Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 1:54 pm Post subject:
Haut de la Garenne documentary maker's sister dies in extremely suspicious circumstances. Then the shysters at the Met. cover it up. This is Death Squad Briain.
THE FAMILY of a Walworth woman, whose decomposed body was discovered in her home last year having being partly eaten by her ten week old puppy, were left fuming after an inquest returned an open verdict on her death.
The news reported in September last year that the initial inquest into Dyana Maloney's death was suspended, following allegations presented by her brother Bill Maloney that her death was connected to his investigation into child abuse in children's homes.
Last Friday at Southwark Coroners’ Court the family sat through evidence given by coroners’ court staff, police and medical experts, to ascertain how Ms Maloney died in her Sutherland Square home.
In a heated session in the chamber Mr Maloney was left particularly frustrated that when police discovered the body they did not treat the scene as suspicious. He stated it was his and the family's belief that because of the decomposed state of the body it should have automatically been suspicious, in line with police guidelines.
An appearance at King's College Hospital just days before she was discovered, where she was treated for a blow she allegedly received to the chest, also left Mr Maloney feeling many questions remained unanswered over his sister's death.
Speaking to the 'News' after the hearing Mr Maloney said: "We never got to talk about evidence we wanted to. I still cry for my sister every day and what went on in there was not proper. We had no legal representation and the last inquest was suspended pending further investigation and there was no further investigation.
"If you want to know about the how, when and why of how somebody died you need to look at the evidence."
Mr Maloney, a documentary film maker, had recently completed a film about abuse at the controversial care home Haut de la Garenne in Jersey. The eight Maloney children all spent time in care, and Dyana was sent on sailing holidays to Jersey, where she was allegedly abused.
She part funded the documentary undertaken by her brother, and voiced her concerns about his safety in a diary while he was on the island filming.
Maria Maloney, the sister-in-law of Dyana, also felt they were not allowed to question a coroners’ officer as they would have wished. She said: "We were not happy with the way it all went; we weren't given opportunities to ask about what we wanted. When we spoke to the officer he said that they could release the body. We were concerned about getting rid of evidence but we were told the liver would be sufficient."
However, at the inquest Dr Peter Jerreat, who handled the post mortem, said there was no evidence of trauma in his analysis, although he could only return an unascertained verdict as to cause of death in his report.
The coroner returned the open verdict on Ms Maloney's death, stating that there was not enough evidence to establish exactly how she died.
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 1:58 pm Post subject:
more on this appauling case
My sister’s death was a cover-up’ says filmmaker
14 January 2009
A FILMMAKER who believes his sister was murdered has vowed to discover how she died after an inquest recorded an open verdict.
Bill Maloney, owner of Pie 'n' Mash Films based in Beckenham and Lewisham, is convinced his sister Dyana, 49, died under suspicious circumstances.
Miss Maloney's decomposed body was found in her Walworth flat on June 12 last year, crouched down with her arms raised above her head, an inquest heard.
Just six days before, she was taken to Kings College Hospital, Denmark Hill, after a neighbour found her unconscious with dried blood around her mouth.
She had claimed she had been punched in the chest.
Outside Southwark Coroner's Court, following the hearing, Mr Maloney, accompanied by his wife Maria, daughter Reagan and Pie 'n' Mash camera operative Lilly Starr, said: "I'm absolutely f**king mortified with the verdict. I doubt very much that we'll find the truth of what happened. My sister was taken to hospital after being punched in the chest. Within days she was found dead. The crouched position the police officer said he found her in was a defensive body shape. I want to know how she died."
The inquest heard how Miss Maloney's body was originally found by PC Jody Carson and another officer from Walworth Police at the end of her bed.
Sergeant Leigh Green, who supervised the initial investigation and insisted a full search had been carried out, said the position in which she was found was "not a space you would expect to find someone in who had been in a struggle".
He added: "There were no signs of any disturbance inside the bedroom, and no signs of forced entry."
Last year, Miss Maloney had funded her brother's documentary, Sea, Sun and Satan about horrific claims of abuse suffered at former Jersey children's home Haut de la Garenne where she claimed to have been sexually abused in the 1960s.
Like her brother, she spent her youth in care homes and was a border at St Mary's Catholic Convent in Beckenham in the early 1970s.
She claimed to have been sexually abused in care and had commenced legal proceedings against Southwark and Lambeth councils in September 2001, which eventually collapsed in April, two months before her death.
Mr Maloney said: "We've had a couple of death threats over the film. So we're going to have to think about our security.
"I'm even more convinced now that there's been a cover-up over my sister's death because she funded the film Sun, Sea and Satan."
Dr Peter Jerreat confirmed in his post mortem report that the body was in such a decomposed state that "no cause of death could be ascertained" adding that there was no way of knowing how long she had been dead before she was discovered.
He said: "If I had any evidence that I thought was related to trauma I would've stopped the autopsy immediately."
In her summary, Coroner Gail Elliman said: "I appreciate this is a difficult experience for the family. But there is no evidence to suggest how Ms Maloney died.
"Given the circumstances and findings from the post mortem I can't give any other verdict than an open verdict.
When Pie 'n' Mash Films returned from the Island of Jersey with their documentary film concerning child abuse allegations at Haut de la Garenne they named their edited footage 'Sun, Sea & Satan'. Award winning film director Bill Maloney began to piece together the story that he had shot. Slowly the maverick director started to understand the horrors that had taken place went beyond the reporting of the case by the national media. His conjecture of Satanism, murder, sex abuse, sacrificing children and the paedophilic involvement of the hierarchy i.e. royalty, MI5 and the police state in the UK as well as Jersey, caused him to inform everyone involved with Pie 'n' Mash Films to be alert for the safety of themselves and their families.
Eight weeks after Bill's return from the Island he had instructed his company to send the final edit 'Sun, Sea & Satan' to Channel 4 and the BBC. Two weeks after releasing the film Bill's 49 year old sister Dyana, who was brought up in care, and had spent time in the late 60's and early 70's at the children's home Haut de la Garenne, where she was sent on paedophilic sailing holidays, was found dead in her apartment, just off the Walworth Road, South East London. Cause of death could not be determined, she was found at the foot of her bed wedged between the bed and the wall on all fours. The Coroner gave Bill's family permission to bury or cremate the body, even though cause of death could not be substantiated. The family was told by the Coroner that they had retained samples of Dyana's liver, which they believe would determine the cause, as there were no suspicious circumstances.
In the early 70's Bill's brother Peter allegedly took his own life at the age of 16 in a squat at Tonbridge Wells, which is a very opulent area. The Coroner's verdict was suicide; they found a half drunk half bottle of brandy next to him on the floor and an empty bottle of barbiturates. Peter had also been taken to Haut de la Garenne. Geoffrey Pilkington, part of The Pilkington Glass Empire at that time, developed a close relationship with Peter. Geoffrey Pilkington used his wealth and connections to promote young artists. In 2006 Bill contacted the Pilkington Glass family asking for his brother's works of art to be returned to his family. Geoffrey Pilkington was of old age and ill and Bill was told the family and the company had no knowledge of his brother's existence.
Bill and his brothers and sisters were born to Irish immigrant parents, Bill is 52. When the children weren't in care, they resided at 112 Astbury Road, Peckham, South East London in a slum. They were a decent Irish Catholic family but ignorant to the powers of the Establishment. Bill believes his family were used by the Establishment as part of their paedophilic ring (empire) to help quench the thirst of their cruel, sadistic and satanic appetite.
Two days after Dyana's funeral fresh stories from Haut de la Garenne were published in national newspapers. The stories exposed by Bill were duplicated by the national press. The resistance of broadcasting establishments adds further speculation to a massive establishment cover-up.
Sun, Sea & Satan has still not been allowed viewing to the public even though it has fresh clear evidence in its content. A number of years ago Bill's surviving sister, who has changed her name for security reasons handed VHS snuff movie tapes of children in care being abused and killed to the UK police, she has to date had no response. There has been nothing reported in the news.
The Postman illustrates a somewhat tenuous link between the quashing of the investigation into Haut de la Garenne and the recently, suicide by drowning in a North Norfolk stream, of the child abuse specialist Judge, Justice William Everard . . . _________________ The Medium is the Massage - Marshall McLuhan.
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 10:55 pm Post subject:
Warcup and his orcs are facing something of a fightback
Police Chief fights to clear his name
Jersey's Chief Police Officer appeared in the Royal Court this afternoon. Graham Power was suspended in November, the same day it was announced there was no evidence of murder at Haut De La Garenne.
But he's seeking a judicial review of that decision
The reason for today's hearing, was to decide whether the Royal Court should be brought in to review the decision to suspend the Chief Police Officer, Graham Power. There was a limit to what he could talk about but Graham Power spoke to channelonline.tv about what he hoped to achieve from the proceedings.
He said; "What we're looking for is reinstatement we're not at this time talking about anything else and the sooner reinstatement happens the better it is from our point of view, but again we can't talk about the details, we're just saying that today's the day in which this hearing is taking place and it is in a public court."
Representing the Home Affairs Minister, the Solicitor-General Tim Le Cocq argued the application should be adjourned. There is a separate review in to the suspension being conducted by the Home Affairs Minister and he argued that that may well resolve the issue and that if that happened a judicial review would be unnecessary.
Graham Power represented himself in court. He plans to continue representing himself, when they go back to court on, or after, the 16th of March.
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 11:13 pm Post subject:
9.6 Taking all of the available facts I believe that a reasonable person would be entitled to conclude the following:
(a) The decision to suspend me from duty was in fact taken by the Home Affairs Minister, in collusion with others, on the evening of Tuesday 11th November 2008. Civil Servants were then tasked with producing documents and a form of procedure to give this decision an appearance of legitimacy. Unfortunately (or fortunately in my case) this task was completed with exceptional incompetence and the flaws are evident.
(b) In our society, burglars, rapists and murderers are treated in accordance with prescribed rules of procedure and their rights to fair play and justice are respected. It is evident that the same consideration has not been given to the Chief Officer of Police. Since these events I have been approached by many islanders who have expressed their concern at what happened and have understandably asked "if they can do this to the Chief of Police and get away with it what might they do to others?"
Fortunately, everyone can be assured that I have no intention of adopting a supine stance. I have already received legal advice that the Minister has exceeded his powers and I have given preliminary notice of my intention to challenge the decision by way of judicial review. This will be the beginning of what could be a long high profile series of actions with all the regrettable publicity which such events entail.
http://stuartsyvret.blogspot.com/
Apparently - alleged breaches of the data protection law merited me being seized as I stepped out of my home - with 4 unmarked police cars and at least 8 police officers proceeding to turn over my home.
And just think - some people don't believe me when I say the Jersey oligarchy are corupt, abusive and out of control.
Stuart Syvret, who claimed officials on Jersey covered up child abuse, has been arrested
Monday April 6,2009
A controversial Jersey politician who claimed officials on the island covered up child abuse has been arrested at his home.
