, we can also reveal that the council has appointed Brodies solicitors to examine a swathe of other allegations, some dating back a decade, while the police have been called in to look at the most serious allegations.
The nature of the complaints varies but they include some of the most serious nature.
Many of those Jolene spoke to were anxious that we report what is happening because they believed issues have been swept under the carpet in the past and they feared this could happen again.
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You can read more from Jolene below, but before that here’s our usual midweek news roundup and our new guide to the cultural highlights of the week ahead in Edinburgh.
Your Edinburgh Briefing
NEW TOWN HOMES: A major housing and student accommodation development in the heart of the New Town has won the support of council planning officials. The New Town Quarter proposals include 315 homes, including 108 classed as affordable, and a 592-bed student accommodation complex, along with commercial space. Councillors are being recommended to approve Ediston Real Estate’s plans for the site of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s former offices on Dundas Street at a planning meeting next Wednesday.
AIRPORT HOMES: City planning officials are also recommending proposals for more than 950 new homes opposite the Edinburgh Gateway railway station, near Edinburgh Airport, are given the go-ahead. Summix Capital’s plans for the former Saica packaging factory on Turnhouse Road include 35% affordable homes as well as a 170-bed hotel.
RED TO GREENS: Serial Labour rebel-turned-independent councillor Ross McKenzie has switched to the Greens. The councillor for Sighthill/Gorgie takes the Green Party up to 11 councillors in Edinburgh, equal with Labour (which runs the local authority as a minority administration with support from the Lib Dems and Tories), and ahead of the Conservatives.
BIKE HIRE GROWS: The city’s e-bike hire scheme is expanding for the the second time since launching in September. This time it is moving into the south of the city to include Cameron Toll, Blackford, Roseburn, Bruntsfield, Morningside, Merchiston and Edinburgh University’s King’s Buildings. Having started with 50 bikes, the scheme operated by Voi will grow to 480 from 15 December.
PARKING CHARGES ARE COMING: Town centre parking charges are to be introduced in Musselburgh, Haddington, Dunbar and Tranent. East Lothian councillors approved the plans despite dozens of protesters booing and waving placards outside their meeting at Haddington Town House. Traders fear it will deter shoppers who travel in from outlying areas. East Lothian Council is facing a 5-year budget shortfall of almost £74m.
Pick of the (Cultural) Pops
Greetings, Edinburgh culture seekers, and welcome to your weekly instalment of Pick of the (Cultural) Pops. The festive season is now officially in full swing, and our chart is stuffed fuller than a stocking on Christmas morning, writes Will Quinn.
This week sees a major shake-up with four fresh entries crashing the party. We have a classical heavyweight replacing last week’s comedy hero, a “last chance” day trip that demands your immediate attention, and a certain giant descending on the Festival Theatre.
Will you tick off all five? Or just cherry-pick the headliners? Let’s count them down…
Sneaking in at number 5 this week, we have... 4PLAY: New Plays at the Traverse Theatre (11th - 13th December 2025): For those who prefer their entertainment with a little more grit and a little less glitter, the Traverse is the place to be. While the rest of the city looks back at traditions, this “Insider” pick is looking firmly forward. This short, sharp run features staged readings of brand-new works from four exciting Scottish playwrights. It’s a chance to see the future of Scottish theatre before it hits the mainstream—perfect for those who want to say “I saw it when...” Booking link: https://www.traverse.co.uk/whats-on/event/4play-4-new-plays-from-4-edinburgh-playwrights-autumn-24
Chorusing into the number 4 spot is... Dunedin Consort: Handel’s Messiah at the Queen’s Hall (17th December 2025): This is the sophisticated counterweight to the pantosphere. As theQR.co.uk noted in a 5-star review of their season opener this September, the Dunedin Consort remains “one of the finest Baroque specialist ensembles in the world.” We described them as a “tight, well-oiled Baroque machine” capable of “dazzling moments” and “spirited, sprightly performances.” They don’t just play the notes; they deliver them with a panache that brings the 18th century roaring back to life. A mandatory pilgrimage for classical music lovers. Booking link: https://www.thequeenshall.net/whats-on/messiah-1
