A paeodphile teacher at a school attended by BBC journalist Robert Peston was allowed to run a hockey club for a year after his arrest, it emerged last night. Andy Adams, 69, was held by police in August 2012 after a former pupil revealed he was regularly taken to the PE teacher’s house for sex. But officers and council officials deliberately chose to keep details of the abuse under wraps until Adams was sentenced. Worries: Mr Peston, the BBC's economics editor, expressed concern over secrecy surrounding the abuse . Because of the secrecy, the pervert was able to stay on as chairman of the Winchmore Hill and Enfield Hockey Club until September 2013. The club has a number of adult teams but also coaches children from the age of eight. At a club meeting in March 2013, Adams describes how the young players were doing well. His personal details – including his email address – remained on Enfield Council’s website as the main contact for the club until May this year. It remains unclear whether the club or Enfield Council knew about his arrest before he retired from the hockey club. Both declined to comment last night. The news comes a day after Mr Peston, the BBC’s economics editor, expressed concern over the secrecy surrounding abuse by his old gym teacher, who was jailed for 12 years last month for repeatedly sexually assaulting a boy under 16 in the 1980s. A child protection expert has now launched an independent inquiry into the handling of allegations against Adams, who worked at Highgate Wood School in North London for over 30 years and was also assistant head. His victim has questioned why Haringey Council – which was also at the centre of the Baby P scandal – kept the abuse secret from parents for months after the claims came to light. Questions: Haringey council has come under the spotlight for not altering children's parents to concerns about Adams as soon as they came to light . It was not until he was sentenced that current Highgate Wood headmaster Patrick Cozier informed parents about the case in a letter. He said Adams retired from the school in 2004, but failed to mention that he had continued to visit for about four weeks each year until 2010 to help arrange work experience placements for students. Liz Morris, the Lib Dems’ lead member for children on Haringey Council, said there was ‘no reason for months of secrecy’ after Adams’ arrest. ‘Indeed, there were many reasons for Haringey Council to be open – importantly, to allow others who could have been abused to come forward,’ she added. ‘The letter sent to parents seemed deliberately evasive, implying Adams had had no contact with the school since 2004, when in fact, he had been working with pupils until 2010, although not as a teacher.’ Scotland Yard confirmed it has received several calls about the school since the case, but has launched no new investigations. Haringey Council said it was shocked about the ‘appalling’ case. A spokesman added: ‘We take our responsibility for safeguarding very seriously and work closely with all of our schools to ensure good awareness of safeguarding and robust procedures for reporting and investigating any concerns that may arise.’
Andy Adams, 69, was arrested in August 2012 after revelation from ex-pupil .
But officers and council kept it secret until he was sentenced .
Taught at old school of BBC Economics editor Robert Peston .
A paeodphile teacher at a school attended by BBC journalist Robert Peston was allowed to run a hockey club for a year after his arrest, it emerged last night. Andy Adams, 69, was held by police in August 2012 after a former pupil revealed he was regularly taken to the PE teacher’s house for sex. But officers and council officials deliberately chose to keep details of the abuse under wraps until Adams was sentenced. Worries: Mr Peston, the BBC's economics editor, expressed concern over secrecy surrounding the abuse . Because of the secrecy, the pervert was able to stay on as chairman of the Winchmore Hill and Enfield Hockey Club until September 2013. The club has a number of adult teams but also coaches children from the age of eight. At a club meeting in March 2013, Adams describes how the young players were doing well. His personal details – including his email address – remained on Enfield Council’s website as the main contact for the club until May this year. It remains unclear whether the club or Enfield Council knew about his arrest before he retired from the hockey club. Both declined to comment last night. The news comes a day after Mr Peston, the BBC’s economics editor, expressed concern over the secrecy surrounding abuse by his old gym teacher, who was jailed for 12 years last month for repeatedly sexually assaulting a boy under 16 in the 1980s. A child protection expert has now launched an independent inquiry into the handling of allegations against Adams, who worked at Highgate Wood School in North London for over 30 years and was also assistant head. His victim has questioned why Haringey Council – which was also at the centre of the Baby P scandal – kept the abuse secret from parents for months after the claims came to light. Questions: Haringey council has come under the spotlight for not altering children's parents to concerns about Adams as soon as they came to light . It was not until he was sentenced that current Highgate Wood headmaster Patrick Cozier informed parents about the case in a letter. He said Adams retired from the school in 2004, but failed to mention that he had continued to visit for about four weeks each year until 2010 to help arrange work experience placements for students. Liz Morris, the Lib Dems’ lead member for children on Haringey Council, said there was ‘no reason for months of secrecy’ after Adams’ arrest. ‘Indeed, there were many reasons for Haringey Council to be open – importantly, to allow others who could have been abused to come forward,’ she added. ‘The letter sent to parents seemed deliberately evasive, implying Adams had had no contact with the school since 2004, when in fact, he had been working with pupils until 2010, although not as a teacher.’ Scotland Yard confirmed it has received several calls about the school since the case, but has launched no new investigations. Haringey Council said it was shocked about the ‘appalling’ case. A spokesman added: ‘We take our responsibility for safeguarding very seriously and work closely with all of our schools to ensure good awareness of safeguarding and robust procedures for reporting and investigating any concerns that may arise.’
A paeodphile teacher at a school attended by BBC journalist Robert Peston was allowed to run a emerged last night. Andy Adams, 69, was held by police in August 2012 after a former pupil teacher’s house for sex. But officers and council the abuse under wraps until Adams was sentenced.