Whistle-blower Stuart Syvret was arrested at 9.10am on Monday in the parish of Grouville in connection with an alleged breach of data protection law, according to sources.
The 43-year-old senator remains in custody helping police with their inquiries.
A spokeswoman for Jersey Police said: "We can confirm that a 43-year-old man is in custody helping us with our inquiries.
"He was arrested this morning in connection with alleged breaches of data protection law."
Following the arrest, Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming said he had sent a letter to Justice Secretary Jack Straw asking him to monitor the situation because he believed it could be "motivated by political reasons".
Syvret was an outspoken critic of the establishment's handling of the historic police investigation into child abuse on the island.
In 2007 he was dismissed from his post as Minister for Health and Social Services after claiming abuse cases were being covered up.
The investigation focussed on the Haut de la Garenne children's home, where hundreds of former residents claimed they were sexually and violently assaulted.
I’m trying to explain, briefly, given how tired I am, what took place this past Monday.
In “The Jersey Way”.
All I can do is provide you with a brief narrative at the moment. With a little background information.
I, and those of my constituents I have been working with in respect of the Jersey Child Abuse Disaster, know – all too well - the utterly corrupt, stagnant and Kafkaesque environment we contend with in Jersey.
We are faced with a massive variety of corruptions – entrenched and virtually unchallengeable – within this little fiefdom ruled by an elite made barking-mad by dint of zero challenge to their abuses of power over the centuries.
A state of affairs Jack Straw seems entirely content with.
The inevitable disintegration of the credibility of the Jersey oligarchy has been triggered by the Jersey child abuse disaster.
And it is that issue – amongst others – I have been fighting to expose; fighting on behalf of a wrecked and abused cohort of my constituents – who have been repeatedly betrayed over the decades by “authority” in Jersey.
And as though any further proof were needed of just how stagnant and corrupt the “system” in Jersey is – we come to what Bill Bailhache enacted against me today.
I’m happy to say, under oath when the need arises, that everything have done as a politician – especially in the context of the Jersey Child Abuse Disaster – has been in the public interest.
And – indicative of how corrupt and stagnant power is in Jersey – it is me who feels the weight of the oligarchy’s displeasure.
Today, at 9.00am, I stepped out of my home to go across to my car to get my iPod.
I had taken perhaps three steps when four unmarked police cars descended upon me, with a total of around eight police officers.
In a scene like something out of a New York cops & robbers TV programme, I was surrounded, a cop grabbed my arm, and told me I was under arrest.
I hadn’t planed to leave my home that day, so hadn’t’ yet showered, shaved or put on smart clothes. I was just going to get my iPod.
Obviously, the cops had been planning this for some weeks, and on this particular occasion, had – for reasons I’ll explain later – been waiting outside my home for me to leave the premises.
So I stepped out of the door and the mob of cops descended upon me as though I were a terrorist or a drug dealer.
I knew, instantly, what was going down.
The lead cop grabbed my arm, and told me I was under arrest; I asked what for, and he said data protection offences.
I asked him who had authorised this action.
He would not respond.
He and his colleague stated they were taking me under arrest to the police station.
Being dressed scruffily, I asked if I could, at least, get a clean T-shirt.
Four of the cops quickly rushed me into my home so I could get a clean T-shirt.
At that point I asked the lead cop for a copy of the search warrant.
He initially said, ‘yes’ – but within half a second – after having semi-reached into his jacket pocket, said “no, actually, we will give it to you down the station”.
No search warrant was, in fact, issued, and concomitantly, no such search warrant was ever furnished to me.
I was rapidly taken from the house and placed in an unmarked police car. I wanted to make a phone call with my mobile, but it was taken from me, and I was denied use of it.
Whilst being driven to the police station, the ransacking of my home began by an army of police officers, as though I were a terrorist or drug-dealer.
Two points should be noted.
The act of arresting me in a pseudo- emergency manner was plainly an abuse of power, an abuse of process and an unambiguous breach of my human rights as guaranteed under the European Convention on Human Rights.
As had been made clear to the police – a priori – some months earlier, I would have been perfectly content to attend the police station on a voluntary basis, should the police feel they had any need to interview me.
This offer was ignored.
And secondly, the searching of my home in the manner undertaken was plainly unlawful and a criminal act.
So I was taken into the police station, and put through the standard procedure for admitting criminal suspects.
I asked if I could make my phone-call.
I was – and this was recorded – told that I could not make a phone call. Instead, if I gave the admitting officer a name, they “would phone the person for me”.
Under the circumstances, the name I asked them to phone was a journalist at the Jersey Evening Post.
I took the view that the most important thing I could do from a public interest perspective, was ensure that word got out that the oligarchy have started arresting anti-establishment politicians and searching their homes.
I was then stripped of my possessions – mobile phone, wallet, etc – and was left in only the clothes I was wearing, though even then, my belt was taken from me, so had to walk around holding my trousers up.
I was held under arrest in the police station for approximately seven hours – with around an hour & three quarters spent being interviewed, and the remaining time being locked in a small, ground-floor arrest cell.
I must give thanks to Hiren Mistry and Advocate Philip Sinel, who ditched their day’s work to assist me.
During the interview, I responded “no comment” to every question I was asked.
Hell – I thought if it’s good enough for ex-cop child rapists like Danny Wherry – then I must be OK for me.
Notwithstanding repeated requests, I was not supplied with the “search book” which is supposed to itemise everything that was seized from my home during the day-long search.
In fact, as the time in my lonely cell wound on – the excuses for not providing me with the search book expanded.
This reached the point at which I was told a copy would be left for me at my home, for me to view if, and when, they released me.
I was eventually released – but no description of the seized items was left at my home.
I asked the police officers if I was going to be held overnight, could it be at La Moye, Jersey’s prison, rather than the cop-shop – as I had a load of my constituents who are abuse survivors there, and I needed to make another visits to them.
Well, I mean it’s all tax-payers’ money – so one should maximise efficiency.
When eventually released, I wasn’t allowed out of the front door – because some of the Jersey media were there, and the cops wanted to try and minimise the PR damage, so they sent me out - still clutching up my trousers, and carrying my bagged possessions – from the van entrance.
But fortunately, the media were wise to this stunt and filmed me coming out the door and walking towards the car-park.
I met the journalists, and gave them my account of events.
For all those hours I was left locked in a windowless, airless cell, there was a ladybird trapped with me. I was able to catch it in a paper cup and to take it out with me and release it into the grass.
No doubt, I and others, will have a great deal to write about during the coming days, so I won’t go into detail now.
But just reflect on these points.
I have been subjected to a massed police raid, arrest and a total home search.
I have been locked in a cell for 7 hours.
I was lied to by the cops on several occasions.
I was denied my Rights.
They initially told me they had a search warrant – then said they wouldn’t show it to me at the moment of arrest, but would show it to me at the police HQ.
To this moment no such search warrant has been even shown to me – let alone furnished to me in copy form.
I also repeatedly asked for the identity and hierarchy of those who had authorised this action against me.
I was told I would be furnished with that data – but in the event, I was not supplied with it.
When arrested, I said I wanted to make a phone call.
They told me I had no right to make a phone call.
On admission to the cop-shop, I repeated my request to make a phone call.
The cops said that I couldn’t – and that if I gave them the number of the person I wanted to be contacted, they would call them on my behalf.
Only around four hours later did a cop finally acknowledge that I had a right to place a personal phone call, so I rang Ben Queree, a Jersey Evening Post journalist.
Whilst explaining to him what had occurred, the cop in attendance grew increasingly agitated and put me under quite improper pressure to end my phone call.
The call was ended as I was explaining to Ben Queree that if they kept me in overnight, I wanted it to be at the Jail.
The cop lost patience at this point and said “this is absurd”, and required me to end the call.
About an hour later after another lock-in, I was simply told I could leave.
Several strange events took place at this stage.
I was, again, told I would be given a copy of the seized property itemisation – but was given no such document.
I asked when they were going to charge me – or declare me free from suspicion.
They told me that I “will remain under investigation” – effectively, indefinitely.
And bizarrely – given all the cautioning and questioning they had put me through – they took those last 60 seconds or so to tell me that I was under investigation, and under caution, for “harassment” – this obviously because I’ve been exposing – on my blog - the malfeasances of people like Bill Bailhache, Michael Birt, mass—murdering psychopaths, child rapists – ex-cops amongst them – and a variety of senior figures who have perverted the course of justice by concealing such crimes.
So let me summarise the day’s events in happy, sunny Jersey.
I’m the only politician trying to expose decades of child abuse.
For my pains, I step out of my home this morning and am immediately arrested by a grouping of eight cops in four unmarked police cars.
The said cops lie to me by asserting they have a search warrant. Only hours later citing some part of police arrest procedure which is designed to enable emergency searches of property.
The Jersey cops thus carry out a manifestly ultra-vires and criminal search of my home – unlawfully taking property.
In doing so, they utterly ignore the relevant Articles of the data protection law which state – quiet unambiguously – that in the case of a supposed need to search premises in connection with alleged data protection offences – they have to obtain a search warrant.
A warrant signed either by the Attorney General – Bill Bailhache – or a Jurat.
But not wanting to do that – Bill Bailhache instead advises the police to circumvent the law requiring a search warrant, and instead to abuse and misapply PACE so they can search my home after waiting for me to step outside my door.
So here I sit – trying to recover from the day’s events which were inflicted upon me because of my attempts to fulfil my political duty to my constituents – and to oppose and expose child abuse – and the criminal concealment of such abuse.
And all this whilst a variety of child batterers, child rapists, and those who have concealed or failed to prosecute such crimes – remain scot-free and un-harassed.
Fascinatingly – the cop leading this persecution of me is one officer Minty; a man who is, by all account, deeply enthusiastic in this action against me.
Interestingly – he is also the very self-same police officer who has been furnished with evidence – and extremely well informed witnesses – to the effect that a Minister of the States of Jersey has criminally abused his position to take kick-backs for supporting planning developments.
Yet Mr. Minty - and his very good friend, who he leaks information to – Bill Bailhache – regard the brazen corruption of gangster politicians to be “not criminal offences”.
But, somehow, these two titans of law enforcement and ethics feel a pressing need to mount a massed-raid on my home, turn it upside down, leave filth on the carpets, leave fragments of food from the up-ended bins laying in the kitchen floor, arrest me, hold me for 7 hours in a locked cell, seize my property, terrify my constituents and abuse and cast aside the due process of the law.
It really isn’t difficult – is it – to see why this collection of shysters wanted to unlawfully suspend the Chief of Police, Graham Power.
Straight cops are the very last thing these adherents of “The Jersey Way” need.
Perhaps now they’ve attempted to intimidate me, they think they’ll be able to start taking bribes from tow-truck operators again?
Stuart.
