A victim's awarded £10,000 for ruined childhood.. and Lady Smith earns that in a fortnight

'Eye-popping' figures called punch in the gut

- MARCELLO MEGA

SURVIVORS of child sexual abuse have slammed the huge sums being earned by professionals involved in the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry.

A Daily Record investigation has revealed Lady Smith - the judge who has chaired the inquiry for seven years - was paid the same amount as some survivors receive in compensation for a lifetime of suffering for just two weeks of work.

Figures obtained from the Scottish Government show she has received just short of £2million in salary and pension contributions so far.

In another example, Johnny Gwynne, who retired on a police pension after 33 years, has been able to earn £34,193 for around 12 weeks work, at £561 a day, in his first six months as chairman of Redress Scotland, the body that sets compensation levels.

This is in comparison to paltry compensation sums as little as £10,000 to victims for the abuse they endured.

Lady Smith's earnings and pension contributions of £1.96million match the average award made to date to 40 victims.

And while Gwynne's earnings for another 15 months before he stepped down in March this year are not yet public, his total pay-cheque would exceed £100,000 if he continued to work a similar proportion of days.

Set up in 2021, Redress Scotland has made awards of "more than £30million to "more than 600 applicants" so far, an average of £50,000 per claim.

Ordinary panel members of Redress Scotland can earn more than £300,000 for a three-day week over the six years it is expected to sit.

Last night, Sandra Brown, of the Moira Anderson Foundation (MAF), a charity that supports those affected by child sexual abuse and their families, said: "These are eye-popping sums. The people we support are some of the most vulnerable in Scotland because abuse in childhood has lifelong consequences.