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Whistleblower: Accused nurseries defend themselves

The owner of one of the nurseries exposed for bad practice in the BBC's 'Whistleblower' programme has spoken out about the allegations.

In an exclusive interview with Nursery World, Satnam Parhar, who runs Buttons Day Nursery School in Hanwell, west London, said he had been shocked by the footage.

The documentary revolved around an eight-month undercover operation, in which a 21-year-old BBC journalist, Imogen Willcocks, posed as a nursery assistant and was able to work at Buttons and Just Learning in Cambourne, Cambridgeshire, without references being taken up or Criminal Records Bureau checks. She also worked at a Mark Warner resort in Dahab, Egypt.

Mr Parhar said, 'We tried to see the film before it was aired, but the BBC refused. The scenes were collected over five weeks and the BBC presented it for maximum impact.'

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