Kriss Akabusi [Paul Anthony Wilson Photography]

AN Olympic medallist who grew up in an Islington children’s home has said the council is “wiping its hands” of the young people abused under its care, after news that it is set to close the services set up to support survivors.

Sprinter and hurdler Kriss Akabusi, 67, spent around a decade in Copthorne, an Islington-run children’s home in Enfield, during the 1960s and 1970s.

He joined the army at 16, and later went on to win a silver medal for Great Britain in the 4x400m relay in 1984, and gold in the 1990 Commonwealth Games and 1991 World Championships.

“I left the children’s home in 1975 and very quickly I wanted to disavow myself of that whole experience,” Mr Akabusi told the Tribune this week.

“At 67, I’ve lived my life. I’ve got coping strategies and mechanisms, and the decision to deny it all and hide it all worked very well as a way of operating in the world.

“Only recently have I started engaging with the therapeutic services that the council offered that are coming to an end in March.”

Mr Akabusi said he did not experience abuse himself but recalled tough conditions in the home.

His time in Copthorne coincided with the years of the Islington care home scandal – the abuse of children in council-run homes from the 1960s to the 1990s, when warnings of a paedophile ring were repeatedly dismissed.

The Town Hall apologised in 2017, describing it as “the worst chapter in the council’s history”, and pledging its support for survivors in the form of specialist trauma therapy, practical help with housing and benefits, and a one-off payment scheme of £10,000.

The payment scheme closed in May 2024, but the council is now set to pull funding for the other services at the end of March, despite warnings that the decision could put survivors’ mental health, and even their lives, at risk.

“Islington Council allowed the abuse of children that were in their care, and now, doing a cost-benefit analysis, they say foxtrot oscar to those kids, fend for yourselves,” said Mr Akabusi.

“They’re only thinking about the bottom line, they’re not thinking about the cost to the lives of the users of the facilities that they put up, as the corporate parent.

Kriss Akabusi at the World Championships in Tokyo in 1991

“They’re ticking the box, they’re wiping their hands and they’re saving money. That’s the callous and nefarious nature, for me, of what’s going on. They’re traumatising their children all over again and no one gives a flying faeces. They’re delinquent in their responsibility.”

The former athlete first decided to tap into the free therapy service last autumn, some 50 years after he left care – and after learning that the Town Hall had lost his personal file from that time. Although he isn’t convinced that he will continue once the service closes, Mr Akabusi said therapy is helping him process traumatic emotions – and he raised concerns about those without the res­ources to pay for help if they need it.

“If I want to, I can afford to go out and spend £100 on a session – but what about the kids who can’t? What about the kids who are on social security, or are one step away from sleeping under a bridge, for whom this support keeps their head above water?

“The kids that haven’t got the wherewithal that I’ve got, they’re on the brink. I hope this is not true, but kids will die as a result of this decision. And the ‘parent’ doesn’t care.”

Islington Council has said it is working with the Islington Survivors Network – an organisation of over 800 survivors – to develop what it refers to as “replacement” services.

But Dr Liz Davies, who runs ISN, told the Tribune that the funding cuts and lack of concrete plans to provide for survivors after specialist services are gone reflect a “disgraceful ignorance” on the council’s part.

Mr Akabusi was himself invited to take part in the transition process, but did not take up the offer. “All you’re doing is legitimising some sort of process that is rubber-stamped anyway,” he said.

An Islington Council spokesperson said: “We’re deeply sorry for the council’s past failure to protect vulnerable children in its children’s homes, which was the worst chapter in this council’s history.

“Our top priority is to protect children from harm, and we are a very different organisation today than we were in the past. The council no longer owns or operates any children’s homes.

“We recognise how important specialist support has been for survivors and understand why news of change is distressing. We’ve been encouraged by the positive, productive discussions we’ve had with ISN about what the new model of support will look like and how it will work going forward.

“We’re committed to providing the broadest possible range of support to survivors in future and, alongside input from survivors, have had in-depth conversations with our own Non-Recent Abuse Team and health professionals at Islington Survivors Trauma Support Service to understand survivors’ needs. We will share the plans for the future model of support once it has been further developed with all stakeholders, to help as many people as possible access the support they need.”

“We are grateful for the assistance ISN has provided to survivors and welcome their continued input. Our shared goal is to ensure that survivors continue to have access to high-quality, informed, compassionate and safe support in Islington.”