Stuart Syvret Released from Prison.

Former senior Jersey Politician, and Health Minister, Stuart Syvret was today released from prison after serving approximately two months for Data Protection/contempt of court charges.

Mr. Syvret who in 2007 stood up in Jersey's Parliament, while still Health Minister, and said.

Senator Syvret in 2007 as Health Minister

“I have serious concerns, to be honest, about the whole child protection, child welfare standards of performance of Jersey, not just within my own department, Social Services and the Children’s Service, but across the board. I am aware of a number of issues, this being one of them, a number of cases, a number of incidents that lead me more and more strongly to the conclusion that we are failing badly in this area. I am probably going to be seeking to initiate a major independent review into the whole sphere of child welfare, child protection in Jersey. So if you are asking me honestly, do I believe the performance of certain senior individuals within this field and of the departments generally is acceptable, no, it is not.”

Did this statement trigger the political downfall of the former Senator? How many other Data Protection offences have warranted a 10 strong police squad, without a search warrant, turning over a place of residence in what has been described as "a fishing expedition?"

There will be an in-depth and exclusive interview coming up with Mr. Syvret at the beginning of 2012. 

Team Voice. 

Hope

Below is a video created by OZZY a survivor of Haute de la Garenne and we would like, once more, to share it with our readers and viewers and pay tribute to those who have, and are still, suffering from the atrocities committed in that place (HDLG) and others.

Here's hoping 2012 will bring us a judicial system that will be there to protect, rather than, crush and oppress those of us seeking the truth. Here's hoping 2012 will bring us an independent media who will hold our Law Offices and government to account. Here's hoping 2012 will bring an open and transparent Committee of Enquiry with a fit for purpose Terms of Reference.

For the Paedophiles and those protecting them who are hoping there will be a let up in 2012......BOB and NO.

Merry Christmas to all our readers across the world and a happy and safe New Year.

Team Voice.

Lucy Panton and Lenny Harper.

Not for the first time there are those conspiracy theorists and people wishing to link Jersey's Former Deputy Chief Police Officer and Senior Investigating Officer Lenny Harper with some kind of improper dealings concerning the (then) Chief Crime Reporter on the News of The World Lucy Panton.

First off we must stress that Mrs. Panton, to the best of our knowledge, has not been charged with any offence. She certainly hasn't been found guilty of any offence so in the eyes of the law she is innocent.

But this does not prevent those who are hell-bent on trashing the name of the first Police Officer in Jersey's history to lead an investigation into widespread and DECADES of Child Abuse in the State run institutions with innuendo and gossip.

Regular readers/viewers will be aware the we (Team Voice) pride ourselves with dealing, as best we can, in "evidence and facts." The "fact" is somebody from the States of Jersey Police was leaking information, during the live Child Abuse investigation to at least one "journalist." The "evidence" points us in the direction of the officer who took over from Mr. Harper and that is Mick Gradwell.

Mick Gradwell has been named by a number of witnesses (under oath) as the officer leaking this information. He has also been named by Jersey's Home Affairs Minister as the leak. The Home Affairs Minister has also told the SCRUTINY REVIEW that if Mr. Gradwell had not been seconded and was a States of Jersey Police Officer then he would very likely be facing serious disciplinary action. Yet still Jersey's State Media don't think any of this is newsworthy or of public interest? But what Lenny Harper "might" have done is?

The first time it was inferred that Mr. Harper "might" have had improper relations with the NOTW Chief Crime Reporter "Lucy Panton" was back in July this year when Former Senator's Perchard and Shenton with current Deputy Sean Power took their concerns to Jersey's Attorney General.

We at Team Voice put the accusations to Mr. Harper as part of an exclusive and in-depth interview we did with him and here is what he told us.



Every move Mr. Harper has made and every penny he spent during the Child Abuse Enquiry has been meticulously scrutinised by all and sundry including the State Media. Should our (or their) attention now be turned towards Mick Gradwell................And why hasn't it been??

Revisit the credibility of State Media

As the credibility of the BBC is once more being called into question surrounding the alleged duping of the public in the "Frozen Planet" episode recently screened concerning the baby Polar Bears. We thought this would be an ideal opportunity to revisit a Blog posting we published back in October last year (2010)


Of course there are any number of occasions that could be mentioned when it comes to the BBC allegedly duping the public, whether it be Panorama and the supposed sweat shops, the Blue Peter child being asked to pose as a competition winner, the Queen being edited to look like she was walking out of a photo shoot, when in fact she was walking IN. Again there are probably many more that could be mentioned, not least The Wiltshire Report, or as it is commonly known, the (discredited) prosecution case against Former Jersey Chief Police Officer Graham Power QPM.


