Lissue Children’s Unit in the spotlight

Victims have waited years to tell their stories, senior counsel to the inquiry into child abuse said.

The Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry (HIA) is examining abuse claims in Northern Ireland children’s homes and juvenile justice.

It was set up by Northern Ireland’s power-sharing executive to investigate allegations dating from 1922 to 1995.

In 2011 the Star covered the story of a local man who claimed he was abused at Lissue House.

Lisburn man David Simpson, was taken into care at the age of seven after his parents separated. He was sent to Lissue House where he says he was badly beaten and humiliated on a daily basis.