Thursday 11 December 2014

Statement From Frances Oldham QC.




The Chair of the IJCI, Frances Oldham, has made a statement on the progress of the Inquiry. Mrs Oldham was speaking at the close of hearings this year.

“There will be no further hearings in 2014. But the team will still be working to prepare for next year’s sittings. The next hearing will be on Tuesday the 13th of January, when we will hear more evidence about Haut de la Garenne, followed by evidence from former residents of Jersey’s other care and foster homes.

We will then move to the next stage of the Inquiry and hear evidence from people who worked or were involved with the care system. To date have heard evidence concerning more than 90 former residents. We’ve also heard evidence from a number of expert witnesses. I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to the work of this Inquiry. We have also been in contact by writing with more than 300 potential witnesses. It is still not too late to get in touch with us. The work to trace and prepare documents spanning seven decades is painstaking but essential, concerning as it does more than 150,000 pages so far. All of this evidence we will consider when deciding what went wrong in Jersey’s care system over so many years and making recommendations to keep children safe in the future."

12 comments:

  1. "what went wrong"

    Bloody obvious what went wrong.

    Recommendations? Here we go again.

    Tell us why it went so badly wrong. Tell us why with the real reasons behind so much failure and exposed cover -ups.

    Deliver the goods.

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  2. You and Syvret wanted this COI disbanded last month so why so much hypocrisy?

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    1. VFC is a reliable news source - and reports factual information. There is no conflict in reporting facts - and being in disagreement with some of the associated issues.

      Speaking for myself - I still want this particular "public inquiry" disbanded - and replaced with a real, effective public inquiry - one that has vires.

      Stuart

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  3. The testing of this COI team will be their verdict on the prolonged suspension of Jerseys Chief Of Police Graham Power, and the timing of it. And the sacking of Jerseys Health & Social Services and longest serving Minister Stuart Syvret and the timing of it.
    Both removals coincided with the start of Jerseys biggest Child Abuse Investigation ever undertaken, known as Operation Rectangle.

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  4. Ex Deputy Wimberley was instrumental ( after doing an enormous amount of factual work) in getting the inquiry accepted by his fellow states members. He has tabled reasonable and relevant questions to this COI which have been completely ignored and still remain unanswered.
    Likewise, ex Senator Stuart Syvret who admitted openly as Health Minister responsible for child protection that he had no confidence in States departments that were responsible for the protection of children and was removed.

    Obviously the COI want to hear his evidence err no, he has not been allowed legal representation, unlike all Jerseys’ civil servants, therefore dare not risk appearing.

    Until Francis Oldham and her team answer Wimberly, and invite Syvret to speak with the same protection as States employees, her committee of inquiry is acting like a bunch of highly paid amateurs, and thus supporting critics claims of another Jersey Whitewash.

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  5. Isn't it about time everybody just let Frances Oldham and her professional team get on with it?

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  6. 12.43 is correct,

    Butt out peasants while they are buying the white paint using your money. They are professional and completely beyond reproach unlike Lady Butler-Sloss and Fiona Woolf CBE who stood down.

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  7. Lets be thankful that abuse survivors are going to the Inquiry to give Statements rather than listen to this negativity.

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    1. You'll find that the huge majority of Abuse Survivors are NOT going to the Inquiry to give Statements. It appears that the majority of evidence the inquiry has received is from police statements and statements submitted to the redress scheme.

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    2. Police Statements?
      Good because the Police should have everything in their possession and it stops people having to re-live their horrors.

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    3. Indeed , "the Police SHOULD have everything in their possession"

      unfortunately some victims say that their statements were "lost" by the police under the control of Team Walker/Ogley/Bailhache/Gradwell after the illegal coup against Chief Officer G.Power

      In previous decades it appears that the police were actually under the control of practising paedophiles so there was a policy of non-investigation apparently with the collusion of the other services including education and mental health. There was no escape.

      Due to the nature of paedophilia the majority of crimes go unreported, but in Jersey there was additionally an enforced wall of silence with accusations being left out of reports and complainants and whistleblowers being further punished, even into the last few years, and possibly to the present day.

      Whilst it is marginally better than nothing the conduct of the present CoI does little to the restore confidence of victims or islanders in general. It is being conducted as an expensive RP exercise rather than a Inquiry to find the truth and genuinely learn lessons.

      Where are the satisfactory responses to the serious issues highlighted by Deputy Daniel Wimberley? (and many others)

      See Deputy Wimberley's guest posting at:
      http://voiceforchildren.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/jersey-child-abuse-committee-of-inquiry.html

      The CoI will not provide answers because it can't. They just ignore fair challenges and plough on with their charade. Happily absorbing £6m of taxpayer's money in the process.

      Disgusting !

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  8. Lets face it. Most of these Police Statements were submitted to the local police around 2008 & before....
    Why have it taken so long for these statements to be taken seriously?!

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