Hudgell Solicitors are representing a number of families in pursuing civil claims against Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Addenbrooke’s Hospital, on behalf of victims Dr Myles Bradbury.
We have has previously called on health secretary Jeremy Hunt to launch a ‘full and independent inquiry’ into how Bradbury’s crimes, abusing a large number of gravely ill young boys, went undetected for four-and-a-half-years at the hospital.
Last year, Myles Bradbury received a 22-year sentence after pleading guilty to numerous sexual offences against boys aged from 10 to 16. During sentencing, Judge Gareth Hawkesworth stated that he had never come across a more culpable or grave course of sexual criminality which had involved such a gross and grotesque breach and betrayal of the Hippocratic oath and trust.
Speaking following today’s hearing, and the decision to restructure his sentence, Hudgell Solicitors said:
“For this sentence to now be restructured so he receives 16 years imprisonment and six years extended licence means that, although he will be considered for release after 10 years and eight months, he will have to meet a far stricter criteria than would otherwise have been.
“In practical terms, this further prevents him from posing a risk to the public.
“This sends a clear message to those children who continue to suffer debilitating psychological trauma and injury as a result of the abuse they were subjected to, that for the perpetrator of these offences, there is no escape and he will be subjected to severe sanction under the law. It will be a reassurance to the families of these children that this sentence has been restructured in this way.
“After having spent a great deal of time in the company of these families, I know the severe jail sentence Bradbury received last December brought some sense of justice. But they are still without closure as they continue to ask why, and how, the abuse of their children was ever able to take place.
“Still we have heard nothing back from Government in relation to our call for a full inquiry to be heard on behalf of not only these victims, but to ensure there are no more similar victims of flawed procedures and a lack of public protection within the NHS in the future.
“We will ensure we continue to support the victims and their families in demanding answers and making sure they are not forgotten.”
A victim’s family, who attended court today and are represented Hudgell Solicitors, said: “We are relieved that the sentence was not reduced and that the court recognised the severity of the offences committed.
“There is no indication that Myles Bradbury has shown any remorse for his horrific actions, whilst our son and family have to survive with the consequences of this man’s behaviour for the future as far as we can see.”
