U.S. author and Investigative Journalist, Leah McGrath Goodman, who was banned from entering the UK and Jersey after it became apparent she was investigating the Child Abuse, and possible murder, at Jersey "care" home Haut de la Garenne STILL remains banned. Jersey Immigration has finally admitted, according to Ms Goodman, that the "writers Visa" she was advised to apply for (by Jersey Immigration) doesn't exist!
Regular readers will be aware that after learning of Ms Goodman's ban and appalling treatment she was allegedly subjected to at the hands of the UK Border Agency and Jersey Immigration, local politician Deputy Trevor Pitman, launched an online petition to raise awareness of Ms Goodman's plight and hopefully bring pressure on the agencies to do the right thing and allow her to continue her work and issue her a visa that DOES exist.
Leah McGrath Goodman has updated her story to the signatories of her/Deputy Trevor Pitman's petition and we re-produce it here.
Jersey Update from Leah McGrath Goodman:
It has been just over a month and the island of Jersey is keenly aware of the progress of this petition...so please keep it coming. It is having immense impact. I am with all of you in spirit, although as yet I am still not allowed back in the UK...
Right now, several UK newspapers and media outlets are in touch amid the Jimmy Savile scandal, as revelations emerge daily of his abusing children at the very same Jersey orphanage I am investigating -- Haut de la Garenne.
This lends a great deal of credence the victims' (previously ignored) testimonies of appalling crimes committed at Haut de la Garenne against children across decades by the rich and privileged -- islanders as well as visitors such as Savile.
One reporter for a major London daily told me, "We have been asking ourselves for days why the press did nothing about this...Now that I hear your story about how you were kicked out of the country for investigating it, I know." Jersey's police has stated that it received complaints of Savile's acts against children but did not charge him due to "insufficient evidence." (It remains to be seen what evidence would be sufficient on an island that has no sex offenders registry.)
By not stopping Savile, the authorities effectively stepped aside and allowed him to continue preying on children until his death. The UK now likes to refer to these matters as "in the past" or "historic" or "it happened in a different era."
Really? In Jersey, people accused of horrific crimes against children are still enjoying high-ranking government posts in health and education -- in other words, close to defenseless children. We know their names and we know what they did according to their accusers. But they have never been charged.
Why? In Jersey, if the Attorney General does not agree to apprehend a person, the police cannot apprehend him. There is no appealing that decision. Neat, huh?
Regarding my plight, Jersey Immigration has stated I am quite welcome to return to the island, provided I get a non-existent "Writer's visa." Yes, this visa does not exist. This week, they finally admitted there is no form for such a visa. We are still awaiting a coherent answer as to what they now advise me to do.
While it is hard to believe any of these things could happen in a Western democracy -- let alone on an island that answers to the Queen -- what might be even harder to believe is that so many people have been trampled so many times in trying to effect lasting change, the vast majority of them have given up. After what I have seen, I don't blame them.
But the truth must come out. Help us keep the pressure on and pass this along to a few more people, if you have a chance. Those of you from Jersey, hang in there. For those of you from elsewhere, this is a beautiful island with truly amazing people. It does not deserve anything less than safety for its children -- and the truth.
Hope this finds you and your families well -- and happy autumn.
Leah.(END)
We ask our readers to support Ms Goodman's struggle with Jersey Immigration and please sign the petition HERE.
We (the good people of Jersey) are sick and tired of Jersey's reputation being dragged through the mud because of a few power crazed nut-cases who are hell bent on keeping the truth buried concerning the horrors that occurred at Haut de la Garenne and other State run institutions on the island .
Banning a Western Journalist from researching the facts will further damage the reputation of this beautiful island which has suffered enough because of a select few.
The victims/survivors of the horrendous Child Abuse deserve to have their story told and Jersey needs to show the world's stage that it is willing to face up to its failings.......Please sign the petition.
"Banning a Western Journalist from researching the facts..."
ReplyDeleteCall me old fashioned, but I don't trust any journalist west of St Ouen, and only one east of it. And he's not a journalist.
How did the Uk authorities get dragged into this situation. Who is responsible in the UK?
ReplyDeleteDid they accept everything from Jersey immigration when told Leah Goodman did not have the correct Visa. How do they feel now, knowing no such Visa exists it was a story badly told.
"The whole Haut De La Garenne investigation always seemed to obscure more than it revealed" - Craig Murray.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2012/10/establishment-darkness/
Has the Justice Secretary been informed of the situation.
ReplyDeleteLeah McGrath Goodman was expected to perform the impossible with the UK acting as enforcers.
If memory serves correct the Justice Secretary has been informed of this assault on freedom of the press.
ReplyDeleteWith MP John Hemming mentioning it in the House Of Commons one would be surprised if the Justice Secretary wasn't aware.
I think we can finally trust the international mainstream media to tie Leah McGrath Goodman's impossible visa situation with the cover-up of Jersey child abuse now. The 2008 media frenzy is returning to the Island.
ReplyDeleteFreelance Journalist Eileen Fairweather might be the next journalist to have Visa PROBLEMS
ReplyDeleteIt is plain to see why BBC Jersey has been blatantly complicit with Jersey's systematic concealment of child abuse. The entire BBC organization had too much to lose if the 2008 Jersey HDLG investigation turned up the evidence of the ring of paedophiles, including Savile, easily exploiting institutionalized Jersey children. BBC Jersey was just the tip of the overall BBC complicity scandal.
ReplyDeleteThis article is worth a careful read:
Jimmy Savile: evidence BBC was allegedly aware of abuse claims grows. Lawyer for 12 alleged victims says his inquiries show BBC was aware of very strong rumours about Jimmy Savile in the 1960s
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/oct/20/jimmy-savile-bbc-sexual-abuse
"Collins's initial inquiries already suggest that serious questions will have to be asked about why alarm bells did not sound at the corporation decades ago. "My inquiries show there were very strong rumours about Savile in the 1960s," Collins said. "His former colleagues now seem able to expose his darker side, the difficult personality, and that it was well known at the time that he had a sexual interest in children."