Posted by Senator Stuart Syvret at 04:38 _________________ --
'Suppression of truth, human spirit and the holy chord of justice never works long-term. Something the suppressors never get.' David Southwell
http://aangirfan.blogspot.com http://aanirfan.blogspot.com
Martin Van Creveld: Let me quote General Moshe Dayan: "Israel must be like a mad dog, too dangerous to bother."
Martin Van Creveld: I'll quote Henry Kissinger: "In campaigns like this the antiterror forces lose, because they don't win, and the rebels win by not losing."
have you been to N.Korea?
I've heard its an OK place to visit
mind you Jersey sounded good too
Moreover I guess it should be that dark nature of a place is generally well hidden
I would love to visit NK and Iran though see what all he fuss is about 1st hand _________________ 'Come and see the violence inherent in the system.
Help, help, I'm being repressed!'
“The more you tighten your grip, the more Star Systems will slip through your fingers.”
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 8:45 pm Post subject:
Explosive article - boy is this gonna blow big
The alleged victims of the Jersey child abuse inquiry cannot expect justice, reveals the detective at the centre of the case
By Eileen Fairweather - 18th April 2009
'I don't care what a few establishment cover-up merchants and their pet poodles say,' says Lenny Harper
A grandchild's plea halts the former detective's jaw-dropping tale of depravity and corruption midflow. 'I've left my daughter's boy hosing moss off the patio,' Lenny Harper explains after he puts down his mobile phone. 'The lad's having such a good time, he wants me to go home and join in.'
Harper, 57, who initiated the controversial Jersey child abuse inquiry, could be forgiven for putting the investigation behind him and, after 35 years of police work, embracing retirement.
He and his wife Christina help look after two grandchildren, aged five and eight. The couple's youngest daughter was widowed six years ago when her husband, the commanding officer of the Royal Military Police in Iraq, was killed in Basra.
But despite family demands - or perhaps because of them - Harper is now speaking for the first time about his experiences on Jersey. He is determined, as he sees it, to set the record straight and show that the 'establishment' attacking him is not only wrong, but rotten to the core.
Harper, a no-nonsense Ulsterman, spent his last year of service at the centre of world media attention, as journalists descended on the tiny tax haven to report on the police excavation of the former children's home at Haut de la Garenne. Inmates had described horrific abuse taking place there and of children disappearing, never to be seen again. It was thought that bodies might be found.
After Harper retired last August, a new team of detectives denounced their predecessors' concerns, skills and findings. Even the 65 children's teeth unearthed from the home's cellars were, the new men suggested, left for the tooth fairy.
Controversy still rages over the provenance and date of materials discovered at the site and police now say there were no murders. None of the three men - two of them former care workers - charged with abuse has yet been tried, and the Jersey authorities have portrayed the alleged victims as compensation-hungry criminals.
Graham Power, the head of States of Jersey Police, has been suspended, accused of illegal spending on the inquiry. Harper, his former deputy, has been ordered to return to the island for questioning about the alleged theft of documents. Two weeks ago, Stuart Syvret, Jersey's former health minister who raised the issue of abuse, was arrested under data protection laws, accused of leaking material to the media.
Harper, dressed in a crinkled cream suit, seems genuinely unfazed. 'I've served in Brixton, Peckham, Glasgow - I'm used to flak,' he says. 'I don't care what a few establishment cover-up merchants and their pet poodles say about me. But I do care about the victims on Jersey. I'll keep speaking up for their sake.'
Last month, he supported an application at London's High Court by Syvret to ensure that the trials of any alleged Jersey abusers are heard in Britain by British judges. However, the court rejected the bid.
But Harper insists the alleged victims cannot expect justice from what he says is the nepotistic Jersey establishment, where police, lawyers and politicians often socialise together or are related. He has now shared the contents of his shocking High Court statement exclusively with The Mail on Sunday. It details the corruption he claims to have uncovered on the island long before he began investigating child abuse.
'The vast majority of cops on Jersey are honest and we owed it to them to bring to book the guys bringing them into disrepute,' Harper says. 'But the response of the authorities was to suppress everything.'
Harper was recruited to Jersey by Graham Power in May 2002 and learned quickly that the island had its own unique way of dealing with things.
'I joined the States of Jersey Police as the Head of Operations in the rank of chief superintendent,' he says. 'Within weeks I realised that local politicians expected a degree of control over day-to-day operations that no UK police force would tolerate.'
The island operates an ancient, parallel system of Honorary Police - elected lay-people such as farmers or businessmen who can countermand the States of Jersey force. Extraordinary as it seems, only Honorary Police have the right to charge suspects.
The Connetable - the head Honorary Constable in each of the island's 12 parishes --automatically has a seat in the States Assembly. The Honorary Police therefore appear, claims Harper, 'hopelessly politicised'.
Custody sergeants have to consult these volunteers and advise them of all their evidence against suspects. Harper says: 'Several times early in my posting I had to protest to the Attorney General's legal advisers about a refusal to charge in cases where the evidence was overwhelming.'
The first serious challenge to Harper's authority came when he tried to tackle arsenals of firearms on the island. The population of about 90,000 people held 10,000 licensed guns - and numerous unlicensed weapons including semi-automatic rifles. Yet Harper's attempts to take action were repeatedly blocked by politicians.
'Strenuous attempts were made to intimidate us into not taking action with allegations that we were Brits who did not understand the Jersey way of life,' he says. 'I was accused of trying to turn Jersey into Basingstoke.'
Some arms licences had been granted in the knowledge that the applicant had criminal convictions, and Harper launched covert surveillance of some colleagues. Following a tip-off, he raided the home of a police civilian employee.
'I recovered a huge number of firearms lying unsecured in a bedroom, including an RPG7 rocket launcher,' recalls Harper. 'Among the weapons were some that had been handed into the police previously for destruction. On the floor were 7.62mm rifles, machine guns, Magnum revolvers and a large quantity of ammunition.' A Sea Cat missile launcher - usually carried on warships - was kept outside the home.
'The employee was eventually convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition,' says Harper. The man was also convicted at a police disciplinary hearing of other offences, including falsifying records. But to Harper's astonishment, he was not dismissed and the force had to take him back. Harper eventually forced him to resign.
During his investigation, Harper discovered that hundreds of people had not bothered to renew their firearms certificates and so launched a licensing campaign. 'We started arresting those people who did not renew their licences. They included police officers, politicians, lawyers and other prominent people. Most pleaded guilty and were given tiny fines by a sympathetic magistrate.
'Politicians met and assisted corrupt police officers and their dishonest associates to mount high-profile media campaigns locally, alleging that they had been wrongly treated.' Undaunted, Harper pressed on.
'One guy asked for a gun to shoot pests and got one powerful enough to kill an elk, with a range of over two miles. Another had built up a horrifying arsenal of weapons and had been granted a firearms certificate by a Connetable despite being convicted in 1992 of possessing a prohibited weapon and supplying controlled drugs.' When police raided his house, they recovered 18 weapons and 183,000 rounds of ammunition - enough to shoot Jersey's population. Twice.
Harper has no idea why islanders amassed such arsenals and is reluctant to speculate on the reasons.
On another occasion, Harper says he discovered three employees were using police money to buy computers for private use. Some stored pornography. The Attorney General's department refused to take legal action and politicians defended the employees. Harper ensured two were dismissed and the third eventually resigned.
In a separate case, three detectives were discovered selling intelligence to women linked to drug dealers in return for sex, says Harper. Despite film and audio evidence, no prosecution was authorised.
Secret filming of one detective's office showed him kissing and being massaged by a lover. She then examined confidential police files relating to international terrorism. This same detective also sent texts to another lover, a convicted criminal and drugs gang associate, when three terrorist suspects were held in custody. He was also recorded divulging almost the whole of a Confidential Criminal Intelligence Report on a local criminal to his wife so it could be passed to the offender.
The same officer also kept at home personal details of someone offering intelligence on Northern Ireland. 'The IRA have long been connected to Jersey,' says Harper.
'The island is a gateway to the UK and politicians' indifference to security was astonishing.'
A criminal file was submitted to the Attorney General. The officer later pleaded guilty to 11 disciplinary charges and was ordered to resign.
The powers that be also seemed set on protecting the many officers accepting favours, such as foreign holidays, from a local businessman.
'Some 16 to 20 officers admitted to me that they were being paid, in kind or otherwise,' says Harper. Given that Jersey has only 240 paid police, this amounted to almost ten per cent of the force.
'A file was submitted to the Attorney General seeking the prosecution of the businessman and a key officer for bribery and corruption. No case was brought. I then decided to prosecute the officer for a number of less serious offences for which the Attorney General's authority was not needed. He was charged with offences of misuse of computers and was convicted of five such charges in the magistrates court.
'The Attorney General also agreed to charge the businessman, but he was granted a number of adjournments at court. A few days after I left the island, all charges were dropped and he was awarded costs.'
During the Haut de la Garenne inquiry, Harper received dozens of abusive letters. He still has them, signed and written on headed notepaper. One says: 'You are nonsense at your job. Would you PLEASE PLEASE give the JEP [Jersey Evening Post] a different photo. I had 7 of those and have used them all on the dartboard. I can understand why you don't want to go back home, at least here you are quite safe. You never hear of people's houses being Fire Bombed or Having Cars Torched. I'm sure you know what I mean.'
Harper says: 'The author and four corrupt ex-officers made formal complaints against me. Four out of five so far have been found to be vexatious or unsubstantiated. But it was astonishing to find politicians supporting them.'
The former police chief also discussedthe island's culture of 'perks'. 'We prosecuted abusers at one school. A senior teacher told us, in all seriousness, that the children were abused only as some sort of reward for all the hard work he had put into them, like it was a teacher's perk.'
The Haut de la Garenne inquiry developed when, as part of the worldwide Operation Ore, the commanding officer of the Jersey sea cadets was arrested in 2006 for downloading pornographic images of children. Paul Every was subsequently convicted of child pornography offences.
Harper discovered that allegations against sea cadet volunteers went back years. 'Some of the victims were children from Haut de la Garenne, taken sailing for a treat. The victims described being taken into international waters, where guests were invited to abuse them.
'The allegations hadn't been investigated properly. Two senior police officers had put pressure on junior detectives not to interview the perpetrators, and were implicated in the disappearance of evidence and putting pressure on victims to retract. These officers were also members of the yachting fraternity.'
So why did police make the dramatic decision to excavate Haut de la Garenne? According to Harper's High Court statement, the £7.5million operation began only after extensive consultation with UK experts and police.
After Harper's departure last summer, the course of the investigation was radically altered. The inquiry has now, Harper claims, effectively ground to a halt. Before leaving the island he succeeded in charging three suspects with serious sexual offences. But nearly a year later, none has been tried.
Soon after taking over, Harper's successors called a Press conference to attack his inquiry. He was depicted as an over-excitable and inexperienced officer.
Yet during his career Harper had run 'several dozen' murder inquiries, 'more rape and abuse cases than I can count' and won two of his five commendations for tackling terrorism in Northern Ireland. He also has a Masters degree in criminal justice.