Climbing to number 3 is... Christmas at Jupiter Artland (Ends 14th December 2025): This has shot up from number 5 for a reason - I’ve been, and it gave me a festive feeling absent from the city centre or the bustling Princes Street market. It is well worth the journey, and the bus drops you right at the entrance. Even before you reach the perma-snowy, eco-friendly entry to the S’mores village, you’ll stop to dream with Turner Prize winner Tai Shani’s spellbinding The Spell or The Dream on a rise beyond. Once inside, it’s all delicious wood-smoke and toasted marshmallows, with a lovingly curated craft market, and Coffee or Cava at the tasty Cafe Party (take the bus!). Don’t miss Georg Wilson’s The Earth Exhales in the Ballroom gallery - a wild, verdant exhibition complete with an open fire. This is a perfect family outing - a place for little ones and their keepers to explore far from sardine-tin crowds and busy roads. Catch it before it closes this Sunday. Booking link: https://www.jupiterartland.org/sessions/christmas-2025/
Dancing into the number 2 slot is... Mamma Mia! at the Edinburgh Playhouse (Open Now): My, my, how can you resist it? The West End juggernaut has just opened its doors (as of the 9th), bringing some much-needed Greek sunshine to a dark December. And this is the real deal: produced by Judy Craymer (the show’s original creator) and directed by the BAFTA, Tony, and Olivier-nominated Phyllida Lloyd, this tour maintains the same creative blueprint that turned the show into a global phenomenon. It features a top-tier cast led by Jenn Griffin as Donna, and an elite production squad, promising a show worthy of Edinburgh and the UK’s largest theatre. I already have my ticket booked for an evening of pure, unadulterated escapism. Booking link: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/mamma-mia/edinburgh-playhouse/
Which means, taking the crown at number 1, it’s... Jack and the Beanstalk at the Festival Theatre (Opens 13th December 2025): It may not be a hotbed of radical innovation, but make no mistake: this is the city’s (let’s be honest, Scotland’s) Rolls-Royce pantomime. As it opens this Saturday (it’s last season at the Festival Theatre before returning home to a renewed King’s Theatre next year), expect the biggest, most polished Christmas show in town. With a no-expense-spared set filled with well-loved, familiar faces - Allan Stewart as the Dame, Grant Stott as the Villain, and Jordan Young as the Comic - and a cracking band, this is the safe-as-houses choice for a spectacular festive night out. Ok, so it’s usually more bells-and-whistles variety show than storybook adventure, but the panto remains the heavyweight champion of Edinburgh Christmas, and fully deserves the top spot. Booking link: https://www.capitaltheatres.com/shows/panto-2025-jack-and-the-beanstalk
INQUIRER SPECIAL INVESTIGATION
Police investigating alleged sexual exploitation within city’s care services
Police are investigating allegations of child sexual exploitation as part of a major probe into care services in the Capital.
One care worker has been sacked and at least eight more are under investigation after the city council drafted in Brodies solicitors to examine a catalogue of complaints, writes Jolene Campbell.
The allegations include complaints of bullying and violence towards children as well as claims of organised access to children in care for sexual abuse.
The multi-agency investigation involves current and historic allegations against staff working with children, young people and vulnerable adults.
Some of the complaints date back more than a decade with the complainants only now being contacted by investigators.
The investigation follows the case of social worker Sean Bell, 58, who was found dead in 2020 while he awaited trial on sexual abuse charges. An independent inquiry by Susanne Tanner QC concluded he was a serial abuser who had been protected by an “old boys’ network” at the city council.
The Inquirer has interviewed former and current council staff as part of a months-long investigation. They claim “known abusers” have been moved to alternative jobs working with vulnerable children and young people despite repeated complaints about their behaviour.
Our investigation has prompted one former senior councillor, Alison Dickie, who served as vice-convener of the city’s education, children and families department, to call for a full independent investigation.
She is concerned that past investigations including the Tanner Inquiry focused on council processes at the expense of dealing with individual abusers, and managers who “turned a blind eye”, and that this might be repeated.
She said: “Safeguarding concerns are not only historic. Abuse is still happening now. We need to see real independent oversight of how investigations are handled. Not inquiries that simply focus on process, when the real disclosures are not actually investigated.”
Abuse “known about for years”
Some of the former and current council staff we interviewed told us they had recently received letters from Brodies about complaints they made more than a decade ago, but this was the first time they had been contacted about the issues they had raised.