"The claims are a potential legal minefield for the corporation. If the BBC's managers were aware of the claims and failed to report them, Collins argues, they could be found to have committed a criminal offence. He added that, if the allegations against Savile were confirmed, they indicated the presenter was not "simply a random and opportunist child abuser" but someone who "would have needed help" from others to perpetrate his crimes."
"There are serious questions to answer," Collins said. "The story is not about Savile. The real story is how was he able to get away with abusing children, if that is what was happening, for so long. They [the BBC] were in awe of this man and were scared of him. If you allow that dominating culture to develop, all the child abuse measures in the world aren't going to stop that."
"Collins said he was examining multiple claims that the presenter had abused children at the Haut de La Garenne children's home in Jersey;..."
"Collins said the civil cases he was preparing for damages would draw on testimony from alleged victims and potentially from Savile's former colleagues at the BBC. He said they would reference Savile's own boasts about his sex life."
Hi VFC.
ReplyDeleteJust put up the interview from this morning of Mr Harper.
You & your readers can Listen HERE
TJW.
We’ve seen and heard well considered and evidenced information from Messrs Power and Harper over the last few years. These two have also been interviewed in relation to the “Tip of the Iceberg” piece in the Telegraph yesterday. Also Mr Harper on BBC Radio Jersey this morning. Indeed, the BBC is in possession of a 90 page document prepared by Mr Power for the Wiltshire investigation.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the Telegraph reporter and other interested media are seeking the views of Mick Gradwell? I understand that he has become an expert for hire by the media on such matters recently in the UK so he must surely be asked to provide his considered and evidenced views. Perhaps some bold reported might ask him to explain just what his role was as the SIO following Mr Harper’s retirement. He might also be asked to provide some rather belated evidence for his departing comments in which he poured scorn over the conduct of the abuse investigation under Messrs Harper and Power. Perhaps he could also provide a coherent evaluation of his achievements as SIO so that he can explain clearly to all of us how he turned what he I believe called a shambles into a professional investigation. Oh, and lest I forget, perhaps he could explain why he thought that it was part of his role as the SIO to leak sensitive information to local media and to the UK journalist (and self- proclaimed sometime MI6 officer) David Rose.
This is no time to hide your light under a bushel Mr Gradwell. Go on – have your moment of glory!
Indeed Mr. Harper and Mr. Power have consistently answered questions concerning their role in the Child Abuse Investigation whether the questions have been asked by the State Media or Bloggers (Jersey's only independent media) Power and Harper have NEVER shied away.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it ironic with the recent allegations concerning Jimmy Savile and the alleged complicity of the BBC that BBC Radio 5 live has been wheeling Gradwell out as some kind of an expert on police corruption and the like?
Gradwell, who said he would give evidence to any enquiry set up over here to do with the Child Abuse, DIDN't give evidence to the Scrutiny Sub Panel Review and has barely been heard of locally since leaving the island.
Maybe the Award Winning Channel Television will invite him back but this time actually question him? Or perhaps the Jersey Evening Post will give him, another big spread but actually question him this time?
Lenny Harper and Graham Power have, and continue, to stand up and be counted some 4 years after the Child Abuse Investigation was started.
Come on Messrs Gradwell and Warcup are you going to stand up and be counted?
We hope to publish an exclusive interview with the former SIO Lenny Harper tomorrow and unlike the State BBC we won't be looking to protect the disgraced Home Affairs Minister.
Ian Le Marquand Minister's statement on historic child abuse.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.channelonline.tv/channelonline_jerseynews/displayarticle.asp?id=497676
Dissecting the CORRUPTION piece by piece!
ReplyDeleteIt never ceases to amaze me how tight a tax haven can be towards its own plebs.
ReplyDeleteBand -Description -Range
1 -Physical and/or sexual abuse -Up to £10,000
2 Aggravated physical and/or sexual abuse -£10,000-£20,000
3 Rape and/or prolonged aggravated physical and/or sexual abuse: standard bracket -£15,000-£35,000
4 Rape and/or prolonged aggravated physical and/or sexual abuse: upper bracket -£25,000-£60,000
http://www.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Government%20and%20administration/D%20HistoricAbuseRedressSchemePaper%20MC%2028032012.pdf
I’ve been told by a reliable source that the BBC Trust will be discussing the conduct of BBC Jersey during a meeting to be held in London this week. I understand Graham Power’s statement is a key criterion on the list and that the complaint had elevated to Trust level before the Savile revelations. I’ll post more information when I get more.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds encouraging.
Has anyone else heard about this?
Anon@22 October 2012 08:17,
ReplyDeleteThis is stunning news. Do you have any more info?
The BBC Trust investigating the BBC conduct. Impartial?
ReplyDeleteWill they investigate why, when emailed, the corporation always used a get out clause when informed about the BBC one sided approach to child abuse in Jersey.
It really should not surprise us at this point if the complaint emails we archived to and from the BBC are part of the larger investigation by the BBC Trust. As mentioned in the intriguing comment above, Jersey is so much more on the radar now since Jimmy Savile and HdlG are intricately woven into the front pages of the scandal.
ReplyDeleteI am glad I kept copies of my email and reside beyond the reach of their future notices and injunctions. This scandal has become bigger than just the UK and Jersey, so it may be impossible for Jersey to buy its way out of exposure with paid hacks and spin artists. The BBC is a global issue. Its importance to the rest of the world should not be underestimated, nor should the cause of free speech on behalf of abuse survivors, anywhere.
Elle