Harper shows me professional assessments made on him only when I ask for them. In one, Sir William Rae, the former Strathclyde Chief Constable, praised him as 'intelligent, articulate and dedicated'.
'We worked very hard to win the victims' confidence,' Harper says of the Haut de la Garenne inquiry. 'I think now they will feel that there is nothing that they can do.
'Jersey is claiming that I left with loads of documents, unused material that could be needed in court. I think they're saying that so that cases can be thrown out. I have offered to go to any court in the UK and answer questions about alleged unused material.'
Harper ended his affidavit to the High Court by saying: 'With such an absence of controls, such an absence of accountability, the ordinary, decent citizens of Jersey are helpless. Intentionally or not, the system has allowed corruption to flourish to such an extent that those seeking to combat it are the ones open to scorn.'
While he is grateful for the ' tremendous support' he received from many fellow officers and islanders during the Haut de la Garenne inquiry, Harper concedes there were times when personal attacks left him depressed. Some of those police officers he had prosecuted or forced to resign became active in a smear campaign, alleging that Harper himself was corrupt.
'How come all these bent cops were able to complain about us, and their complaints were investigated at huge cost, but our investigations were closed down?' Harper asks. 'I've often wondered what it was that we were really threatening.'
Joined: 13 Sep 2006 Posts: 2568 Location: One breath from Glory
Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 9:02 pm Post subject:
Another brave guy. praying he is kept safe and doesnt become another David Kelly _________________ JO911B.
"for we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against wicked spirits in high places " Eph.6 v 12
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 11:22 pm Post subject:
Syvret arrest: States debate is blocked
POLITICIANS this morning blocked a debate on the arrest and detention by police of Senator Stuart Syvret.
An emergency sitting of the House called by seven Members began this morning with a one-hour-long debate on whether States Standing Orders should be suspended to allow a proposition lodged by Deputy Geoff Southern to be debated.
Politicians voted by 25 to 20 to reject the motion to suspend rules that there must be at least a 15-day lodging period prior to a debate.
No decision was taken as to when the debate itself may take place. It will be at least ten days but is more likely to take place at the sitting after next.
Today’s emergency sitting was called following the arrest of Senator Syvret on 6 April on suspicion of breaching data protection legislation.
A British politician has described the arrest of Senator Stuart Syvret for alleged data protection breaches as an "obvious abuse of state power."
John Hemming, the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Birmingham Yardley, was speaking ahead of a States meeting in Jersey to discuss the possible implications of Senator Syvret's arrest.
Mr Hemming said he was concerned about the impact of the arrest on politicians' ability to do their jobs.
"It's very, very important that politicians are in a position to fight incompetence and corruption and when they're persecuted by the state apparatus by an abuse of power, that is very, very wrong and it's a breach of the rule of law," he said.
He said he believed there were parallels between Senator Syvret's arrest and that of the Conservative MP, Damian Green.
"Stuart's arrest is a bit more extreme although Damian Green was threatened with life imprisonment for embarrassing the government. This is all very wrong. It's symptomatic of the tolerance of the government in the United Kingdom for corupt activities," he said.
Police dropped all charges against Mr Green last week after officers arrested him and searched his Westminster office.
States members in Jersey will meet tomorrow morning to debate Deputy Geoff Southern's proposition on Senator Syvret's arrest and its potential implications.
Michael Aubin, 46, pleads guilty to abusing boys at the Haut de la Garenne care home during the 1970s
* Steven Morris
* guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 12 May 2009 11.59 BST
* Article history
A man today admitted sexually abusing young boys at the Haut de la Garenne care home in Jersey during the 1970s.
Michael Aubin was due to be the first person to stand trial following a wide-ranging police investigation into historic child abuse on the island.
The trial at the royal court in Jersey had been expected to begin today and last all week, but this morning Aubin admitted two counts of gross indecency and two counts of indecent assault on children under 10 years old.
The 46-year-old cleaner, who was born in Jersey and lives in St Denys, Southampton, carried out the attacks while he was a resident at the home in the 1970s.
He earlier pleaded not guilty to three further counts of indecent assault and they will be dealt with after Aubin is sentenced on 22 June.
During the investigation at Haut de la Garenne police amassed a list of 40 suspects after scores of people came forward claiming they were sexually and physically abused at the home.
At least two other people have been charged in connection with the investigation. ... ... ...
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 12:56 am Post subject:
Jane and Alan McGuire – the two psychotic, abusing maniacs who tortured children for the best part of a decade during the 1980’s – will not be extradited from France – and will not face justice.
Forgive the brevity of this post – but I’m literally too angry to type properly.
I heard from my sources that a press-release, embargoed until midnight, will be issued by Bill Bailhache this afternoon.
I called survivors and asked them how they were.
What follows – you just couldn’t make up.
The survivors didn’t know.
They – the most important people involved in this situation - hadn’t been told of the decision.
Jersey oligarchy media had been informed of the story, and are waiting for this afternoon’s embargoed press release – before the survivors were informed that the two maniacs and thugs who abused them will not face justice.
This is abuse – all over again.
For the Jersey oligarchy – it’s far more important to get their spin-doctoring in-place first – rather than inform the most important people – the survivors; people whose lives have been wrecked by the States of Jersey.
You see - it's a "convenient" time to make the decision public - as Birt is on holiday - so can't be subjected to the media fire-storm this contemptible creature deserves.
The words disgusting, contemptible, sickening, disgraceful and dishonest just do not suffice to describe this conduct by Bill Bailhache and the Jersey oligarchy.
The survivors – having been informed by me, contacted the police – who reluctantly admitted that, yes, the McGuires would not face justice, and that their plan had been to call the survivors and inform them this evening.
That’s after the press-release will be in the hands of the media.
Yet the cops – under the “New Management” of David Warcup & co – were far more interested in how the survivors found out about the spin-doctoring of the decision.
The Jersey oligarchy – rotten to the core.
These people who have an iron grip on power in Jersey – have now delivered to the McGuires a hat-trick of corrupt let-offs.
Jersey senator faces data charges
Thursday, July 09, 2009, 09:43
A controversial Jersey politician who claimed officials on the island covered up child abuse has been charged with two data protection offences following articles he wrote on his internet blog.
Whistleblower Stuart Syvret was arrested in April and his home raided by officers who interviewed and released him pending further inquiries.
The 44-year-old was called back to police headquarters on Wednesday night and was charged with two offences which relate to an article written on stuartsyvret.blogspot.com on March 19.
He is due to appear at Jersey Magistrates' Court on July 16. One of the charges is understood to relate to publishing a confidential police report which contained personal data.
Syvret was an outspoken critic of the establishment's handling of the historic police investigation into child abuse on the island and in 2007 he was dismissed from his post as Minister for Health and Social Services after claiming abuse cases were being covered up.
The investigation focused on the Haut de la Garenne children's home where hundreds of former residents claimed they were sexually and violently assaulted.
Syvret, who called for both an independent inquiry and for court cases to be held on the UK mainland, was accused by the Chief Minister, Frank Walker, of damaging Jersey's reputation.
In April he said his arrest was "politically motivated" he was considering legal action against the police.
At the time another Jersey child welfare whistleblower, social worker Simon Bellwood, said Syvret's blog had upset the Jersey establishment as it "could not be controlled".
Joined: 13 Sep 2006 Posts: 2568 Location: One breath from Glory
Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 12:28 am Post subject:
T G wrote
Quote:
Jane and Alan McGuire – the two psychotic, abusing maniacs who tortured children for the best part of a decade during the 1980’s – will not be extradited from France – and will not face justice.
Perhaps their wherabouts could be made known to some Frenchies as they are pretty good at protesting. (Not advocating anything vigilante style-of course) _________________ JO911B.
"for we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against wicked spirits in high places " Eph.6 v 12
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 8:42 pm Post subject:
Jersey carer convicted of sex attacks in Haut de la Garenne
By Vanessa Allen
Last updated at 7:33 PM on 20th August 2009
The first man to stand trial over the Jersey children's home abuse scandal was found guilty yesterday of a series of sex attacks on teenagers.
Gordon Wateridge, who was responsible for looking after residents at the Haut de la Garenne home, was convicted of eight indecent assaults of girls in his care.
After the verdict, the 78-year-old, nicknamed 'The Perv' by his victims, was warned he faced jail.
Gordon Wateridge
The 'perv': Gordon Wateridge faces jail after he was found guilty of carrying out eight indecent assaults on teenage girls
Haut de la Garenne was called the 'Jersey House of Horrors' after detectives said the remains of at least five children had been found there, alongside so-called punishment rooms.
Police have since admitted that the bone fragments may not be human, and could be hundreds of years old.
One fragment believed to have been from a skull was later shown to have been a piece of wood or coconut.
The finds were uncovered during a year-long investigation into historical child abuse on the island.
More than 150 alleged victims told police they were abused at Haut de la Garenne and other Jersey homes between the 1940s and 1980s.
Wateridge, who worked at the home in the 1970s, was found guilty of eight charges of indecent assault against three teenage girls and one charge of assault against a teenage boy.
Jersey Royal Court heard that he was a 'persistent sexual bully' towards his female victims, who were all under 16 at the time of the attacks.
They told the court that Wateridge had taken advantage of his position to kiss and grope them.
One woman broke down in tears as she described how he had repeatedly grabbed her and other girls as they walked past the home's snooker table, pushing them on to the table and groping them.
She said: 'He was pretending to tickle me but from my point of view he was having a good feel. His hands would be moving up and down the inside of my leg.
'I was a girl of 13 or 14, he was a big man, I would be shouting to stop.'
The woman, now 53, who was sent to the home after her father died, said she had not felt able to report the abuse. 'No one would have listened,' she said.
Another woman said she had felt 'dirty' after being repeatedly groped by Wateridge. She said he once commented that she had 'child-bearing hips'.
'It was not something you would expect an adult to say to a child,' she told the court.
Judge Christopher Pitchers told Wateridge that he faced a custodial sentence. The pensioner, who had denied all the charges, was cleared of another 11 counts of indecent assault and one charge of incitement to indecent assault.
Wateridge, who was born in Croydon, South London, and now lives in Jersey, will be sentenced next month. He was released on bail.
He was the first person to stand trial over the abuse investigation, although a second man, Michael Aubin, 46, admitted sexually abusing boys at Haut de la Garenne while he was a teenage resident there.
Aubin was spared prison after the court heard he had been the victim of serious sexual abuse by at least one member of staff at the home, which closed in 1986.
Detective Superintendent Mick Gradwell said outside the court that the abuse investigation on the island was continuing.
He added: 'Gordon Wateridge, a house parent at Haut de la Garenne, was a sexual bully towards vulnerable young girls in his care. We hope the complainants involved in this trial have received some comfort from the decision reached by the court.'
