‘Michelle’ pictured this week

A WOMAN who says she is a survivor of the Islington children’s home abuse scandal says she has been cut out of the support payment scheme.

Michelle (not her real name) was told her application for a payment was refused on the grounds that Islington could not establish she was at one particular children’s home and that “we do not have sufficient information and material that you suffered qualifying abuse” in a different one.

The 52-year-old mother of two from Highbury said: “I didn’t have a childhood. Stuff like not being fed or like male members of staff just walking into your room. I can’t believe I actually lived like that. I didn’t have that chance to be a child.”

She added: “I’ll be honest with you, I have suffered. It’s the principle of it now. It’s having to be shut down time and time again. And then for them to do what they’ve done – give somebody a promise and then take it away. It was never ever about the money for me. It was about getting my story out there.”

The Town Hall launched its scheme in 2022 with payments of up to £10,000 after apologising for the widescale abuse by staff from 1966 to 1995 – described as the “worst chapter” in the borough’s history. It has so far paid out just under £3m, but has set a deadline of May 31 to claim.

Michelle, a former Mount Carmel student, who said she first experienced abuse while in her home around the age of five, spoke out against the system after Islington issued a notice last week warning that time was running out.

‘Michelle’ while she was at the care home

Dr Liz Davies, the social worker-turned-whistleblower who campaigned for decades for survivors to be paid compensation, has been critical of the scheme after 10 people from her Islington Survivors Network (ISN) had their applications rejected. Another 230 from ISN have received the lump sum.

She said: “Ten people from ISN have been denied the payments. They’re just such tragic, awful stories, and how dare they decline these people.”

She said ISN have spent months painstakingly detailing their clients’ previous lives in the homes and the abuse they suffered after at least four of them had no file, while others had massive chunks missing.

Islington recently announced those who have seen their applications rejected would have their cases assessed by a so-called independent panel – but again Dr Davies said the identities of these panellists have been kept a secret and no one from ISN has been allowed to join the panel.

Michelle, one of the 10, was placed in a children’s home aged 14. During her time there, she said she was neglected and told by workers to abort her unborn son. She was taken to pubs by staff, who bought the children alcohol and gave them cannabis and described being locked in her room if she became “verbal” about “something wrong”.

“My claim would come under neglect because we were left to our own devices, they never fed us,” said Michelle, who suffers from insomnia and panic attacks and started therapy at 35. “It was just having to survive on our own. All I can recall is they called it a supper and you’d get a cup of tea and a slice a toast.”

An Islington Council spokesperson said: “Each application is treated equally and carefully assessed on its own merits by the independent service provider against the scheme’s qualifying criteria, which is set out on the Islington Support Payment website.

“This person’s application is still live and has automatically been referred to the independent appeals panel for further consideration, so no final decision has been made.”

He added that 10 ­people were contacted last week to be told their ­cases had been referred to an independent appeals panel.