Letter: Nothing will change for thousands of victims of child abuse

Sir: Some 40 years ago I chose one of the worst-paid professions for my life's work. In choosing, I recognised that I had some ability to help children who had "fallen by the wayside". I noticed also that the worst- paid staff were those in residential child care, so I chose another section of the profession.

There are some very good and devoted folk in this social work, as in other branches of the profession, but many are there primarily to earn a living. There is a saying of some truth: "If the pay offered is peanuts, you will get monkeys." Does this not have some bearing upon the troubles that have come to light in some children's homes?

MARTIN MOTTRAM

Salisbury, Wiltshire