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 12:06 am Post subject:
The policeman who did most of the legwork in the Jersey case has been under sustained attack in the press. Not least of which was a hit piece in last weekend's Mail On Sunday. He has apparently decided that he can only trust a tiny number of bloggers and journalists to publish his writings without distorting them so has published this on the brave Jersey senator Stuart Syvret's blog.
LENNY HARPER’S GUEST POSTING.
A GOOD, STRAIGHT COP RESPONDS TO THE JERSEY ESTABLISHMENT’S LIES.
Some “Inconvenient” Conclusions:
Attorney General William Bailhache Tried to Stop Wateridge Being Charged.
Documentary Evidence Proves Dig at HDLG Was Justified.
Evidence of Mr. Harper’s Professionalism and Integrity Destroys Jersey Establishment Smear-Campaign.
Police Had Intelligence of Forced, Illegal Abortions And a Still-born Baby at HDLG.
Anthropologist’s Records Showed Many Suspected Human Bone Fragments.
Police Had Intelligence of Children ‘Not Being Seen Again’.
Expert’s Theory That Solid Fuel Furnace in the West Wing Was Used to Dispose of Human Remains.
Possibility of Unexplained Child Deaths Still Unresolved.
ACPO Reports Endorsed Investigation.
The Successful Prosecutions All Work of Mr. Harper’s Team.
Many Serious Suspects Still at Large.
Gradwell and Warcup Fail To Bring them to Justice.
Political Pressure and Interference
By Jersey Establishment.
Gradwell and Warcup Press-Conference Discredited.
Spin, Lies and Smear-Campaign by Jersey Establishment Proves Existence of Culture of Concealment.
To some readers – those, for example, who rely on Jersey’s traditional media for their information – the conclusions listed above will be shocking, and will be at variance with many of the assertions of, and all the ‘impressions’ conveyed by, the Jersey authorities during much of the last 12 months.
To those of us who have had to take a detailed interest in the awful subject of decades of concealed child abuse in Jersey, many of the conclusions written above will come as no surprise - on the basis of personal experiences, documentary information – and a weary understanding of the true nature of the Jersey oligarchy. One way or another - the truth has been known to us.
But regardless of whether you knew the truth – or whether the Jersey establishment’s propaganda had misled you – you should read this posting. Below is a detailed, evidenced response – written by Lenny Harper – in which the necessity, professionalism and integrity of the States of Jersey Police Force investigation into decades of concealed child abuse is robustly established and defended.
I would like to thank Lenny for taking the time to write this guest posting, and remaining committed to justice and integrity. As a retired man, with a family to care for, he could have washed his hands of these issues and simply walked away. Fortunately for the survivors and this community, he continues to be a fighter for justice; a man who’s instinct is to protect the weak from the powerful.
Stuart.
Lenny Harper’s Guest Posting:
I have been away from Scotland for the past two weeks and have therefore missed the intellectually challenged journalistic nonsense from Diane Simon of the JEP, including the interview with Supercop Mick Gradwell. My thanks to those who have updated me.
I began counting the inaccuracies and downright falsehoods but gave up there were so many of them. Mick Gradwell said in a letter a few months back to a Daily Mail journalist that “the best I can say about Mr. Harper is that he is a man who has difficulty in understanding basic facts”. But it seems to me that he and Diane Simon cannot recognise facts even when they are laid out in front of them several times. I will return to Mr. Gradwell later when I yet again make clear how ludicrous and dishonest some of the assertions made by various people are, including his rather nasty and juvenile attack on some senior staff of the States of Jersey Police (SOJP). First however, and I am sure all the readers of this blog will understand, I need to defend myself against some of the personal attacks made on me by Messrs Gradwell, Warcup, Simon - and a few others who have reasons to see the Abuse enquiry fold.
When the e-mail from Ms. Simon slithered under my virus defence my initial instinct was to delete it and ignore it. There were a number of reasons for this. Firstly, she had asked me all these questions on at least two previous occasions, one of them a sunny Saturday at Haut de la Garenne. On each occasion I had not only answered the questions, but I had also e-mailed the answers to her, such was my mistrust of the way the answers would be used. Presumably, she still had those e-mails. My mistrust was well founded as her questions, although not my answers, were to provide the basis of an article attacking me which was posted in a national paper by one of a group of journalists who mentioned her, and who had previously produced books and articles in support of perverts such as the North Wales Care Abusers and Frank Beck, the Leicestershire Child Rapist. Indeed, some of these journalists had even given evidence to Parliamentary Committees in which they said that the above abusers were victims of miscarriages of justice and the “False Recall Syndrome” of victims, or indeed, just made up allegations. Therefore, on this occasion I had no doubt as to what her motives were and this was confirmed when I was told the first story had appeared even before she received my reply. Her plea in the e-mail for me to answer the questions so that she could “tell all sides of the story” was as sincere and believable as the “Trusssst in me” uttered by Kaa the snake in Disney’s version of the Jungle Book. Ms. Simon must be the only person she knows who believes that this type of ingratiating fawning is not totally transparent.
Notwithstanding my absolute belief that the seeking of my views was a total sham, I realised that it would be better not to give her the opportunity to claim that she had sought my views and I had refused. I therefore answered all her questions which meant of course that she just had to ignore most of what I said. To ensure that I did get my point across to the majority on the island who actually wanted the truth, I copied my response to Stuart Syvret and he posted it on his blog.
Ms. Simon and officers Warcup and Gradwell seem to be saying that I became a really bad cop “overnight.” (I will explain why I say ‘overnight’ below.) Ms. Simon is a journalist of course and is at a disadvantage, but her view of me as a cop seems to be only slightly better than my view of her as a journalist. Each is entitled to their opinion, even if it is from a distance. However, the claims from Mr. Warcup and Mr. Gradwell need closer examination and perhaps a more detailed dismantling.
I do not know a lot about Mr. Warcup or the now retired Mr. Gradwell. I do not know the extent of Mr. Warcup’s practical experience; whether he spent his career at the sharp end as I did, or whether all his years with Northumbria Police were spent in departments like Personnel. What I do know is that the only reference I can find on the internet to him relate to allegations (perhaps unfounded) that he hid the true extent of crime from the public through the use of spin, and some other comments of a personal nature criticising him for something which frankly is no one’s business but his own.
However, I do know that he has admitted destroying evidence in the abuse case - which perhaps does give some clue as to his motivation or professional judgement.
As for Mr. Gradwell, again I do not know a lot about him. He is fond of telling people, including one of the journalists I mentioned above, that he is known for investigating the tragic incident when foreign workers drowned on a beach. I believe that manslaughter convictions resulted for some of the people connected with the employment of these unfortunate victims. This must have been a very challenging enquiry for him. I am pretty sure also that he must have investigated some more conventional manslaughters and murders - where the suspects were not known. I cannot speak for him, only myself. I know that I have a number of commendations for “detective ability,” leadership, and other professional skills earned in the investigation of many murders including terrorist murders, gang murders, stabbing murders with multi victims, domestic murders, and huge experience gained in South London in the investigation of Rapes and Child Abuse.
I hope this does not seem like some sort of Lenny Harper ego trip, but when people like Mr. Gradwell, Mr. Warcup, and Ms. Simon, criticise my ability, I cannot help but refer to others who have expressed a contrary view. Over the past few years I have worked with and for some of the most respected senior police officers in the UK. Others who I have never worked for have come and independently examined what I have done in Jersey. What they say is in marked contrast to the three above, and what they say illustrates what I mean by saying that I must have become a disaster ‘overnight’. Forgive me for running through some of these professional assessments, but it will show the operational calibre of people with very different views to those which have appeared in the JEP of late and in the public utterings of Mr. Gradwell and Mr. Warcup.
Her Majesty Inspector of Constabulary came to review the SOJP in 2002, two years after Graham Power had taken over and some months following John Pearson and I arriving. They noted huge improvements from the Inspection Report prior to Mr. Power’s arrival and spoke in complimentary terms about the Senior Management Team, its leadership style, and how the force supported the changes made.
A different Inspection team carried out another examination of the force in 2008. It made the following comments under the heading of ‘Strengths’.
“The current Senior Management Team has continued to make improvements in performance, resources, management and capability.”
“The force has an effective Professional Standards Department which is effectively led by the DCO (who) drives the need for integrity across the force.”
Under the category of ‘Leadership’, the HMI wrote; “The Chief Officer Group is forward thinking, proactive in terms of the development of the force, and accessible to staff. They seek and utilise good practice from UK forces in ways that are applicable to the operational context of Jersey.” The Report team went on to say that they were “impressed with the receptiveness, drive, and commitment of the Chief Officer Team to make Organisational changes in line with areas of improvement.” They also said “The Chief Officer Team promotes a culture of empowerment, innovation, and learning through various means.”
Finally HMI, in summing up said “there is strong evidence to indicate that the SOJP is perceived as modern, fast moving with high expectations of operational and cultural change amongst a motivated workforce.”
As I stated above, I have worked with, and for, some of the most respected and professional police officers in the UK. A number of them have carried out assessments on my performance and ability. Again, apologies for what seems almost self congratulation, but among them Sir William Rae (former Chief Constable of Strathclyde) said in 2002, just before my move to Jersey, that I was currently “serving with distinction.” He went on to say the following.
“Superintendent Harper is an intelligent and articulate officer who is performing his current duties to an extremely high level. Since transferring to Strathclyde Police he has shown himself to be a dedicated and highly responsible team player who maintains a consistently professional approach to his duties at all times. The excellence he has shown since joining Strathclyde Police was mirrored during his time with the Metropolitan Police. In April 1989 when stationed at Peckham his Divisional Commander stated that in his role as Detective Inspector he was ‘one of the most effective I have ever known.’ Praise such as this has followed Superintendent Harper throughout his career and for good reason. A modest individual, he has received five commendations, all relating to the investigation of serious crime including one relating to the arrest and conviction of two INLA terrorists.”
Sir William went on to say that my appraisals in Strathclyde had been of an extremely high standard with senior managers universally praising my diligence and abilities at both the operational and strategic levels. He attached copies of my last three staff appraisals which had been written by two senior officers who are now both Chief Constables in Scotland.
Against that backdrop of unimpeachable professional commendation, the trinity of Simon, Warcup, and Gradwell have made it their mission in life to tell as many people as possible how unprofessional and incapable (and even worse) I am. All this on very little knowledge of me, and bolstered by, to borrow Ms. Simon’s words, “lies and half truths.” She would certainly know about lies and half truths, wouldn’t she? With such a volume of informed and respected professional opinion to the contrary, no thinking person would prefer to believe the nonsense, of Simon, Gradwell & Warcup. So am I bothered?
No.
Now let me turn to the actual substance (an ill chosen word to describe what was in these pieces of journalistic rubbish) of Ms. Simon’s articles. I will start with the interview with Mr. Gradwell. I do feel rather weary at this point as I have made all these points before to Simon and others. At least this time however, I am making them to people who will have the ability and willingness to assimilate them.
