WEAPONS OF MASS SUPPRESSION – PUBLIC SAFETY BRIEFING
Exposing systemic concealment of life‑critical information
LIBERTON REVISITED – THE HIDDEN DANGERS STILL IN
OUR SCHOOLS
By Alan M Dransfield – Public Safety & Transparency Advocate
Date: 04 November 2025
Background
In April 2014, a 12‑year‑old pupil was killed at Liberton High School, Edinburgh, when a
freestanding vanity wall collapsed in a girls’ changing room. The tragedy was described
at the time as a “one‑off freak accident.” It was not.
Subsequent inspections revealed that hundreds of similar unstable walls existed across
Scottish schools. Many were reinforced or demolished—but no national audit or public
disclosure was ever carried out for schools elsewhere in the UK. The Department for
Education has never published how many English or Welsh schools were inspected,
what was found, or what remedial works were completed.
Systemic Failures
- No national inventory: Local authorities were left to self‑report; there is still no UK‑wide
database of freestanding or partially restrained blockwork walls in schools. - Design legacy: These “vanity” walls were constructed to 1970s standards, often without
lateral restraint or proper anchorage to floors or ceilings. - Deferred maintenance: Tight budgets, outsourcing, and loss of in‑house engineers
meant that many older structures were never re‑examined. - Suppression of information: Several FOI/EIR requests, including mine, have been
blocked using the undefined “manifestly unreasonable” exemption, preventing public
scrutiny of life‑critical data.
Public Safety Risk
Children across the UK still study, play, and change clothes next to unverified, potentially
unstable masonry walls. Without comprehensive inspections and published results, the
risk profile remains unknown.
This is a national public‑safety issue—not an historical footnote.
Parliamentary Questions That Must Now Be Asked
- How many schools in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland contain freestanding or
partially restrained blockwork walls similar to those at Liberton High School? - What inspections and remedial actions have taken place since 2014, and where are
those reports? - Has the Department for Education issued mandatory (not advisory) safety guidance
for all local authorities? - Will the government publish a central register of structural safety audits for all publicly
funded schools? - Why are FOI/EIR requests about school safety still being refused on grounds of
“manifestly unreasonable,” when Regulation 12(2) of the EIR requires a presumption of
disclosure? - Conclusion
The Liberton tragedy exposed not a single accident but a systemic culture of
concealment. A decade later, the government still cannot tell parents whether their
children are safe from the same design flaw. Transparency is not optional—it saves
lives.
Contact: alanmdransfield@gmail.com
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