The BBC, along with the rest of Jersey's State Media, published/broadcast/reported on this Wiltshire Report (prosecution case) quite extensively. The BBC has now been in possession of Mr. Power's 62,000 word submission to Wiltshire (the defence case) for TWO MONTHS and have not reported a single word of it. What are the chances that the BBC will be leaked anything again in Jersey? Haven't they got an obligation to tell both sides of a story? How can they expect trust and credibility? Why won't they report it?


"Leaks, Trust and Credibility Revisited" (October 2010)

After today’s announcement that Mike Bowron is the preferred choice of our Home Affairs Minister, Senator Ian (P9-26) Le Marquand, to be our next Chief Police Officer very serious and very probing questions need to be asked of our “accredited” media.

These questions should go right to the very top echelons of the BBC, ITV and the “Independent” Press Complaints Commission, or whoever it is that are tasked with the job of watching over the JEP .

The Home Affairs Minister’s announcement raises many, many questions to the credibility and trustworthiness of our “accredited” media. Regular Readers/viewers of this site will be aware that we were provided with information, not only to the identity of the new (subject to States approval) Chief Police Officer, but the alleged “cover story” that enabled David Warcup to secure his pension, that the selection process was just a PR exercise, Mr. Bowron was “the chosen one” before the selection process had even commenced and  It enabled him (David Warcup) to resign before the Napier report became public and thereby claim that he was leaving because of political and Blog criticism. 

After doing everything we could to substantiate the information we were given, we decided to publish it HERE

NINE DAYS LATER the “accredited” media announce that Mike Bowron is “the chosen one”. It is a known fact that the “accredited” media read this Blog, and have in the past, used it as a source for their own news, but why not this story? So a few of the questions that need to be asked are “how long have they been in possession of this information?” How is it that they report it as “news” NINE DAYS after it appeared on here? Why wasn’t this information provided directly to them? And many more questions besides.

For now we’ll just concentrate on the “trustworthiness” of the “accredited” media, their credibility and that of Team Voice. If this information wasn’t given to the accredited media, then why not? Could it be that they could not be trusted with it? And Team Voice could? Let us just suppose they were provided with this information then we must ask, why didn’t they report it? Are they as “independent” as they claim to be? Were they “encouraged” by our powers that be to keep it under wraps? If so then how can they claim to be an independent media? Either scenario suggests that they cannot be trusted.

As for the credibility, we at Team Voice, believe ours has never been in question. That is because, to the best of our (somewhat limited in comparison to the “accredited” media) ability, we research the facts and rely on documentation to substantiate these facts. We do as best we can to only publish evidenced facts. By doing this and reporting “in-depth” on the more embarrassing (to our government) stories we have gained the trust of some very courageous, knowledgeable, trustworthy, and conscientious people from inside the very heart of our government/Civil Service. These contacts can not be thanked enough, they are taking a huge risk to their livelihoods, their pensions, mortgages and so forth in order to have the truth told. They are, along with the Abuse Survivors, the unsung heroes in this very dark period in Jersey’s History……But why are they not giving, or leaking, this information to the “accredited” and “independent” media?

Our source was right about the name of the successful candidate and it is reasonable to assume that they were also right about the other things in the same story. Or are we to assume that getting the name right was a lucky guess and the rest should be ignored? This is further evidence of how Ministers could be systematically lying to the public about these issues and how the "accredited” media are falling for it hook line and sinker, or are complicit in their party line and deliberately keeping the public ignorant. If Ministers are willing to lie and cover up about these things what else are they willing to lie/cover up about??   Can anything they say be trusted and can we believe anything the Jersey media repeats on their behalf?

It must be said that we (Team Voice) know little about Mr Bowron himself apart from what is available on the internet. From what we do know he appears to be a respected and capable officer and wish him well in his new position. However, his apparent (alleged) association with David Warcup and the "cover story" for Warcup’s departure is not a good start and we hope that Mr Bowron will take an early opportunity to assert his independence from the “untrustworthy?” political leadership of this island. We hope that he will strive to create a politically independent Police Force. We hope that he will also strive to rigorously pursue the perpetrators of Child Abuse and bring them to justice without fear or favour.