The attention seeking headline in the Gradwell article was that the operation at Haut de la Garenne was “a waste of time and money.” According to Mr. Gradwell, as reported in the JEP, the decision to excavate was made without hard evidence or intelligence. Up until then, he said, the enquiry was being run “essentially along UK lines.” Okay – if I understand him then, we were doing OK until we decided to excavate HDLG. It follows then that he would not have done so. He would have ignored all that we found and walked away. Here again are the (much repeated) reasons why we excavated - in chronological sequence.
By the closing weeks of 2007, we had been carrying out the enquiry for some time. A recurring feature of the evidence and information gathering process as we moved into January 2008 was that a number of victims and witnesses had told us they had been assaulted and abused at the former home. There was evidence from one witness that a child had been chased by a member of staff through an upper floor corridor and in desperation had leapt out of a high window. The child had not been seen again. At that stage we had no name. (Mr. Gradwell was to say that over a year later he traced the child – perhaps he did. However at that time we had what we had.) We had non-specific information from a number of witnesses that they had witnessed children being dragged away at night and not being seen again. There was intelligence of illegal forced abortion and of a still born child.
I found all of this highly alarming and worrying but I did not consider at that stage that it warranted a full excavation of HDLG. (This is an important point, because after speaking to Gradwell and Warcup, the Met Police accused me of ordering the excavation on the evidence of a few “disturbed” people. I took issue with this description of the victims and made this clear in a number of e-mails to those concerned.) Mr. Gradwell confirms my suspicion about the origin of this slur on the survivors by his comments to Diane Simon. He and David Warcup at their infamous and discredited press conference last year also peddled this myth about the reasons for digging. The truth is simple to illustrate, because it is well documented.
I arranged to go to the UK to meet experts who would be well qualified to advise us on the way forward. On 5th February 2008, I went to Oxford with our Forensic Services Manager and other staff, and at the Headquarters of LGC Forensics met with Karl Harrison, their lead scientist, National Policing Improvement Agency Homicide Search Advisors, and forensic staff representing Forensic Archaeology and Anthropology, as well as a Cadaver Dog Advisor. We had already asked Mr. Harrison to prepare a desk based study brief of HDLG and he circulated this at the meeting.
The decision made at this meeting was that we should carry out an initial reconnaissance of the site over a short period to seek to clarify a number of objectives. It was decided that we would deploy several different assets, to be deployed in a “systematic fashion using best value and best practice guidelines.” In simple terms, we wanted to establish if there was anything there which would need further investigation - or if we could “walk away” from it -without further investigation.
Two weeks later we moved in to the grounds of HDLG. We deployed Geophysical assets and Ground Penetrating Radar in order to identify anomalous areas for further investigation. We also used Gridded probing techniques to assist the dogs, and of course we had the anecdotal evidence of witnesses and victims. We decided we would not at any time carry out speculative searching but would deploy the forensic and archaeology assets in areas where there was corroboration that something needed further investigation. Before we excavated, we would give full consideration to possible explanations given by earlier work or utilities. We also studied in depth building plans and maps. It was during this process that builders who had worked on the site told us that a few years before they had found bones they were convinced were human but had been told to ‘forget them’ and “let bygones be bygones.” (This phrase became a catchword among my team whenever the subject of attempts at cover up would arise.) One worker was so convinced they were human he took them home to examine them against computer images which only strengthened his fears. (Eventually these bones were examined by a Jersey Pathologist after police had called her to the home. She told the officer “I don’t like the look of this,” but was later to say she could not remember making that comment. She was “not saying it wasn’t made, but just couldn’t remember it.” She took the bones to her boss whose extremely short (five lines) report said the bones were too large to be human but also stated that one of the bones “could not identified.” He gave the measurements of the bones and our anthropologist took issue with his findings saying that the size of the bone concerned was within the size range of a child. Unfortunately the bones were destroyed by the pathologist without being examined by an anthropologist. Our advice was that they should have been so examined as the pathologist was not qualified to rule on whether or not they were human. The builders told us that they had found two child’s shoes with the bones. The pathologist told us that he had sent them for examination and had been told they were Victorian. The person he said he sent them to remembered no such incident. Unfortunately the shoes too had been destroyed and were unavailable to us.
At the same time as we were digesting this deeply puzzling sequence of events, we received a positive reaction from the dog trained to find traces of human remains. This reaction came at the same spot as the builders had found the bones mentioned above. At this point, I took the decision to authorise the archaeologists to dig at that location. I would do the same again. It beggars belief, and I am at a loss to imagine why, Mr. Gradwell and David Warcup should say they would have taken a different decision. To me that would be gross negligence. My decision was fully endorsed by the ACPO team who were mentoring us and this team included the former head of the Met Homicide Department and a vastly experienced Senior Investigating Officer. It was also unanimously supported by all of my senior team including the UK Homicide Search Advisors. The dig was necessary because there were matters which needed further investigation. Indeed, the advice of the ACPO Homicide Team was that we had no choice but to treat the scene as one of a potential homicide. This advice was expressed frequently, and I know it was given to Frank Walker.
I will deal in more detail later with the charred bones found in the cellar areas, but for now will concentrate on the reasons for excavating that area. We had evidence from victims who said they were confined and/or abused in what they described as cellar areas. We could not find them until a local builder who had worked at the area came forward and said he knew where the entrance to these ‘cellars’ were. He showed us and we were eventually able to uncover them. Before excavating further we put the dogs into the area. As we did so, the Chief of Police arrived with the Home Affairs Minister, Wendy Kinnard. They were actually present when the dogs reacted strongly in the cellar and where we were then to find the charred bones and teeth. So, the question is obvious when one thinks that Mr. Gradwell is still claiming that we should not have searched HDLG. At what point should we have walked away? Should we have not started at all - and therefore not found anything – and left the remains (because that is what they are) where they were? Should we have stopped at the wing where the dog initially reacted and, instead, ignored all we knew about the bones found by the builders? Or should we have ignored the dog’s possible corroboration of the victims in the cellar area?
Messrs Gradwell and Warcup said there was no evidence of murder and that my team was wrong to say there was. They are not telling the truth, deliberately or otherwise - because I had never said there was evidence of murder - only evidence that there was something that needed investigation. A subtle, but crucial, distinction which people could be forgiven for not understanding, given the utter nonsense that’s been peddled recently. There are many, many examples of what I did, actually, say, to be found still. Check the BBC News website on 31st July 2008. Read David James Smith’s excellent article in the Sunday Times. (Reproduced in Stuart Syvret’s blog on Sunday, 10th May, 2009). They all state - clearly and unequivocally - that I was saying ‘we did not have evidence of murder’. Why would Ms. Simon and the two senior cops say otherwise? I and many others know why. However, we still do not know how, where, or when those children died and probably never will. We think we know how the bones ended up where we found them, and that was expertly laid out by Karl Harrison in his Archaeological Theory of the Burnt Debris including Human Bone Fragments and teeth found in the East wing. His view was that the Solid Fuel Furnace in the West Wing was used to dispose of human remains and they were then transferred to the East Wing around 1960-1970. We included his report in the document we posted on our website. Strangely enough when the Sunday Times journalist David James Smith attempted to access this document it had been removed under Warcup’s leadership. David James Smith was told by the Press Officer that there had been a problem with the computer. Of course there was! In any event, I reproduce a quote from the report by Karl Harrison below. You might ask the question that if an independent expert such as Karl Harrison is giving us this information, what kind of police officers would we have been to walk away and ignore it? As I say, it beggars belief. Unless your name is Diane Simon, David Warcup, or Gradwell that is.
Here is a quote from the report by Karl Harrison:
“With regard to the human remains recovered from cellars 3,4 & five. Karl Harrison, LGC Forensics lead archaeologist explains :
Detailed archaeological analysis of the building and its structure, in conjunction with archive plans, has provided time lines for historical renovations within the building. Phase I – area above the cellars is a School Room - Victorian styli and slates are dumped in large quantities on the cellar floor. These are in such quantities that it would suggest the floors were being taken up when they were deposited. Although they are mixed throughout the cellar deposits, many slates are lying on the base of the earthen floor, suggesting an early fall. A number of dateable Phase I items (Victorian coinage, Napoleon III coin, Victorian Jubilee medal) have been found in close association with this material.
Phase II/III - At the extension of the building following the major works over the bathhouse directly south of the School Room, educational activities move southwards to our Press Room (as was). The School Room becomes a Play Room in the early 20th C. This would explain the lack of pen nibs such as those in the cisterns entering the record here.
With the exception of a few coins of the period, native Phase II/III material seems to be in short supply. Instead we seem to have imported material - masses of shoe leather and heel irons relate to the shoemakers that functioned through the 20s and 30s, along with buttons and thimbles from the neighbouring dressmakers room. This is closely associated with concentrations of kitchen waste (bottle glass, jar glass, plain domestic ware, patterned ware and charnel), which seems contemporaneous based on design and scraps of printed labels remaining.
All of this is mixed with two distinct non-native soils - a virgin 'potato' soil which provides much of the compressed material, and a concentration of charred material - coke, clinker and some charcoal (in very small fragments) - whilst the charred material is associated with smoke stained masonry, none of the goods in the cellar have been burned (as opposed to cooked in the case of animal bone) - other than some of the bone fragments.
Phase IV - Phase IV is characterised by sweeping, evidenced by changes in texture of the cellar fills and the presence of large numbers of plastic bristles and brush head fragments stuck through lower elements of the contexts. In terms of depositions in phase IV, these are (with the exception of a single coin) native in character - the room above the cellars remains a Play Room, and we have a profusion of glass marbles, toy soldiers, play money, farmyard animal figures)
Phase V - Access is gained through the floor by hatch cutting for the 2003 refurbishment - some of the outlying bone and teeth fragments perhaps owe their position to cable laying. What I now think has happened is that a mass of material has been imported from the west wing at a time when the floor of the Play Room was up. This would explain the mix of material from north to south along the wing (glass and ceramic from kitchen larders, leather goods from the shoemakers, buttons from the tailors and high-temperature char from the bake house foundations) These renovations to the west wing have been carried out since 1960 (the brush bristles relate to sweeping of floor surface elsewhere and have been incorporated into the fill elsewhere, rather than someone bothering to sweep a cellar's earthen floor) - they have involved cleaning, but also significant digging into underlying soil (we have small concentrations of Phase II/III pot sewer pipe, as well as the mass of potato soil). Whilst some of the material might have been taken off site, some has been ditched in barrow and bucket loads on the cellar floor, hence the complex lensing of charred and virgin soils, especially along the footing trenches.”
Fairly significant is it not? Yet, we should not have been in there according to Gradwell, Warcup and Simon. We should have walked away and left the remains there. It was, supposedly, all a waste of time and money, not to mention professionally inept. We may not have found the answers but I am in no doubt that we had to ask the questions. That is what we were police officers for.
