We turn to discuss access to children& #39;s homes at a general level.

Ms Carey asks if it is right that where a child was resident in a home, there was the option of having an adult & #39;befriender& #39; visit?

The witness says he hasn& #39;t found any reason why that wouldn& #39;t be allowed.
/1

He says the idea seems to have been a general recognition that a befriending scheme could have been helpful to those in a home.

He is reluctant to use modern analogous terms but says a & #39;mentor& #39; would be generally sufficient as a comparison
/2

Mr Sinnott says there was no policy governing befrienders and that references were only taken up at the discretion of the officer in charge. He says he can& #39;t honestly say that what happened then would meet any modern standards of vetting
/4

*We& #39;ve deleted and reposted a tweet in this thread to correct a mis-spelling of Mr Sinnott& #39;s name earlier