What (or who) must also be in serious question is the Home Affairs Minister Ian Le Marquand. Regular readers/viewers will be aware that he gave the Wiltshire Report to the “accredited” media before he gave it to his fellow States Members as we reported, with great thanks to Deputy Trevor Pitman, HERE, with a follow up 
HERE

Despite all the promises made about keeping Members informed, he (ILM) has again failed to show respect to his colleagues. We have just checked the States website and there is no proposition lodged to appoint the next Chief Police Officer. Given the concerns about the Police Chiefs one would have hoped that ILM would have ensured that proper etiquette was followed and his fellow States Members wouldn’t have to learn about it through the “accredited” media…………..or on here!

The credibility, trust and independence of our “accredited” media are seriously in question. If any of it was in any doubt concerning Team Voice then this should now have been dispelled……………You heard it HERE  first.

What a difference a Child Abuse Investigation makes.

Below is a previous post from one of our sister sites revised and revisited and the question still remains, how could it be that Former Police Chief Officer Graham Power QPM and Former Deputy Chief Officer Lenny Harper forgot all their police training and experience once they started investigating Institutional Child Abuse in Jersey's State run "care" homes?

Back in early 2007  Chief Police Officer Graham Power and Deputy Chief Officer Lenny Harper were “the good guys”. They were rooting out the alleged corruption in Jersey's “outdated” Police force and according to Jersey's only "News"paper, the Jersey Evening Post, “ It goes without saying that in the police - beyond all other institutions - there is no room whatsoever for corruption or malpractice. If the professional standards section of our force determined that it was necessary to act with exemplary firmness, its stance deserves support rather than criticism.”
Below is that editorial published by the Jersey Evening Post early in 2007 where one would believe, after receiving glowing reports from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate, Lenny Harper and Graham Power were doing this right. This appears to be endorsed by the Jersey Evening Post, hence their “positive” Editorial.

But along came a Child Abuse Investigation, and these two cops who had received glowing reports from HMI and others also the support of the Jersey Evening Post - before you know it - they’re the bad guys! Come on JEP you can’t have it both ways, at what point did they lose your support, when was it that they went bad?

Everything all seemed Hunky Dory until these guys started investigating institutional Child Abuse.

I should like at this point to throw out a challenge to the Jersey Evening Post.

In their Editorial of February 23rd 2010 (below) they have written “One is that Mr Power’s deputy, Lenny Harper, was not effectively supervised as he pursued with ever increasing public zeal his unsubstantiated suspicions that torture, murder and institutional cover-up had taken place at the former children’s home.”


Could you please point us in the direction where Lenny Harper has ever said there was any “murder” at HDLG?


JEP Editorial from 2007.

Police Chief delivers change.
Six years ago the States of Jersey Police were the subject of a less than flattering report compiled in the wake of a visit by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary. Since then, problems clearly have been solved and new standards have been set, the latest HMI report

having described the force as “modern and fast-moving”.
Police Chief Graham Power and his officers can be proud of this achievement. In common with forces up and down Britain, the States Police are a complex and many-layered organisation. Accomplishing the turn-around of the past six years can therefore, have been no easy undertaking. Nor can it have been particularly pleasant. The process of major change is always likely to upset those set in their ways or content to roll along in accordance with comfortable but outdated routines.

This process of transformation was undoubtedly at its most challenging when the professional standards department, led by Mr. Power’s deputy, Lenny Harper, embarked on a systematic programme to root out corruption. Mr. Harper’s determined efforts have been attacked - to the extent that they have been described as “out of control” by a prominent former politician - but the result of the latest HMI inspection would seem to justify the decision to probe as deeply as possible and to remove those officers who were less than a credit to their uniform.
It goes without saying that in the police - beyond all other institutions - there is no room whatsoever for corruption or malpractice. If the professional standards section of our force determined that it was necessary to act with exemplary firmness, its stance deserves support rather than criticism.

There are, of course, areas of the force where improvements can still be made. Indeed, the inspectorate has listed 78 suggestions for further change. With the combination of improved morale, high levels of confidence in the top echelon and firm political support, Mr. Power and his colleagues are in an excellent position to deliver that change.
We in Jersey are fortunate to live in a community where serious crime is mercifully rare. While important questions remain over the failure of the States to establish a new police authority , the force itself is organised and led in a way more than capable of maintaining this happy state of affairs.

But along came a Child Abuse Investigation and the JEP are not so supportive. As the Editorial from the same "News"paper, some three years later, demonstrates.


Mr Power: Time to call a halt
February 23, 2010 – 3:00 pm

ALMOST exactly two years since the name of Haut de la Garenne hit the world’s headlines, Jersey is still dealing with the fall-out.

