A former councillor has called for an independent inquiry into “serious scandals” that allegedly occurred in a children’s department at Lambeth Council.

At a town hall committee meeting on Wednesday, September 15, Graham Pycock claimed the council was more interested in suppressing information about allegations relating to children and young people’s services (CYPS) than scrutinising them openly to ensure they could not happen again.

He said he was concerned about a “disastrous” council-run trip to Birmingham in March 2007 to reconcile gang-leaders – which was allegedly poorly supervised and led to one youth being beaten up.

Mr Pycock also warned there were shortcomings in Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks relating to convicted paedophile Jason Hoyte, who groomed young victims on a council-funded project on council grounds in Nettlefold Hall, West Norwood, between 2004 and 2006.

At the time he was employed directly by the council as a library worker. Mr Hoyte was able to claim he was checked by the CRB as a youth worker without being checked by the council.

Mr Pycock, a former Gipsy Hill councillor who lost his seat at the last election, addressed the CYPS scrutinee committee as he introduced a report into the department, which he was ordered to carry out after the allegations emerged last year, when he was sitting on the committee.

Allegations of financial irregularities in CYPS were also made. Fellow commissioner of the report Councillor Roger Giess said there had been “a car crash in the management of the service” and “people left under a cloud”.

However, Mr Pycock said he was not allowed to include the claims as background to his final report, nor could they form part of the investigations. He said, while internal investigations had taken place, the reports had never been released publicly or discussed in a public forum.

He said he was still unconvinced problems with CRB checks could not recur and demanded an independent inquiry.

Officers said the incidents were left out by other councillors who authored the report, not council officers.

CYPS divisional director John Readman said: “The allegations were fully investigated.”

He said Pricewaterhouse Coopers had audited CYPS, and allegations relating to the Birmingham trip were investigated.

He said police had received no crime reports relating to the Birmingham trip.

The meeting was told, as a result of Hoyte’s crimes, an internal review was carried out to ensure its safeguarding procedures were as robust as possible.