Council child protection officer shared confidential details of children on Facebook
Child protection officer Martin Berginis lost his role at West Lothian Council when the details of his actions came to light
A council child protection officer shared confidential details about school pupils on a community Facebook page, it has emerged.
Martin Berginis, who was spokesman for a school gender-based violence campaign, was stood down from his role following complaints.
West Lothian Council moved to reassure parents that it has in place “robust measures” to prevent and deal with data breaches.
Mr Berginis, who was West Lothian Council’s lead child protection officer, is still employed by the local authority.
But a spokesman stressed he is no longer involved in child protection.
On a Facebook post relating to bullying allegations in a West Lothian secondary school, with which the teacher had been involved, Mr Berginis responded: “There’s always three sides to every story.
“The truth is often the most neglected side.”
In response to the mother who was complaining about the bullying situation, he accused her of lying about incidents involving her children.
He added: “You’re accusing people of trolling you. They’re not.
“They’re simply pointing out that you are deliberately leaving out the whole other side of the story, including your daughters assaulting other pupils and being charged by police.”
He then added more confidential details, writing: “I’ve no idea about the suspension/appeals side of things but the police charge is 100% fact.
“I don’t doubt some of the stuff has happened to her daughters but why pretend they’re innocent little lambs when they’ve also been assaulting other pupils.
“The whole community knows about it.”
In a third post aimed at the pupils’ mother, he added: “I assume you’ll be going to the press to share all these alleged miscarriages of justice?
“Or is that not an option as it would put the full facts out there into the open, including your daughters being arrested and charged by the police?”
The posts were all made using an alias.
However, the admin of the Facebook page, David Henderson, confirmed the poster was Mr Berginis and the protection officer is understood to have admitted this to his employers.
Mr Henderson also shared private messages Mr Berginis had sent to the Facebook page, beginning in October 2025, and detailing other private situations involving pupils.
The situation is understood to have revolved around a protracted and heated bullying situation in a West Lothian secondary involving multiple families.
A council spokesman said: “All complaints made to the council regarding alleged staff wrongdoing are investigated.
“All employees are required to conduct themselves in accordance with the council’s Employee Code of Conduct, and there are a range of policies in place to support adherence to it.
“We can assure members of the public that the council has robust measures in place to protect young people and their personal data, and allegations of breach of personal data are taken very seriously and investigated, which includes notifying all relevant agencies.”
The spokesman confirmed Mr Berginis had moved roles, adding: “The council cannot comment publicly on individual cases involving pupils within our schools, or allegations made against members of staff.
“However, we can confirm that the individual referred to in your enquiry is no longer a Child Protection Officer nor do they work in Child Protection Services.”
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