The ramifications of how the police and politicians handled that dramatic escalation of the Island’s historical child abuse inquiry will once again tax the wisdom of States Members this week when they debate Deputy Bob Hill’s call for a committee of inquiry into the suspension of States police chief Graham Power.
We may never know precisely what arguments he will make because the debate is to be held in private, but they will need to be powerful ones to justify the protraction of an already extensive examination.

There seems to be little, if any, doubt over the two key points. One is that Mr Power’s deputy, Lenny Harper, was not effectively supervised as he pursued with ever increasing public zeal his unsubstantiated suspicions that torture, murder and institutional cover-up had taken place at the former children’s home. The other is that in suspending Mr Power because of that failure of oversight, the powers that be slipped up in one or more parts of the procedural minefield that now surrounds employer/employee relations in Jersey.
Unequivocally damning evidence in respect of the first of those points has already been presented by the States police’s own review of the conduct of the abuse inquiry, carried out by a suitably qualified senior officer from the UK. More expert comment on the whole affair is due soon from the Wiltshire Constabulary, who have been commissioned to take a further independent view.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Terry Le Sueur has offered a review of the way Mr Power’s suspension was carried out. All this has already taken longer and cost more than is reasonable, with the delay providing a field day for conspiracy theorists in the process.In reaching a decision this week, the States will have to balance a number of tricky questions, including, crucially, what is fair to Mr Power but also what is fair to Jersey and to the taxpayer.
Mr Power has been suspended for more than a year. He is now near retirement and, one way or another, will undoubtedly leave Jersey well rewarded for his ultimately disappointing time in the Island. There is, nevertheless, understandable sadness that a dedicated, respected police officer who has given long and distinguished service should find himself in this position at the end of his career.

Depending on one’s point of view, that sympathy will either be diluted or reinforced by the knowledge that Mr Power and Mr Harper co-existed as two sides of a triangular relationship with a weak Home Affairs Minister in former Senator Wendy Kinnard.
From any perspective, though, there is strong evidence that Mr Power has largely brought his troubles on himself through his failure to control Mr Harper. For that reason Deputy Hill, himself a former Metropolitan Police officer of the old school, will have a hard task convincing the States that there would be any overwhelmingly important purpose served by dragging out this whole grim process even further.(END)


What a difference a Child Abuse investigation makes.

Briefing Note Number 5 Revisited.

Below is one of a series of "Briefing Notes" issued by the Former States of Jersey Chief Police Officer Mr. Graham Power QPM to the local State Media (although the State Media didn't get this one) and VFC. Although the only place these briefing notes saw the light of day was on the Team Voice Blogs.


We published this particular Briefing note back in August 2010. Naturally a lot has happened since then, not least the "Road Show" that our re-elected Home Affairs Minister Senator Ian Le Marquand DID, as predicted, go ahead. The Home Affairs Minister held a Press Conference (for State Media only) gave one-one interviews (to State Media only) and gave a presentation to Jersey's Parliament. All to parade the "prosecution case" against the Former Chief Police Officer AFTER the Home Affairs Minister had abandoned any disciplinary hearing. He did not, and still has not, published one single word of the Former Police Chief's 62,000 word defence case. The same 62,000 words that BBC Jersey have had for the best part of two months and, just like the Home Affairs Minister, BBC Jersey have not published a single word of it either.


Mr. Power's own words sums up the crux of all that has been able to go on unchecked and un-challegened (except by Bloggers) and they are.


"And if, reader, you consider this all very amusing and distant from your own concerns, then remember what has been said by many from the very beginning of this saga. If they can do this to a Chief Police Officer and get away with it...............think what they could do to you. Then it might not be so funny."


This all coincides with an Early Days Motion (EDM) submitted by Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming which reads.

"That this House notes the imprisonment of Stuart Syvret; believes that the public authorities of the island of Jersey do not operate in a manner compliant with the requirements of the European Commission of Human Rights (ECHR), there being overt and significant overlaps and contaminations between the legislature, executive and judiciary; further notes that Her Majesty's subjects in Jersey are not protected by effective checks and balances, and that there has been the political repression of former Chief Police Officer, Graham Power and former Senator Stuart Syvret; further notes that, notwithstanding the responsibility the Secretary of State for Justice has for good governance and Convention Rights in Jersey, the island's authorities are permitted to repress opposition activists, and that the Secretary of State for Justice and Jersey's Lieutenant Governor have failed to act; further notes that successive governments of the United Kingdom have committed this nation to securing real democratic freedoms and the rule of law in other jurisdictions, yet in the British enclave of Jersey on the United Kingdom's very doorstep, ordinary powerless people are oppressed by an entrenched oligarchy; and calls on the Secretary of State for Justice to appoint an independent Commission similar to that which investigated corruption in the Turks and Caicos Islands, to investigate the conduct of Jersey's public administration and to urgently bring the protections of the ECHR to Her Majesty's subjects in the island."


