Thousands of young men were physically or sexually assaulted at Medomsley Detention Centre between 1961 and 1987, with Government and police issuing formal apologies following damning report
David Alan Brown(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
A single word has brought an end to four decades of anguish for David Alan Brown, who says he can now close 2025 with a sense of resolution after receiving an apology for the abuse he endured at Medomsley Detention Centre. Thousands of young men suffered physical or sexual assault at the County Durham facility, which was operational from 1961 to 1987.
Their harrowing experiences were exposed in a report published by the Prison and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) in November. Following the damning findings, which revealed that Durham Constabulary and the Prison Service failed to act despite being informed of the appalling treatment of young detainees, both the Government and police issued public apologies to survivors.
David, known as Alan among friends, was 18-years-old when he arrived at Medomsley in 1981, following a burglary conviction he maintains he was innocent of. During his three-month stay at the centre, he says he was subjected to “extreme violence” by abusive prison officer Christopher Onslow, who was eventually imprisoned in 2019.
Medomsley Detention Centre
Like many other former Medomsley inmates David, from Lemington, Newcastle, has spent the rest of his life haunted by the horrors he experienced and witnessed during the short time he was incarcerated. But now, after seeing details of the authorities’ apology printed on the front page of Chronicle Live, David says he can finally move on.
The 62-year-old said: “I didn’t realise what closure was until the sorry came. I have got closure now. I’ll never forget it because it’s stuck in my brain forever, but I feel a lot happier
“I’m better now it’s all over. That apology is a big thing in my book.
“I know it took a long time, but I never ever thought we would get an apology. We got our sorry and it was on the front page of the Chronicle. I was delighted.”
Medomsley Detention Centre, County Durham(Image: Mirrorpix)
Medomsley Detention Centre, near Consett, was was designed to hold offenders aged between 17 and 21. It was supposed to give young criminals a “short, sharp shock” that would deter them from further offending.
Most of the inmates had been convicted of relatively minor crimes and handed short sentences ranging between three and six months. However, what happened to them at Medomsley left many with a life sentence of suffering, The Ombudsman said.
Investigations by Durham Constabulary, between 2001 and 2023, identified widespread physical and sexual abuse of over 2,000 inmates. In October 2023, the then Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Alex Chalk, commissioned the PPO to undertake an independent investigation into this abuse.
The report looks at what the authorities knew about abuse and what, of anything, was done to intervene. The Ombudsman’s office reviewed nearly 8,000 evidence documents and interviewed 74 witnesses in a bid to gather an accurate understanding of what happened at the detention centre.
The PPO reports that trainees were physically abused from the moment they arrived at the centre, when they were being bathed, strip searched, during physical education, whilst working and even during medical examinations. Young men were also subjected to sexual and psychological abuse, whilst being held at Medomsley.
David admits that he was initially sceptical about the PPO investigation. But following the report’s publication he finally feels as though the detainees’ suffering has been recognised.
Christopher Onslow(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
“At first I didn’t think the Ombudsman would achieve much,” he said. “I wanted someone to say sorry. That’s all I ever wanted, an apology for the way we were treated.
“It would never have been stopped because that’s what it was invented for. The short, sharp, shock was what it was meant for.
“It means more than any money did. “
David went to his local pub following the report’s publication and his friends shared his relief. He added: “When I went for a pint a lot of people said ‘well done’ and shook my hand and bought me a pint. More than 30 people.”
However, the apology has not been welcomed by all former Medomsley inmates. Peter Toole spent three months in Medomsley in 1985.
The 61-year-old taxi driver from Heaton, Newcastle, said: “We didn’t get any apology direct. It wasn’t in person.
“I would have liked someone to look us in the eye. An apology face-to-face would have meant something. It’s come to the Ombudsman to do this.
“Why wasn’t this done from day one? It’s just been one long farce. It’s just too little too late. It could have been nipped in the bud. Durham Police could have done a lot.”
Doug Corkhill(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
Doug Corkhill, from Peterlee in County Durham, was sent to Medomsley in 1978. The 66-year-old said it was good to see the inmates’ suffering put on record in the PPO report,
“I think it’s one of those things where I don’t think it’s over with. I think it’s far from a closed book. I think people are finally hearing how bad it was,” he said. “The report gave us a lot of credibility. People took what teenage lads were saying with a pinch of and they think because it’s lads that have been in trouble. Most of the lads who went in Medomsley were just teenagers who took the wrong path.
“The publicity has brought a lot of it back. As you get older and reflect on things, sometimes I feel as though I can’t believe that happened. That report has done a good job. It’s given me some comfort that what we all went through has been recognised. Most of the lads, like me, found themselves, for the first time in their lives, in a situation they could do nothing about. It was shocking.”
However, Doug said he was a bit cynical about the apology.
“I’m always a bit sceptical because I think some times it’s out of duty or to put an end to it,” he said. “Personally speaking I think the Government and the police would like it to get swept away. I do accept the apology. Although they are duty bound to do it there’s a tinge of sincerity in it.”
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