A witness to the Brighton child cruelty case today condemned the inquiry report .

The professional, interviewed over the five years of neglect by a Brighton couple of five children, said information was changed and recorded inaccurately. He described the inquiry report as a "whitewash"

"I told my interviewers my account, but when the report came out, my remarks had been softened and bore little resemblance to what I had said. There were inaccuracies in recording what I had said.

"I am not challenging the integrity of the inquiry chair, just the accuracy of the report. It was a whitewash, and I am furious."

The professional added: "I fully support the Argus' call for a public inquiry. At least then I will be able to give my account of events in full and in front of independent witnesses, and be confident it will be recorded accurately."

The professional also claimed the inquiry was not completely independent. "People from each agency involved were asked to interview everyone connected with the case in their own agency. Even if the inquiry was headed by an independent chair, how can this be construed as truly independent?"

Today's revelations shocked leading councillors. Coun John Sheldon, Conservative deputy leader, said he was "stunned". He said: "It is amazing and smacks of an incredible cover-up. We on the council were all led to believe the inquiry was genuine, accurate and its integrity was beyond

reproach. This new information leaves me feeling utterly frustrated.

Lib Dem leader Coun Paul Elgood said: "This is extremely worrying and the comments of this person confirm the need for a public inquiry."

A spokesman for the Brighton and Hove Area Child Protection, which commissioned the inquiry, denied the report was a whitewash. He said: "More than 20 people from all the agencies were interviewed as part of the investigation. The general feedback from them is that the final report was honest, accurate, detailed - and highly critical of a number of aspects of the way this family was dealt with.

"The final report is not a whitewash. It clearly lists mistakes made and sets out ways to remedy such failures in the system. It does not in itself record individual interviews, but if anyone who took part in the process feels that their area of work has not been clearly assessed, then we would ask that they bring forward their evidence."

The full inquiry report had not been made public because of the need to protect the identities of the couple's living children. A summary, however, has been published. It pointed to mistakes made by agencies and recommended improvements, all of which have been implemented.

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