There is also an e petition that supports mr Hemming's EDM and we encourage our readers from the Channel Islands and Britain to sign it. Although it might well be that we don't have a corrupt Government, Administration and Judicial System, and if this is the case then there is nothing to fear an enquiry that will prove it. On the other hand if we do have this amount of corruption then it is time to rid Jersey of it. Either scenario gives good reason to sign this e-petition which can be done easily HERE

Briefing note 5.
The following note has been prepared by Graham Power and is intended to assist Editors in reporting issues arising from the announcement by the Minister for Home Affairs, Senator Ian Le Marquand, that he is abandoning all disciplinary proceedings.

Topic:

So what happened to Justice?

It has been said that a Fascist is a Liberal who has just been mugged. I am inclined to wonder whether an autocrat is a Magistrate who has been appointed Minister for Home Affairs.

There are two principles of Justice which most people know and respect. One is that a person who is not proved guilty is presumed innocent. Another is that judgement should not be reached until both sides of the case have been heard. As the Island’s Magistrate, Ian le Marquand was generally respected for upholding both principles. So what happened to him once he was “anointed” as the Minister for Home Affairs?

If his own claims on live radio are to be believed then he is shortly about to engage in a public diatribe in which he will denounce the actions of the writer who is still, at the time of writing, Chief Officer of the States Police. I am of course the same person who has been subject to a suspension and disciplinary investigation lasting 21 months and costing Jersey taxpayers, of which I am one, an admitted sum of well over one million pounds, and a suspected real sum of considerably more. All proceedings are now abandoned and there will be no charges and no hearing. By anyone’s fair reckoning that is an acquittal. It can be nothing else. All proceedings are abandoned. I am convicted of nothing and therefore innocent of everything. Everyone understands that. Everyone that is apart from the Minister for Home Affairs (the person charged with promoting justice in the island no less.) He apparently thinks that his abandonment of the case (and a lot of our money as well) now entitles him to put on a road-show intended to demonstrate that I was guilty all along, it was just that he was not clever enough or fast enough to do anything about it (should he be admitting that??) 

But it does not stop there. According to his own reported comments his presentation will entertain no nonsense about any defence case in respect of the allegations. We will hear the case for the prosecution, but anything of value to the defence will be edited out or banned. It is also claimed that the Minister will express his confidence that had the matter gone to a disciplinary hearing then I would have been found guilty on all counts. In that respect I have to confess that he is probably right. I say this because according to my latest information the Minister intended to appoint himself as both prosecutor and judge in the case. While such an arrangement (or something very similar) is not entirely unknown in the Jersey context, it might not accord with what the man or woman in the street considers fair, although it must be doubted whether the Minister would consider that important.

And if, reader, you consider this all very amusing and distant from your own concerns, then remember what has been said by many from the very beginning of this saga. If they can do this to a Chief Police Officer and get away with it...............think what they could do to you. Then it might not be so funny.

Deputy Tadier Talks State Media (Part 1)

In our PREVIOUS POSTING we demonstrated how Jersey's State Media Report (OR NOT) the "News."

We carry on this theme, in an interview, with Jersey Politician Deputy Montfort Tadier who on a number of occasions has fallen victim to "Jersey Journalism."

In this frank, in-depth and exclusive interview the Deputy tells us of the latest piece of (at best) lazy "journalism" from Jersey's only "News"Paper The Jersey Evening Post. Something he himself has Blogged HERE.

Deputy Tadier tells us, among much more, he believes that "Reporters are working within an institutional Bias." He goes on to say "Bloggers completely change the dynamic" and wants "a level playing field" between the State Media and Bloggers when it comes to filming/reporting States and Scrutiny (Parliamentary Select Committee) Meetings and Hearings.

Opinion Management

Here is another stark example of how Jersey's State Media "opinion manage" rather than report "facts" in a Un-bias and objective way.


The Review carried out by BDO/Alto and Police consultant Mike Kellett, has been misrepresented by Jersey's Media, to such an extent that the report and the reporting of it bears little if any resemblance.


Below are some more findings of the Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Sub Panel's (Parliamentary Select Committee) Report that you WON'T be reading about, or hearing about, in any of Jersey's State Media particularly in Jersey's ONLY "News"paper, The Jersey Evening Post.


