FRIENDS of an alleged victim of abuse at a Notts care home protested outside a council building after he was told that his personal records could not be found.
Michael Summers, 59, requested records from Nottingham City Council under the Data Protection Act relating to a time when he was in care at Beechwood Community House, Mapperley, in the 1960s when he says he was physically and emotionally abused.
Fifteen of his friends stood with placards outside the city council's Loxley House building yesterday afternoon.
Signs read "Justice for Mickey Summers" and "Silence is not justice".
The city and county councils, who have been responsible for his files at different times, have told him his files cannot be located through a "normal search".
However, both councils have vowed to continue trying to find the information but say they need more time.
A letter from the city council said records from before 1998 should be held by the county.
An investigation, named Operation Daybreak, is under way, and more than 60 people have claimed to have suffered abuse at Notts care homes so far.
Mr Summers said: "I am left feeling thoroughly disgusted, humiliated and distressed. It is with great regret that I am forced into the actions that I am now having to take."
Last month, Mr Summers launched an online petition to find out if both councils were aware of the claims at the time and, if so, what they did about them.
Graham Holden, 58, travelled three hours from Burnley to support Mr Summers' case.
He said: "He's gone through a horrible experience and it shouldn't be made any worse through this process of waiting."
Mr Summers, who now lives in New York, had a phone conversation with city council chief executive Ian Curryer during the protest.
Mr Curryer said: "He's asked for some records and we are looking for them. It's about something that happened a long time ago, and the records might only contain dates of where he was and when. Records were not as thorough then as they are today."
Under current regulations, records must be kept for 100 years, but this was not the case when Mr Summers was in care.
In a joint statement Candida Brudenell, acting corporate director for children and families at the city council, and Anthony May, corporate director for children, families and cultural services at the county council said: "Both the city and county councils are taking the issues being raised by Mr Summers very seriously and are devoting a great deal of time and effort in addressing them.
"We are making every effort to locate the records Mr Summers has asked for"
