There were 705 complaints by children at care homes run by the same borough – but only one member of senior staff was ever disciplined, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA) said. One woman told how she was raped at least 500 times as a girl by older boys at her care home. Other victims described being “drugged, tortured and sexually assaulted” by “very many paedophiles”. The inquiry was examining the care system run by Lambeth Council, south London, from the 1950s. In a damning report, the IICSA urged Scotland Yard to consider opening a criminal inquiry following the suicide of a boy in 1977 after he complained of being abused by his “house father”.

       Council workers failed to inform the coroner of the boy’s allegations, the IICSA said. Other allegations were not investigated properly and staff accused of abuse were allowed to keep their jobs as if nothing had happened.

       “With some exceptions, Lambeth Council staff treated children in care as if they were worthless,” the report said. “As a consequence, individuals who posed a risk were able to infiltrate children’s homes and foster care. For decades, senior staff and councillors failed to effect change, despite overwhelming evidence that children in its care did not have the protection to which they were entitled.”

       Linda Bellos, who led the council from 1986 to 1988, told the BBC she was stunned and disgusted by the findings. She added: “It is so shocking to hear...I should have known...[but] I didn’t wish to micromanage senior officers. We were paying them thousands of pounds to do their work.”

       The inquiry examined five facilities including Angell Road children’s home, where convicted child sex abuser Michael Carroll worked in the 1970s after failing to disclose his record. Incredibly, he was allowed to keep his job even after his convictions for being a paedophile were revealed.

       At one stage, he was in charge of recruiting at the home, the IICSA said. In 1999 he was convicted of 34 counts of child sex abuse between 1980-83.

       The report made several recommendations including a review of recruitment and vetting current foster carers and children’s home staff.

       Claire Holland, Lambeth Council leader, said: “The council is deeply sorry for the [children’s] experiences. The council failed, with profound consequences. The extent and scale of the abuse remains deeply shocking.”

       Scotland Yard apologised unreservedly and said it is assessing the council’s actions when passing information to the coroner about the child’s death.