The Sub Panel's Report will be buried by the Council of Ministers (Law Offices) and by the State Media because it exposes how true power in Jersey lies in how opinion is managed by the State Media.


The Sub Panel's Report should be read in it's ENTIRETY.


169. BDO Alto further maintained that Mr. Harper was not the subject of their review and it was not the intention of the report to be directly critical of him or of any other individual. BDO Alto said that they had acknowledged the hard work of Police officers and third party contractors during the course of the Operation Rectangle enquiry and confirmed that ‘The report is not intended to be in any way critical of their individual efforts….’139

170. Mr. Kellett reiterated this point in his submission:

The Review was not an investigation of any individual but was designed to ascertain what had occurred and to make recommendations for the future. Indeed, that much is clear from my terms of reference. [ ] The manner in which some of our conclusions were expressed was diluted precisely because we had not been able to speak to Mr Harper. Nevertheless, as he himself pointed out in his oral evidence, he made the bulk of the financial decisions and he therefore cannot absolve himself of the extremely serious and costly errors that were made.

171. Mr. Kellett made a point of praising the dedication of Mr. Harper and his determination to bring suspected offenders to justice:

We have no doubt that Mr Harper was totally dedicated to the task of investigating serious crimes that had possibly occurred at Haut de la Garenne and that he was entirely sincere in his belief that child abuse there and elsewhere in Jersey was a major issue that needed to be dealt with. Throughout the period that Operation Rectangle was live, he and his staff displayed great dedication and did their utmost to bring suspected offenders to justice and we pointed out as much in our report (Emphasis added). However, we were not asked to examine motivation and dedication but rather to look at how the resources available to the investigation were managed. We did so and made nineteen recommendations. Inevitably, because of the central role Mr Harper performed, his management of the resources formed a central part of our examination but to the extent that any of those recommendations constitute criticism of his actions, no criticism of, let alone attack on, the existence of the investigation or of the motivation for it is intended or implied. (Emphasis added) 132

173. The issues raised by Mr. Kellett’s declaration above (paragraph 170) that the review carried out by himself and BDO Alto was not intended as criticism of the police investigation is a serious point which we consider later in the section on the media coverage (section 6 of this report).

SECTION 6.

227. The publication of the BDO Alto and Wiltshire reports by the Minister for Home Affairs on 14^th July 2010 was an occasion for highly critical attention on Mr. Harper. The Jersey Evening Post published an extensive six page report with headlines focussed on:

·           Celebrity lifestyle of Lenny Harper and his officers

·           Meals in top-class restaurants and first class travel at expense of tax payers

·           £42,000 – the overtime paid to a single officer in the first 15 months of the historical abuse enquiry

·           No dog’s life for handler with luxury hotel lifestyle

·           Hot on the trail of top London restaurants

·           Lenny Harper and his team enjoyed £90-a-head meals and travelled first class at taxpayers’ expense, an accountants’ report revealed

·           Off to Scotland Yard again

             .    First class on the Gatwick Express

228. The problem with the way the official review was reported is that it appears to take every opportunity to discredit, with the benefit of hindsight, those in charge of Operation Rectangle without any reference to the constraints and pressures under which the Police were operating during the early stages of the investigation. The emphasis on alleged misuse of taxpayers’ money risks implanting the impression in the public mind that the entire expenditure on Operation Rectangle was badly managed.

229. In contrast, the BDO Alto report notes:

In undertaking this Review and throughout the preparation of this Report we have been conscious of the fact that detailed scrutiny of any major inquiry will reveal errors, omissions and learning opportunities, particularly given the benefit of hindsight. It has not been our intention to be ultra-critical in our conclusions and we have attempted to be fair to all of those involved. 165

230. Mr. Kellett as previously mentioned (166 )made a point of qualifying the critical attention in the report with praise for the dedication and determination which police officers brought to the task of investigating child abuse:

We have no doubt that Mr Harper was totally dedicated to the task of investigating serious crimes that had possibly occurred at Haut de la Garenne and that he was entirely sincere in his belief that child abuse there and elsewhere in Jersey was a major issue that needed to be dealt with. Throughout the period that Operation Rectangle was live, he and his staff displayed great dedication and did their utmost to bring suspected offenders to justice and we pointed out as much in our report. However, we were not asked to examine motivation and dedication but rather to look at how the resources available to the investigation were managed. We did so and made nineteen recommendations. Inevitably, because of the central role Mr Harper performed, his management of the resources formed a central part of our examination but to the extent that any of those recommendations constitute criticism of his actions, no criticism of, let alone attack on, the existence of the investigation or of the motivation for it is intended or implied. (167)

