In the aftermath of the sentencing of Southport care home owner David Barton for a series of crimes in which residents were defrauded of millions of pounds, the town’s Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate John Wright has supported the judge's calls for greater protection for vulnerable older people living in residential care settings.

“The vast majority of care providers are decent, law-abiding people, doing their best to provide a good quality of life for their residents. However these crimes show that the opportunity still exists for unscrupulous care home owners to take advantage of their elderly residents, to rob them and cause untold misery, in what should be the secure and contented days of their later years,” says Mr Wright.

In the light of comments made by the judge, Mr Justice Everett, about the rules governing care home scrutiny, Mr Wright is now asking for a review of regulations contained within the Health and Social Care Act 2008 is undertaken to ensure that there can be no repeat elsewhere of what has happened in Southport.

“I have written to the Minister to ask that such a review take place,” says John Wright. “We have to be certain that the best possible protections are in place, and that we can all have the greatest confidence in the care of vulnerable elderly residents, in whatever setting they find themselves in”.

Nice of the Lib Dems to follow Labour's Liz Savage and her calls for greater regulation.