Neil Foden Gwynedd sex abuse report publication delayed | UK News

Publication of a report into how a paedophile head teacher sexually abused girls has been postponed just hours before it was due to be released.

A year-long inquiry into Neil Foden was due to be published on Wednesday by the North Wales Safeguarding Board.

Foden, who was head of Ysgol Friars in Bangor and strategic head of Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle in Penygroes, was jailed in 2024 for 17 years for 19 sexual offences against four girls between 2019 and 2023.

But, in a brief statement on behalf of the board late on Tuesday afternoon, an official said publication of the Child Practice Review was being postponed while “the board considers its legal obligations and information sharing further”.

The statement said the board was “unable to provide any further details at this stage” and no new date for the report’s publication has been released.

The board said a news conference planned for Wednesday had now been cancelled and the council covering the area where Foden worked said it was “extremely disappointed” by the change of plan.

Foden, now 68, of Old Colwyn in Conwy county, was branded an “arrogant, controlling individual used to getting his own way” by the judge in his case.

The North Wales Safeguarding Board is one of five such boards covering Wales, established by a shake-up in social services and welfare laws back in 2014.

They have a legal duty to carry out a review in cases of abuse involving children or a vulnerable adult.

Work began on the Foden inquiry back in August 2024, with social care expert Jan Pickles appointed to lead the Gwynedd review panel.

She had previously undertaken reviews into sexual abuse on Caldey Island and the murder of five-year-old Logan Mwangi.

Foden, who was arrested in September 2023 at Ysgol Friars in Bangor, had been regarded as one of Wales’ most senior teaching leaders and had been a national spokesman for the profession for many years.

The trial judge described him as “depraved”, “arrogant” and a “bully”.

Following his conviction, a Wales investigation uncovered claims Foden may have abused children for more than 40 years, with far more victims.

It also led to a legal case being launched against Gwynedd council by solicitors representing up to 12 people who said they had suffered because of Foden.

The council commissioned its own report into what happened following concerns being flagged in 2019 but those findings have yet to be made public.

Cyngor Gwynedd said the council had only been made aware of the delay late in the afternoon.

An official added: “We received no advance notice and there was no discussion with Cyngor Gwynedd about this. We are currently awaiting further clarification from the safeguarding board.

“Having waited for the report for so long and preparing to act upon any conclusions and recommendations without delay, we are extremely disappointed that the report will not be published tomorrow.”