231. No such qualification appears in the above press report. (Emphasis added)

232. Furthermore, the newspaper did not pick up on the fact that Mr. Harper had not been interviewed or given the opportunity to respond to the criticisms in the report. Nor, as far as we are aware, did the newspaper give Mr. Harper any opportunity to state his own perspective. (END)


These findings are a damming indictment of what passes for "Journalism" (Opinion Management) in Jersey and we invite readers to scroll back up and read the Headlines published by The Jersey Evening post remembering paragraph 169 of the Sub Panel's Report.

169. BDO Alto further maintained that Mr. Harper was not the subject of their review and it was not the intention of the report to be directly critical of him or of any other individual. BDO Alto said that they had acknowledged the hard work of Police officers and third party contractors during the course of the Operation Rectangle enquiry and confirmed that ‘The report is not intended to be in any way critical of their individual efforts….’139

State Media and Scrutiny (2)

In part two of this in-depth interview with Scrutiny Sub Panel (Parliamentary Select Committee) Chairman, Deputy Trevor Pitman, we remain on the subject of Jersey’s State Media and the Report’s damming findings concerning the latter.

Experience has taught us that Jersey’s State Media will bury this Report because it appears to vindicate Former Senior Investigating Officer and Deputy Chief Officer Lenny Harper as well as Former Chief Police Officer Graham Power QPM. The Sub Panel’s Report turns the spotlight onto the media’s role and how the public appears to have been misled by them (State Media).

The AWARD WINNING Channel Television and Jersey’s only “News”paper, the Jersey Evening Post, probably come out the worst in this Report but the man who took over the Historic Child Abuse Enquiry “Mick Gradwell” comes a close second if he doesn’t beat them.

Mick Gradwell, it is reported, was leaking confidential information during a live Child Abuse investigation, to a “journalist” with a history of supporting convicted paedophiles and still none of our State Media have asked “why?”

Below are some of the key findings of the Sub Panel’s Report concerning the media, of which we will be taking an even closer look at in the coming days.

The Scrutiny Sub Panel's Report can, and should be, read in it's entirety HERE.

Selected extracts from the Report.

247. In each of the above cases neither of the media organisations appeared to undertake any critical analysis of their own of the information they had received. This feeds into the perception by a number of observers that the media has allowed itself to focus on alleged failures in police procedures rather than their attempts to investigate instances of child abuse which had been allowed to continue without effective challenge for many years.

248. The Island has been heavily polarised in regard to the conduct of the Historical Child Abuse Enquiry.  The majority of the members of the public form their views on the basis of media reporting of these issues and we believe it is of paramount importance that the media strive to deal with issues of this magnitude with the highest standards of objectivity. Broadcast media have a special responsibility to use the few words that they have carefully in order to avoid false impressions being left in the minds of the public.

249. We note that parliamentary scrutiny in the UK is also attempting to grapple with difficult issues regarding media reporting. Here in Jersey there are particular issues with regard to the provision of objective reporting due to the limited number of local media organisations. We believe that it is essential that the Chairmen’s Committee give serious consideration to establishing a Scrutiny Panel which could undertake a review which will look specifically at the kind of issues we have identified in this report.

Key Findings

·      The emphasis on alleged misuse of taxpayers’ money in instances of media reporting risks implanting the impression in the public mind that the entire expenditure on Operation Rectangle was badly managed.

·      In our hearing with him on 25^th August 2011, the Minister was sympathetic to our concerns about the way negative messages about Mr. Power and Mr Harper had been spun in the media and he offered to make a joint statement to this effect with the Sub-Panel. We believe that this would be a positive step.

• Our primary concern about the premature leaking of details of the review of financial management relates to issues of fairness in the way these leaks are reported in the media without an adequate opportunity for an alternative perspective to be considered.
• It is essential that a future Scrutiny Panel give serious consideration to undertaking a review which will look specifically at the kind of issues we have identified in this report.

Recommendation

·      The Chairman’s Committee should establish broadly-based Scrutiny Panel to undertake a review to examine issues relating to the media coverage which we have raised in our report.


Part one of this interview can be viewed HERE


We will once again leave the final word to the Former Chief Police Officer, Graham Power QPM, who reminds us (unlike the State Media) that this is/should be about Child Abuse and how it was able to continue for decades in Jersey's State run Institutions............ And in all that time (DECADES) not one of the victims, out of sheer desperation, took their plight to ANY of the State Media?

