One of the most predictable developments following a violent outrage, or exposure of abuse or wrongdoing, is the slew of subsequent new stories reporting on how authorities knew about the potential threat posed by perpetrators in advance but did nothing.

Al Qaeda had long been on the radar of western security services prior to the events of 9/11, and the CIA even had detailed, specific forewarning that passenger jets would be used in a terrorist attack.

MI5 director-general Ken McCallum issued a public apology following the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, admitting his organisation knew about the threat posed by terrorist Salman Abedi, who detonated an explosive device, killing himself and 22 others as they were leaving an Ariana Grande concert.

Read more by Carlos Alba

Last week, a long overdue report into the actions of prolific serial abuser John Smyth revealed that he was able to continue with his horrific, brutal attacks on children for more than 30 years after his behaviour first came to the attention of senior figures within the Church of England.

Whether it is in national government, police, security services, churches, social work departments, schools, private companies, or any other organisation with access to privileged information about potential perpetrators, we see failure after failure to stop, expose and prevent bad actors from continuing with abusive and dangerous behaviours.

The reasons for this institutional inertia are numerous and complex. They can include communication failures, determination to avoid reputational damage, cultural sensitivities, lack of funding, or because senior officials within the organisation regard such cases as of low priority, compared with the other challenges they face.

In Rotherham, an Asian gang groomed and sexually abused young, white girls as young as 11 over a 15-year period. They got away with it for so long, in part because of a fear among police and social workers that they might be accused of unfairly targeting a minority ethnic group within their community.

More recently, we have become aware of a number of powerful individuals who sexually abused multiple people over decades, often in plain sight, because they were able to exploit a sense of impunity and untouchability that they themselves helped to create.

It takes courage and stamina to blow the whistle on wrongdoing. As well as putting yourself in the firing line, you are likely to being going up against your bosses or peers, putting your career, reputation, and possibly your livelihood, at risk.

Anyone doing so must prepare themselves for a protracted period of scrutiny into their own motives and behaviours.

The stakes are higher when the alarm is raised over a perceived or potential threat, rather than a specific incidence of wrongdoing or malfeasance for which there is objective evidence.

Consider the case of Rosie Millard, who decided to resign as the chair of trustees of the BBC charity Children in Need in protest over grants awarded to a Scottish LGBT youth charity, whose former chief executive had previously been involved in a child abuse scandal. Already an established professional broadcaster, with a strong track-record of charity involvement, some might say she was putting neither her career, nor her reputation at risk.

However, the reaction to Ms Millard’s gesture from some quarters, should give us all pause for concern.

Mhairi Crawford, chief executive of LGBT Youth Scotland (LGBTYS), the charity in question, described her resignation letter as “astonishing” and part of a series of "ideologically driven” attacks.

She added: “We are pleased to see confirmation that Children in Need’s investigations into the work of LGBT Youth Scotland found nothing to report.

“Time and time again, those with anti-inclusivity motives point to historic allegations in attempts to destroy our reputation.

"Allegations that have been investigated and cleared by Police Scotland, and proven to have had no link to our work.”

Well almost. Children in Need cut funding - amounting to £466,000 - earlier this year after Andrew Easton, who reportedly helped to write educational materials for the charity, was convicted of sharing the most serious indecent images of children, including some of new-born babies.

He pleaded guilty after speaking online to someone he believed to be a vulnerable 13-year-old, whom he called “baby boy”.

This is not the first time the charity, which has received more than £1 million in public funding, has unwittingly welcomed a paedophile into its fold.

In 2009 James Rennie - its former chief executive, no less - was convicted of horrific child sex offences, including abusing, and filming a toddler.

Mhairi Crawford, chief executive of LGBT Youth Scotland Mhairi Crawford, chief executive of LGBT Youth Scotland (Image: LGBT Youth Scotland)

Rennie, an SNP advisor on child sex issues who used LGBTYS's offices for his crimes, was ordered to serve life, with a minimum of 13 years in jail, reduced to a minimum of eight and a half years on appeal.

In December 2022, the charity referred itself to Police Scotland after Sam Cowie alleged that, aged 15, one of its employees provided him with cigarettes and alcohol, leading to incidents in bars where he was assaulted and raped. Police Scotland concluded its investigation, finding no evidence of criminality.

Millard resigned over what she perceives to be an "institutional failure" at Children in Need, accusing its chief executive Simon Antrobus of failing to respond to events at LGBTYS “with the necessary level of seriousness", and of only cutting its funds over fears of negative publicity.

You don’t need to have “anti-inclusivity motives”, as Ms Crawford suggests, to recognise a problematic pattern when you see one, and to call it out. This is one occasion in which an organisation cannot claim not to have known about wrongdoing in the past, only to see it repeated.

Failure to get a grip is reason enough for Children in Need to have withdrawn funding from LGBTYS and Ms Millard should be commended for bringing the issue to the public’s attention.

In contrast, the charity’s self-vindicating posturing, implying those with legitimate concerns are acting out of an ulterior agenda, smacks of worrying complacency.

Carlos Alba is a journalist, author, and PR consultant at Carlos Alba Media. His latest novel, There’s a Problem with Dad, explores the issue of undiagnosed autism among older people