Let me now move on to other criticisms levelled by Warcup in his “interview” with Ms. Simon. Firstly, his strange allegation that I was offered the services of a top Senior Investigating Officer and his “matrix” but refused and ordered him to leave the island. Well, I must have had powers I didn’t know about. I was not aware I could order or ask anyone to leave Jersey. The truth here is that I was asked if an officer from the UK could come and talk to some of my staff as he had experience of child abuse investigations and in particular in a number of administrative areas we were utilising. Whatever his experience as a senior investigating officer it was nowhere near that of the ACPO Homicide Detective who was mentoring me and reviewing my work. There was never any suggestion that he should usurp what the ACPO man was doing. Apart from anything else, it would have been duplication. The officer did speak to my staff and I recall they did get some useful stuff from him. However, he came up with this “points system” or matrix in the new, intellectual, politically correct police world of jargon. It was explained to me that it helped prioritise crimes by giving, for example, ten points to a rape, seven for an assault, and one for a towel flick. Now, that might be helpful in a case where you are looking at many dozens of different types of offences, but here although we were dealing with a large number of offences, the types of crime were few and similar. Mr. Gradwell might need a points scoring system to help him tell the difference between a rape and a cuff around the ear. I do not. That is why we said no thank you. It is just another example of how the abundance of talent in today’s police force is hamstrung and prevented from doing their jobs properly by bureaucracy introduced by people frightened of their own shadows and the effect that mistakes may have on their progress up the ladder.
Mr. Gradwell makes the comment that some journalists saw through me and others did not. Well, that depends on whether you are in the camp that wanted the enquiry to fail or not. At least one BBC journalist was in the camp Gradwell felt had not got it right - judging from the abusive text message he sent the journalist.
Mr. Gradwell says he inherited an ill managed mess, that there were no proper papers left behind. Here, he is in conflict with the ACPO Review team, who said, in their report, the policy books were properly kept and maintained. Gradwell’s assertion about the team’s “embarrassed looks” and comments that “we told them so” are bizarre, but sadly predictable, given the propaganda campaign that has been waged to falsely depict a divided team.
I wouldn’t choose to provide the following evidence of the team’s cohesion, and appreciation of my leadership, but as it’s important to combat the lies being fed to the people of Jersey, I do so. All of the team wrote messages to me on my leaving the island. They did not have to. They could not have been forced to as I no longer worked there. Below I reproduce an e-mail sent out by one of my team to all those working for me. I had already said I did not wish to have a retirement function, and knew nothing of these plans until asked to be available for an evening. Would the team have done this if Gradwell was correct in what he has said? I have removed the name of the sender for obvious reasons.
-----Original Message-----
From: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: 25 June 2008 16:06
To: All HAT Officers
Cc: Coupland, Vicky; Nibbs, Louise; Bentley, Fraser
Subject: SIO Lenny Harper's Retirement
Greetings to you all,
As you are aware Lenny Harper is fast approaching his last few weeks as the Deputy Chief Officer here in the States of Jersey Police and will be putting his hat and coat on for the final time in August 2008. Most of us have only come into close contact with him as the SIO on 'Operation Rectangle' where we have found him to be extremely professional, affable and a thoroughly good 'Governor' to work for.
We don't have a 'Social Club' for our group of investigators but having chatted amongst a few of us we have taken the decision to book a restaurant for an evening meal where we as a group can see Lenny off in style. Lenny has agreed to be available on the evening chosen and we will ask him if he would like to bring his wife too. This is not going to be a leaving function linked with the States of Jersey Police who may well organise their own function to mark his departure, as too, may the Politicians and Government ministers on the island.
The arrangements are to meet at The Tenby Public House at St Aubin Bay at 19.00hrs on Wednesday 6th August 2008.
Then to move on a few steps to the Bon Viveur Restaurant , Le Boulevard, St Aubin to sit down at 20.00hrs.
Travel to and from the venue can be organised by getting private hire Taxi vans in different groups.
I am assured that the food at the venue is excellent and for a 3 course meal with wine you will be paying £30 to £40 dependant upon how much you want to eat and drink. Bills can be organised separately.
I have a selection of menus and a wine list to view should you so desire.
Should you wish to participate in this function I would like you to reply to me by 'email' ASAP in order that we can confirm numbers with the restaurant owner who has booked us in as a group of 30 to 35. Do bear in mind that we have chosen to go out mid week so that the maximum number of us are available. Additionally it will be in the middle of the Tourist season so we have had to book early.
If you do wish to attend please give me a deposit of £20 ASAP. We would also like to present Lenny with a gift to remind him of his work with the 'Operational Rectangle' team so if anyone has any ideas please see me too.
Kind Regards,
xxxxxxxxxxx
As further evidence of just how ‘reliable’ super-cop Gradwell is, I reproduce below the comments written by the team on my retirement card, after I had finished working. These are not the kind of comments which get written by the members of a team of the kind depicted by Gradwell; a fact which indicates just how little weight should be attached to his words.
"Sir, you have brought Jersey integrity + transparency, have a long happy retirement. thank you."
"Enjoy your retirement - it has been a pleasure taking on the system. Enjoy your season ticket."
"Hope to see you at Old Trafford when Sunderland thrash the red devils. All the best for the future. Enjoy it."
"And don't forget the Hull City Tigers thrashing the red devils - well all right, even I am not putting any money on it. Boss, it's been a pleasure working with you, all the best."
"Mr. Harper, as a fellow dinosaur it has been a great pleasure to have put our heads together to sort out this plot. Many thanks for your time, efforts and sincerity. Enjoy your retirement."
"Wishing you the very best for your retirement boss. Take care for the future."
"Best wishes from the Dorset contingent."
"You have been a top boss. Enjoy your retirement."
"Mr. H., it has been an absolute pleasure working for you. This island won't seem the same without your face on the news every week or so. All the best, have a fab retirement."
"Boss, it’s been great working for you but I hope to see you in Cumbria soon. All the best for your retirement."
" I will not even mention Southend, November 2006!! Enjoy your retirement boss - enjoy the rest." xx
"Mr. Harper, it has been a pleasure working for you and being involved on the enquiry. All the best for the future."
"All the best, enjoy your retirement like I am."
"All the best. Happy retirement."
"Best wishes for the future. Enjoy your retirement go and watch West Ham. You will be missed."
Sir, Boss, Lenny, (first two scored out) What a trip - ups and downs. Many more ups than downs. I've had a ball. Enjoy the trip - you have not seen the last of me."
"Good luck, best wishes."
"Have a happy and long retirement and all the best. xx"
"If nothing else you will have contacts throughout the country. All the best."
"Wish you were staying longer. Enjoy your retirement. -x-"
Mr. Harper, cheers for having us here. You have certainly left your mark. Have a great retirement and enjoy your family."
"Sorry to see you go. Hope you enjoy your retirement. All the best."
"Does this mean I can now wear my green and gold T shirt?"
"To a fellow scouser - enjoy your retirement."
"Mr. H - thanks for the opportunity to come to Jersey. Have a long and happy retirement. All the best."
"Having made a great commitment to Jersey and certainly placed the island on the map it’s now time to have an enjoyable and fantastic retirement."
"All the best."
"Have a fantastic time and a well deserved rest."
"It's been great working with you. Have a great retirement."
"Have a wonderful retirement."
"Good luck."
All the very best - enjoy your time."
"Have a wonderful retirement."
"Wonderbar!! Kielen donf fur die gelagenheit."
"Have a long and happy retirement. Best regards."
"Lenny, thank you for being a great boss and a wonderful friend. I will miss you." x
As I said, I would prefer not to publish these personal messages, but as so much effort has been expended by certain people in trying to portray me as some deeply unpopular and isolated figure, I feel the people of Jersey deserve to see the true picture. (Some may recall that the above messages were part of what the Attorney General insisted I hand over as he felt they constituted “unused material” critical to the case and warned me I might put the victims at risk of not getting justice if I refused.)
Which brings me to another very inconvenient fact for Mr.Gradwell, which is this:
All three convictions so far have resulted from the work done by my team’s enquiry.
He looked very proud and self-important as he stood on the steps of the court after the Wateridge conviction. It must have crossed his mind, surely, that all three convicted had already been charged and made their first court appearances before he’d even arrived in the island?
And, as the lawyers had made it clear they would not take a job to court unless there was a good chance of conviction, the evidence must have been pretty good from the outset. However, the papers, evidence, and files I left him on the priority suspects – including the Maguires - were obviously not much help to him as he has not been able to charge any of them. Though perhaps Mr. Gradwell’s inabilities were not the sole cause of this?
One has to wonder why the Attorney General, William Bailhache, sent instructions to me not to charge Wateridge? It is fortunate indeed that I was a rather thick cop and “misunderstood” the instructions conveyed to me by a lawyer. Otherwise it is possible the now convicted Wateridge may never have even been charged.
A few other things about that Gradwell JEP interview: He said in it, when referring to the disgraceful case where the lawyer changed ‘his mind’ after telling us to arrest the ‘lovely’ pair - who delighted in hitting children in the back of the head with cricket bats - that it was one of my own team who told the lawyers there was not enough evidence. I find this rather unlikely for a number of reasons. Firstly, my team were very angry at the late changing of the decision. They had been told by the lawyer that subject to interview this pair should be charged with serious assaults. We of course had an agreement that we would arrest no one unless we got the go ahead from the lawyers appointed by the AG. We adhered to this. It was forced on us after the Establishment became worried we were arresting people they would rather we didn’t - and after they’d lost control of the Wateridge process. The team arrested this pair - only to have the rug snatched from under their feet. After a rather strained conversation with the AG’s lawyer, who was sitting on a platform in a railway station in the North of England with trains running in the background, I ignored his instructions and called the Centenier into the police station to charge these two. Mr. Gradwell of course would not have done this he says. In any event, the Centenier stated that although he agreed that there was ample evidence to charge, he did not want to go against the lawyer’s ‘revised’ instruction. Never mind justice or the victims!
This left me with a dilemma. I knew word would get out in minutes that we had released these two without charge and that it would confirm the worst fears of the victims of a cover up. I therefore put out a press release making it clear that it was not our wish and that it had been imposed on us. The Attorney General was not happy and demanded a report from me explaining why I had issued the press release. I did the report - but put in it a little more than the Attorney General wanted - by going through a whole catalogue of events where I felt we had been let down by his office. Someone gave that report to the media, and it can now be read on Stuart Syvret’s blog of the 27th August, 2008. Mr. Warcup has instigated a very expensive investigation into who leaked it, he and Mr. Gradwell telling journalists ‘off the record’ that Stuart Syvret and I were being investigated. Compare that with my failure to get the Attorney General to prosecute corrupt cops for leaking intelligence off police systems!
