IN BRIEF: Social workers to escape prosecution

IN BRIEF

Social workers to

escape prosecution

Social workers at the centre of the Ayrshire child abuse case, Britain's worst false sex abuse scandal, will not be prosecuted, the Crown Office in Edinburgh announced yesterday.

The decision was taken despite an official investigation finding that care workers used "appalling" methods to "massage and distort" evidence of ritual Satanic abuse.

Lawyers acting for three families whose children were taken into care for five years said the decision would not affect their claim for compensation against Strathclyde Regional Council, which conducted the social work investigation.