A MERSEYSIDE MP has called for CCTV to be installed in all school classrooms to cut the number of false allegations made against teachers. Claire Curtis-Thomas, MP for Crosby and Formby, spoke out as chairwoman of an all-party group investigating claims of mistreatment of pupils and said that cameras were the way forward. The call comes as the number of accusations against teaching staff continues to soar and the conviction rate has fallen. Unions claim that teachers have even committed suicide over false claims. Mrs Curtis-Thomas said: "There have been quite a number of people in my constituency and the rest of Merseyside that have been investigated over allegations of child abuse in schools. "Some have been convicted and some acquitted with some still waiting on their appeals, but that is how I became involved in this group. "We're looking not at individual cases but at how the process is handled and how we can improve that." The National Association for Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers says that, of 1,800 members who were accused of some form of child abuse in schools in the past decade, the conviction rate now stands at only 2%. NASUWT acting general secretary Chris Keates said: "Many teachers facing malicious allegations cannot sustain family relationships, have nervous breakdowns and cannot return to the classroom." Mrs Curtis-Thomas added that, although there were sometimes legitimate reasons for complaints, there were also issues about revenge for being disciplined by a teacher and how youngsters now know they will be taken very seriously if they make an allegation. She added: "I think some parents would be very surprised at how their children behave in the classroom and CCTV could be used to show them exactly what is happening. "I think the introduction of cameras would stop false allegations dead in their tracks because children would know that the tapes would be watched in any investigation. "I don't see any reason why, with new technology, we cannot keep tapes from CCTV for the life of the teacher because there is no time limit on making an accusation." Costs of administering the scheme would in theory be offset by the fewer number of cases progressing through the lengthy and expensive legal process. The MP used the example of police confessions before 1983 where criminals repeatedly denied signing documents admitting crimes when it came to court. When a system of tape recording confessions began, criminals no longer made false statements that they were forced into confessing, Mrs Curtis-Thomas said, and this would be echoed in the recording of classroom behaviour. She added: "We've got to allow teachers the chance to defend themselves and false allegations can destroy lives." Mrs Curtis-Thomas has previously branded a government inquiry into a Merseyside child abuse probe "a whitewash". She said Home Secretary David Blunkett was wrong to condone methods used by police in Operation Care which investigated abuse in Merseyside children's homes dating back to the 1960s. Mr Blunkett rejected claims that "trawling" for victims in the investigation has led to innocent people being jailed. Mrs Curtis-Thomas argued that detectives had specifically gone looking for victims, who may have made complaints in a bid to get compensation. clareusher@dailypost.co.uk | 
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