We now have an additional piece of the jigsaw puzzle and it’s this:
“The Commissioning Group received further information on Tuesday afternoon which, if accurate, it believes has the potential to materially affect some elements of the Verita Report that was due to be considered by EDDC Councillors on Thursday evening.
“Once this new material has been validated, assessed and properly considered a meeting will be reconvened to consider the Verita Report at the earliest opportunity.”
[The Commissioning Group is led by Simon Davey, Chief Finance Officer, and comprises Cllr Ian Thomas (Council Chair), Cllr Sarah Jackson (portfolio holder for transparency and democracy) and Cllr Jess Bailey.]
By Ewan Murrie BBC South West
A report into how a council handled child sex abuse allegations against a councillor has been withdrawn after new information came to light.
John Humphreys was convicted of sexually assaulting two boys in 2021, and jailed for 21 years.
He was first questioned in 2005 and arrested in 2016, but remained an East Devon District Councillor until 2019.
The report was due to be discussed on Thursday but was withdrawn while the new information is investigated.
The BBC has asked the council what the new information is, but no comment has been provided.
An East Devon District Council (EDDC) spokesperson said: “The Commissioning Group received further information on Tuesday afternoon which, if accurate, it believes has the potential to materially affect some elements of the Verita Report that was due to be considered by EDDC Councillors on Thursday evening.
“Once this new material has been validated, assessed and properly considered a meeting will be reconvened to consider the Verita Report at the earliest opportunity.”
The report was published earlier this week but has now been removed, and the investigation has been reopened.
Council Leader Paul Arnott said he did not know what the new information was.
He said: “It’s very disappointing that a conviction having been achieved in the summer of 2021, that we still aren’t getting to the bottom of this matter.
“We have tried really hard as a council, to make sure that in the interests of the victim, and in the interest of safeguarding for young people and others of east Devon, that we have a proper investigation.
“And yet here we are, at the 11th hour the meeting is cancelled.”
The report found a member of staff was told about the police investigation, but was bound by stringent confidentiality rules and could not tell anyone.
As a result, no safeguarding risk assessment was done and Humphreys was able to carry on coming into contact with children from his arrest in 2016 until standing down from the council in 2019.
In that same year the former mayor of Exmouth was also given an honorary title of alderman.
East Devon Watch 
It’s very odd that just when the harshness of Ofsted has become a national talking point, the former Ofsted inspector commissioned by Devon County Council to mark their homework on their response to the Humphreys criminal investigation should have produced such an unsatisfactory, Darsleyesque effort. Despite noting numerous examples of unsatisfactory practice and making recommendations for future performance he appears to make no effort to achieve an adequate level of scrutiny. Errors have since been highlighted by Cllr Jess Bailey’s questioning of Cllr Leadbetter and by greater diligence from Verita in conducting their investigation for EDDC. I note that EDDC CEO Mark Williams stated that this same inspector Mike Ferguson has produced numerous other reports for DCC. In which case has he previously noted the same shortcomings and if so, how has he addressed them and has he noted improvements. If his previous experience is that normally they are of acceptable standard, has he not attempted to clarify the dip on this occasion? Have any shortcomings been referred back to him for the investigation to be reopened, as with Verita?
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/24/teachers-ofsted-inspections-schools-children
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Quite fascinating to ponder what this new information might be – and what it might say about the quality of the initial investigation in which so many declined to be interviewed, or as in the case of the Monitoring Officer, restricted what he was willing to share.
With luck, it might be something that would prompt Devon and Cornwall police to seek a review of their conduct, by another force, for what appear to be failures at the earliest stages of this matter.
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