Nicky Campbell backs decision not to jail his ‘sadistic’ former teacher

Daniel Sanderson
Nicky Campbell gave evidence at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry telling how former teacher John Brownlee pummelled his neck and skull
Nicky Campbell gave evidence at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry telling how former teacher John Brownlee pummelled his neck and skull - BBC STUDIOS

Nicky Campbell has backed a decision not to jail his “sadistic” former teacher who was responsible for a violent reign of terror at a top private school.

John Brownlee, who was a housemaster at the Edinburgh Academy, was found to have physically and emotionally abused dozens of children, causing them lasting “mental terror” between 1967 and 1991, by a Scottish court last month.

However, he will face no punishment because of advanced dementia, with the 89-year-old deemed unfit to face a criminal trial. An earlier hearing heard that had Brownlee been put in the dock, he would have been likely to recite Latin and facts about football such is his cognitive state.

“It doesn’t matter that he’s not going to jail,” Campbell, the BBC broadcaster, who gave evidence against Brownlee, said. “The old man is not John Brownlee any more. He is just a shell of the man he was.

“I feel sorry for his family. I can understand their wish to defend his honour, his legacy and his reputation.

“Dementia is a terrible thing. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. I don’t think it would feel comfortable for anyone to see an old man carted off to prison while unable to understand why he’s going there.”

Glen Massam, Nial Mackinlay, Giles Moffat, Neil Russell and Graeme Sneddon train at Glencoe ahead of a charity climb at Mount Everest. The team of abuse survivors who attended Edinburgh Academy are raising money in aid of the NSPCC, the child protection charity.
Glen Massam, Nial Mackinlay, Giles Moffat, Neil Russell and Graeme Sneddon train at Glencoe ahead of a charity climb at Mount Everest. The team of abuse survivors who attended Edinburgh Academy are raising money in aid of the NSPCC, the child protection charity. - MITCHELL SMITH/PA

In a ruling last month, Brownlee was found to have assaulted some children with implements, such as a cricket bat, a snooker cue and a leather strap.

Boys were slapped, kicked or punched, some of whom were left unconscious as a result of attacks upon them.

Giving evidence, Campbell told how Brownlee had pummelled his neck and skull for about 20 seconds in a ritual described as a “knuckle dance”, and referred to his former teacher as a “pathetic little sadist”.

The Radio 5 presenter, 62, said the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI), which is currently investigating historical child abuse, should recommend support for victims.

‘Giving people a voice’

Speaking to the Daily Record, he said: “The inquiry is giving people a voice, and that’s a good thing, and it will make recommendations aimed at preventing similar abuse in future, but it should also be looking at ways to repair lives already broken.

“We cannot say to people who are leading lives far removed from what they might have been that we now understand it was down to childhood abuse and not offer them help to recover.”

A spokesman for the inquiry said: “SCAI has heard a wealth of evidence from applicants about how they feel their lives have been adversely affected in the long term as a result of their experiences in care.”

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