Top Labour minister speaks of ‘horror’ at ‘sickening’ paedophile assault on nursery children
Bridget Phillipson gave an update to MPs after Vincent Chan yesterday pleaded guilty to 26 harrowing charges, including five of sexual assault on a child by penetration
Bridget Phillipson has spoken of her “horror” at a “sickening” case of a nursery worker attacking sleeping children.
The Education Secretary confirmed a full local child safeguarding review is being set up immediately to learn lessons to better protect children. In a message to affected families, as well as parents across the UK, she vowed to “root out abuse from wherever it hides” and “to rid our society of this evil”.
Ms Phillipson gave an update to MPs after Vincent Chan yesterday pleaded guilty to 26 harrowing charges, including five of sexual assault on a child by penetration and four counts of sexual assault of a child by touching.
READ MORE: Paedophile nursery worker Vincent Chan investigated with fears of more victims
Ms Phillipson said CCTV may not have been in operation at the nursery and announced that she intends to appoint an expert advisory group to develop guidance for the sector on the safe and effective use of CCTV and digital devices.
In a statement, she said: “All of us here and people across our country will wish to join with me in expressing our horror at hearing of these appalling crimes…
“The defendant has now pleaded guilty to these sickening crimes and will be sentenced. But my thoughts this afternoon are not on him. They are with all of the child victims of these vile and abhorrent crimes and their families who are now trying to recover from the suffering and the pain that he has caused.
“My promise to them through these darkest of days, my promise to members here today, my promise to families across the country, is not only that justice will be served, but that we will strengthen the ways in which we keep children safe. We will root out abuse from wherever it hides, and we will never stop working to rid our society of this evil.”
Elsewhere, she said a rapid review was conducted “to establish the facts”, adding: “A full local child safeguarding practice review is warranted, which is being set up immediately. I am clear that this wider review must shine the strongest possible light on these horrifying incidents, and that we learn every lesson we can to make sure that crimes like this are guarded against every step and every stage.” The Cabinet minister vowed to work closely with the review.
Chan, 45, yesterday admitted sexually assaulting four victims as they slept and possessing tens of thousands of indecent images. Detectives said their investigation into his offending, which spanned a number of years, remains ongoing. Chan had passed vetting and worked for nearly seven years at Bright Horizons nursery in West Hampstead, London, before he was unmasked as a paedophile.
Chan, of Stanhope Avenue, Finchley, north London, admitted his “calculated and predatory pattern of abuse” at Wood Green Crown Court on Wednesday.
The British national pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual assault of a child by penetration and four counts of sexual assault of a child by touching. He also admitted 11 counts of taking indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of a child, and six counts of making indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of a child.
The families of the victims have been contacted directly and are receiving specialist support, while the NSPCC is running a helpline for all 700 families of children who attended the nursery during the time the paedophile worked there between 2017 and 2024.
Chan was first arrested in June 2024, after a member of nursery staff reported that he had callously filmed a child falling asleep in their food and set it to music, before showing the clip to a colleague. He was initially held on suspicion of neglect and released on bail, losing his job at the nursery, which has since closed.
His devices were submitted for analysis by police in September 2024 and he was arrested in September this year on suspicion of sexual offences.
The families of the victims have questioned how Chan was able to carry out his horrific offending and are set to take legal action against the nursery.
A spokesperson for the nursery yesterday said: “We are shocked and appalled by this individual’s horrific crimes. Our thoughts are first and foremost with the children and families affected, and we are committed to offering support to them during this incredibly difficult time.”
