Philip Bailhache Independence/Agenda

In an article written (yesterday 30 May) in Jersey's only "news"paper, the Jersey Evening Post, it is claimed that Senator Philip Bailhache wants to "inform" churchgoers what the implications are of the Visitation from Bishop John Gladwin, or that should be Senator Bailhache's version of what the implications are.

Reproduced below is the article from the Jersey Evening Post and below that is our opinion of what is really taking place here.

Anglicans invited to meeting to discuss crisis in the diocese.

All Anglicans in Jersey are being invited to a meeting next week to discuss a dispute that threatens the Island’s centuries-old link with the Diocese of Winchester.

The meeting on Tuesday has been organised by Senator Sir Philip Bailhache, who is a member of the congregation at Grouville Parish Church.

The former Bailiff has been critical of the Bishop of Winchester, the Right Rev Tim Dakin, since the Bishop removed the powers of the Dean of Jersey in March, following a complaint of sexual misconduct made by a vulnerable young adult against a churchwarden in 2008.

The Dean, the Very Rev Bob Key, has since been reinstated but his seven-week “suspension” has sparked a chain of events that includes a “visitation” by a former Bishop, John Gladwin, that will look at the whole relationship between the island and the Diocese.

Bishop Gladwin is due to visit the Island on Monday 17 June.

Sir Philip said: “The purpose of Tuesday’s meeting is to inform members of the Church of England in Jersey what is happening in relation to the dispute between the Bishop and the Church in Jersey.

“Many church members are not clear what the Visitation is and what it means for the Island. I want to explain what has happened over the last few months as objectively as possible and also an expert speaker will detail what the Visitation will entail in terms of Ecclesiastical law and the terms of reference set out by the Bishop.

“It is not intended to be confrontational but just an opportunity to understand what the implications are. We need to be prepared because I think there is a possibility we could be set on a course where the aspirations of the Bishop are irreconcilable with the wishes of the Church in Jersey.

“This might not be the case but we have little idea of what the Bishop wants – and that remains at the heart of this problem.”

The meeting will take place at 7.30pm at Grouville Parish Hall.(END)

Philip Bailhache Has an Agenda (VFC opinion)

The Senator's agenda is the complete separation of Jersey from the UK. His agenda has been repeatedly exposed, not least, HERE and is not denied by him. He has failed to progress this agenda at national level but he is now seeking to pursue it at Church level and he sees the current issues regarding the role of the Dean as a political opportunity. 

The victim (HG) and even the Dean himself are pawns of no consequence from the Bailhache perspective. His media statement is laden with subtext but is also transparent to those with an eye on the bigger picture. 

He is seeking to turn the current issues into a "rift" between the Church in Jersey and the Church of England. He will attend a meeting packed with his supporters, at Grouville Parish Hall which is a "stronghold" for the Senator, and when he senses the mood is right, will produce from his back pocket (or elsewhere) a draft plan for the establishment of a separate and independent Jersey Church.   Not yet his full objective of an independent Jersey but from his perspective a "foot in the door" from which other parts of his agenda can be developed.  He thinks that we are all too stupid to know what he is up to, and perhaps even Bob Key thinks it is all about his interests and not about what it is really about which is the pursuit of independence by stages and by stealth.

Readers will be aware that the former Police Chief Graham Power QPM, who was illegally suspended while (because?) the Police Force, under his command, was investigating decades of institutional paedophilia/Child Abuse in State run "care" homes wrote a 62,000 word document as an interim defence case against his illegal suspension. Readers will also be aware that this document was leaked to BBC Jersey who have suppressed it despite reporting on the prosecution case against Mr. Power as reported HERE and elsewhere.

Here is a significant extract from that media (BBC) suppressed document.

"Such views are not confined to the older elements of the honorary service. They can be found, albeit in a more developed form, in the senior levels of government and the legal establishment where some notable figures favour an eventual severance of links with the U.K. and would see the ready acceptance of U.K. working practices as running counter to this agenda. I recall that in 2007 I assisted a small working group which included, among others, the Bailiff Sir Philip Bailhache and the Attorney General William Bailhache. The purpose of the group was to prepare a draft contingency plan for complete independence. I submitted papers to the group on the implications for law enforcement, and used some contacts from my previous role to offer suggestions as to who outside of the island, could assist in developing such a plan. I provided contact details of key figures in the Scottish Government and Administration including the Scottish National Party. I recall that some of the advice and contacts I provided were in an email I sent, probably in July 2007. This and other experiences reinforced my understanding that there was a tide flowing against closer association with the U.K, and a strong local agenda to develop working models and solutions within the island."(END)

Jersey is sleepwalking in to a feudal fiefdom dressed up in Senator Bailhache's "concern" for the Island's church and churchgoers.