Peter Righton

Paul Pelham Righton known as Peter Righton, was a child protection expert and social care worker, convicted of importing child sexual abuse material. In 2013, the Metropolitan Police launched Operation Cayacos to investigate claims that Righton was part of an establishment paedophile network.

Career Righton worked in children's homes, including in Maidstone, Kent, and was a lecturer in child protection and residential care, including at the Open University and in Birmingham. He was Director of Education at the National Institute of Social Work, and vice-chairman of governors at New Barns School in Toddington, Gloucestershire. He was also a consultant to the National Children's Bureau. Righton justified relationships between adults and children in his academic work

Child abuse and conviction Journalist Nick Davies called Righton "a notorious paedophile who attempted to legitimise his obsession in a series of academic studies." The BBC's Inside Story documentary reported in 1994 that he was allowed to leave a boarding school under a "gentleman's agreement" after being found to have abused boys. He had confessed past abuse to child protection colleagues, but they did not act on this out of loyalty to him. A former student of his wrote that his position of power, authority and charisma allowed him and other paedophiles to avoid detection and to lead some to turn a blind eye to suspicions. Liz Davies, a reader in child protection at London Metropolitan University who was involved in the investigation into his abuses in Islington, wrote that Righton was allowed to live on the Thornham Magna estate of Lord Henniker in Suffolk, where children from Islington continued to be taken, apparently until his death; Member of Parliament Tom Watson wrote that the Chief Constable of Suffolk warned against Righton being allowed to live on the estate but was ignored.

In October 2012, Watson claimed that Righton was involved in a paedophile ring with connections to the British Government. Operation Cayacos is a spin-off of Operation Fairbank, investigating the Elm Guest House child abuse scandal.

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