"The attempts to divert this debate into discussions concerning the trivia of expense claims, is a scandal of which all involved should be thoroughly ashamed." Graham Power QPM.

"State Sponsored Paedophilia?"

Not for the first time, retired Former Jersey Chief Police Officer Graham Power QPM, has described the allegations of Child Abuse committed in Jersey's State run institutions as "State Sponsored Paedophilia."

How else can it be described? Children were abused for decades in these institutions and nobody ever reported it? 

Following our previous POSTING we have had contact with the former Chief Police Officer and offer this "exclusive" statement on his reaction and thoughts concerning the recent publication of the Report by Jersey's Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Sub Panel. (Parliamentary Select Committee). 

Statement released by Graham Power QPM, retired Chief Officer of the States of Jersey Police following the publication of a report by the Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel entitled “Issues surrounding the review of financial management of Operation Rectangle.”

The recently published report by the Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel into Issues surrounding the review of the financial management of Operation Rectangle (the Jersey Historic Child Abuse Enquiry) is a thorough and well researched piece of work.   It should be essential reading for anyone interested in the operation of Jersey’s Government and the wider issues arising from the investigation of allegations concerning the systematic abuse of vulnerable children who were in the care of States of Jersey Establishments in recent decades.   While the report should be read in its entirety there are some findings which, from my perspective, are particularly noteworthy. The first is that the Scrutiny Panel have rightly pointed out that the original review of the financial management of the abuse investigation was commissioned, given terms of reference, funded, overseen and heavily influenced by people who had a clear personal interest in the outcome.   This now appears to be beyond dispute. In my view the same could be said of other allegedly “independent” reports relating to the abuse enquiry which have been commissioned and publicised by Jersey’s Home Affairs Department over recent years.

Secondly, the Panel rightly raises the issue of how it came to be that a legitimate and proper public debate about the sexual and physical abuse of small children was diverted into an argument about the cost of meals in a London restaurant, and why so many Jersey establishment figures appeared to support this change of agenda.   It is not without irony that this diversionary tactic appeared to be enthusiastically driven by a Home Affairs Department who had themselves authorised expenditure of over £38,000 on “meals and entertainment” (1) by Wiltshire officers engaged in the subsequently abandoned disciplinary enquiry into the management of the abuse investigation.   We should not hold our breath while awaiting an “independent” enquiry into that particular use of public funds.

Finally, the Scrutiny Panel are to be commended for using their powers to take the timely action of obtaining a full copy of my 62,000 word statement to the Wiltshire Investigation.   The statement is a detailed and unrestrained account of the early part of the abuse enquiry from the perspective of the Chief Officer of the Force. If nothing else, it is a piece of the Island’s history and its continued suppression by the Jersey Government, in spite of repeated promises that it would be released, is one of many examples of the biased and selective use of information which have characterised Ministers conduct in this matter.

The allegations handled by the Force under my command during 2007 and 2008 involved what was effectively State Sponsored Paedophilia and its concealment over decades by individuals in positions of authority.   Not all of the allegations were supported by the evidence, but many plainly were, and the accounts of the victims remain as a harrowing record of what can occur when those in public office fail to seek out and to confront the truth.   If I have not said it enough then I say it again, the most important people in this whole story are the victims of abuse.   It is their plight and their memories which need to be the subject of candid and public debate at the highest level. The attempts to divert this debate into discussions concerning the trivia of expense claims, is a scandal of which all involved should be thoroughly ashamed.

                                                            Graham Power

                                                            Retired Chief Officer of the States of Jersey Police.

13^th November 2011.

 (1) Details of the costs of the Wiltshire Investigation up to May 2010 were given in a written answer in the States on 22^nd June 2010.   Ref 1240/5(5459).

If it's about money then let's look at how the Wiltshire Constabulary were paid so much for a bungled investigation. But as Mr Power quite rightly points out this should never have turned into how much a meal cost in a London restaurant, it's about decades of Child Abuse that seemingly flourished in Jersey "care" homes. How was it able to be kept so quiet for so long? Just what is the extent of it? Has the surface only just been scratched? Why was the Child Abuse Enquiry shut down by DAVID WARCUP? With all these questions un-answered how is anybody supposed to trust the Jersey authorities?

It's about (or should be) the victims and survivors of Child Abuse. Who's going to speak up and represent them? "The attempts to divert this debate into discussions concerning the trivia of expense claims, is a scandal of which all involved should be thoroughly ashamed."