Nicky Campbell: School abuse still haunts me

Broadcaster Nicky Campbell has revealed for the first time that he was the victim of abuse at a private school in Edinburgh during the 1970s.The 61-year-old told his BBC Sounds podcast Different he witnessed and experienced sexual and violent physical abuse at the Edinburgh Academy.He will tell BBC Radio 5 Live later the abuse had a "profound effect on my life" and had been "obsessing me".The Academy "wholeheartedly" apologised and said it had helped police.It was after his wife heard another BBC podcast, In Dark Corners, which explores abuse at Britain's private schools, that Campbell decided to contact the producer and reveal what he knew about the Edinburgh Academy.

Explaining his experiences, Campbell will tell listeners: "I was badly beaten up at school by a teacher who was a leading light in the scripture union - my mother took it as far as she could and got a grovelling apology from him, but was essentially stonewalled and it was hushed up by the school."Those were different times and that has stayed with me all my life."And there was a teacher Hamish Dawson who is now dead who had regularly wandering hands - many of us were on the receiving end - and me and my friends still talk about it - with utter contempt. We were 12.

"But there was something else that I will never forget."Being in a changing room at 10 years old - after rugby - seeing a teacher abuse my friend. I cannot describe it here and I can never un-see it."This man was known to us all as a predator and a sadist but we never told. Anyone. My school friends and I talk about it now with each other with again - contempt, disbelief and incomprehension that sort of thing happened in plain sight and nothing was done.

"And why didn't we as little boys tell anyone in power what was happening? I don't know."I made up my mind to contact the journalist Alex Renton to tell him about this man who we all presumed had disappeared into the ether and probably died."When I spoke to Alex, I said I have to tell you about this man and something that haunts me - I didn't suffer at his hands - I wasn't abused by him but I know how much it affected those who he did target.