Mr. Gradwell says that the problem was I promised the victims £1m too much and he only had £1 to give them. In some respects he hasn’t even given them that. I promised them that I would believe them and that I would do my best to get them justice. It seems to me no one else had ever done that before. I never promised huge numbers of convictions and the victims never demanded that. I promised them I would do my best, and the officers who went and saw them achieved that. The numbers of letters, e-mails and phone calls from victims who said that they felt as though a weight had been lifted from them by the officers who spoke to them was incredible and a great testimony to those officers. If promising to believe them, making my belief obvious, and doing my best to get them justice is the equivalent of £1m then so be it. The world now believes in what happened to them. And the evidence is there against other abusers. It is those in power in Jersey that are refusing to use that evidence. They are indeed offering the victims £1 or even less.
Although not directly linked to the Abuse case, we must deal with Mr. Gradwell’s little snide remark about the senior team above the rank of Inspector. Mr. Gradwell is obviously (perhaps) basing his remarks on his experience in the Lancashire force, although as politicians in Jersey kept pointing out to me, policing in the UK is totally different from Jersey. And, whilst I know that Stuart has some differing views on some of those we are talking about, I think I can claim to know those individuals better than either Stuart or Mr. Gradwell in both the professional and personal contexts. I have worked in all the jurisdictions in the UK and I found almost all of the senior officers in SOJP at least the equal of their counterparts in the UK. They had as much skill, professionalism, commitment and integrity as anywhere. In respect of integrity and courage they probably had more than most. I watched two of them, despite having to live on the island, stand up to and continue with a course of action which they felt to be correct and which brought them into conflict with senior figures in the political and legal establishments. This would of course be something Mr. Gradwell and Mr. Warcup would not be comfortable with. One of these officers who had a hugely successful period tackling corruption and misconduct later filled my post more than capably when I was involved in the enquiry. For some reason Mr. Warcup curtailed this and brought someone in from the UK. It would seem that Jersey politicians are now backing away from their previously stated aim that we should be training and preparing local officers for most of the senior posts in the force. Mr. Gradwell was in Jersey for a specific purpose. He played no part in the everyday policing of the island. Just what qualifies him to make critical comments about people he knows little about? It seems to come easily to him.
Of course, Mr. Gradwell didn’t just sound off to the JEP. On the BBC he asked the question why, if I had evidence or intelligence about rapes 20 or 30 years ago did I then dig for human remains? I think that question is answered clearly above. He said there were no human remains found. I beg to differ. For a start, there were approximately 70 children’s teeth. Of course, Mr.Gradwell thinks they are down to the Tooth Fairy. Forget what two experts said. But let us look at his claim that “only one human bone was found and that was from the ‘Plantagenet’ era.”
It is useful to look at what I was being told by the Anthropologists we had on scene. There are two documents which detail this. Mr. Gradwell and Mr. Warcup quoted selectively from them at the Press Conference and since. One of these documents is the Workbook of the Anthropologists and the other is the Bone and Teeth Summary.
There are numerous entries in the Bone and Teeth Summary which relate to bones found and identified as human by the Anthropologists working at HDLG with my team. It is worth bearing in mind that Anthropologists go through many years training to be considered as experts in the identification of human bones. Those that we used were highly experienced, committed, and ethical. Here are some of the entries they made during the course of their work at HDLG. They are reproduced exactly as written. They are not my interpretation. These are the words of the experts. The entries made by the Anthropologists are a record used by them, and formed the basis for the advice I was given. The reference number which each entry begins with is unique to each fragment, and the accompanying information for each exhibit describes archaeological phase and date, as well as possible origin. I have not mentioned all the teeth in the list as there were just too many. The comment below, in brackets, is mine.
KSH/137: Archaeological phase and Date: 3-4: 1940s to 1980s.
Sixteen fragments of bone submitted to University of Sheffield and positively id’d as human bone. (These were the fragments examined by the UK Anthropologist Andrew Chamberlain who issued a report saying the bone examined was human juvenile, had been burnt soon after death, and buried soon after burning. He also said that the bones were no more than a few decades old. His report, strangely enough, has never been mentioned by Mr. Warcup or Mr. Gradwell. When the bones were sent for carbon dating we got two results back for the batch. The first, as I recall said the bones examined dated between the 14th and 17th century. The next day we were told the rest of the bones were of a person or persons who died between the 1650s and 1950s. This led to me giving all those press briefings, even reported in the JEP, in which I said the evidence was contradictory and made it unlikely there would be a homicide enquiry. Again, all this seems to have escaped the radar of Messrs Simon, Warcup, and Gradwell. Furthermore, when David James Smith, the Sunday Times journalist spoke to Andrew Chamberlain he said he had never heard me say anything which contradicted his findings and revealed to David he had even waived his fee so impressed was he with the way we were going about our business. In an e-mail to me I was told that Mr. Chamberlain “stressed over and over again that everyone he dealt with, especially you, showed great care and professionalism.” This has obviously not reached the ears of our trio either.)
KSH/158: Archaeological Phase and Date. 3-4. 1940s to 1980s.
Single fragment of bone resembling KSH/137. Submitted to Sheffield University.
JAR/30: 3-4; 1940s to 1980s. Two fragments of burnt bone one is fragment of longbone? Tibia. Submitted to University of Sheffield with KSH/158. Origin confirmed as human. Submitted for dating awaiting results.
JAR/33: 3-4; 1940s to 1980’s.
Calcined fragment of bone. ?human.
JAR/53: 183. Cellar 3 Dark char rich deposit equivalent to 169.
4 / 5: 1960s to present date.
5 fragments of calcined long bone ?human.
JAR/54: 183. Cellar 3 Dark char rich deposit equivalent to 169.
4 / 5: 1960s to present date.
4 fragments of calcined bone ?human.
JAR/55: 183. Cellar 3 Dark char rich deposit equivalent to 169.
4 / 5: 1960s to present date.
1 fragment of calcined bone ?human.
JAR/57:183. Cellar 3 Dark char rich deposit equivalent to 169.
4 / 5: 1960s to present date.
2 fragments of bone of unknown origin.
JAR/56: 183. Cellar 3 Dark char rich deposit equivalent to 169.
4 / 5: 1960s to present date.
1 fragment of bone ?human.
JAR/67: 183. Zone 3 East Cellar 3.
4 / 5: 1960s to present date.
Human Tooth: deciduous left maxillary first molar, age 9 yrs ± 3 yrs. Could have been shed naturally (Anthro exam).
Submitted to odontologist, see report.
JAR/69: 183. Zone 3 East Cellar 3.
4 / 5: 1960s to present date.
Fragments x 3 of possible human cortical bone.
JAR/61: 183 Zone 4 East Cellar 3.
4 / 5: 1960s to present date.
23 Fragments of bone:
1 Burnt fragment which closely resembles a human juvenile mastoid process.
2. Burnt fragment of ?human mandible.
3. Fragments of burnt long bone x 3 measuring between 11.3 and 16.3 mm.
4. Fragments of unidentified burnt cortical and trabecular bone x 7.
5. Fragment of slightly burnt long bone measuring 33 mm. The cortex of the
bone resembles human but it is quite thick and the trabeculae can not be seen because it requires cleaning. It appears to have been cut at one end.
6. Fragments of unburnt unidentified long bone. x 3 The appearance and texture of the cortex of the fragments appears more animal than human but it is advised that further examination should be undertaken in order to confirm this.
7. Fragments of unidentified long bone x 7. 5 have been burnt and 2 haven’t. Species
uncertain although two of the burnt fragments could possibly be human
JAR/90: 183 Cellar 3 Zone 3 East.
4 / 5: 1960s to present date.
Fragments of unidentified bone of unknown species. One which is calcined is possibly human bone.
Cellar 4 Context 169 (redeposited char material from fire elsewhere. Unsealed)
JAR/36: 169. Cellar 4 E. Charred material at southern end of Zone 4. Equivalent to 127.
4 / 5: 1960s to present date.
Fragment of bone ?human.
JAR/37: 169. Cellar 4 E. Charred material at southern end of Zone 4. Equivalent to 127.
4 / 5: 1960s to present date.
Fragment of burnt bone. ?human mastoid process
JAR/39: 169. Cellar 4 E. Charred material at southern end of Zone 4. Equivalent to 127.
4 / 5: 1960s to present date.
Fragment of burnt bone ?human.
JAR/40: 169. Cellar 4 E. Charred material at southern end of Zone 4. Equivalent to 127.
4 / 5: 1960s to present date.
Fragment of bone ?human.
GMK/18: 169. Cellar 4 E. Charred material at southern end of Zone 4. Equivalent to 127.
4 / 5: 1960s to present date.
Human tooth. Anthro exam – deciduous left maxillary lateral incisor. Age range 6 yrs ± 2yrs.
The above is only part of the information that I was given by the Anthropologists. It gives a vastly different picture to that supplied by Mr. Gradwell and Mr. Warcup and so enthusiastically promoted by Ms. Simon. These entries, made at the time by the Anthropologists, make it clear, that not only did they believe that they were finding human bones, but that the bones had been deposited there fairly recently, in some cases as recently as the 1960’s onwards. Reading the above, could anyone say that the dig at HDLG was a waste of time and money? Where do they get the conclusion that only one human bone was found? More puzzling perhaps, how can Mr. Gradwell or Mr. Warcup claim that I should not have authorised the search at HDLG? The problem was not identifying the bones as human – the expert Anthropologists did that very well. The problem was the contradictions in the carbon dating process which is not that reliable. When we questioned the company who pioneered the process we used they told us that they had taken a live fish out of the sea and carbon dated it several days later. The process told them the fish was thousands of years old. Our Anthropologist told us a similar story about a baby found dead in a house. Although they knew the baby had only been dead since the 1970s, the carbon dating gave a vastly different date. The carbon dating was at odds with the respected expert in the UK who said the bones were only a few decades old. Who was correct? More importantly, why did Mr. Gradwell and Mr. Warcup make no mention of all of this and why quote only selectively from the above document. The document is not being revealed here for the first time. Messrs Gradwell and Warcup quoted from it, albeit selectively, and the Sunday Times also referred to it. What it does do is completely and utterly destroy the suggestion that I exaggerated or lied about what I was told. It will make you wonder though why Mr. Gradwell should say that the dig was a waste of time and money.
One thing is a certain fact: the document quoted above proves – unambiguously – that there was sufficient evidence to justify digging – and that the digging did find concerning artefacts, thus further justifying the process.
We might not have found all the answers - but as police officers we had to ask the questions. At least that is my view.
Mr. Gradwell puzzled me somewhat with his rant about “noble cause corruption.” I know what it is – one example of it was when the Guildford Four were arrested in Heysham, Lancashire, and were then wrongly convicted. But what on earth has that to do with HDLG? Mr. Gradwell said this was like an example of it – we had decided on guilt and then went on a ‘fishing expedition’. He went on to ask if this was what people wanted – a return to the days when police decided guilt and the era of miscarriages of justice? Now this takes me back to Mr. Gradwell’s comments about me that I “could not understand basic facts.” This is maybe why I can’t figure out whose guilt we had, supposedly, made our minds up about when we went into HDLG. We did not even know what crimes may have been committed in relation to the human remains there, never mind who the guilty party may have been. Bizarre!
There was also, of course, his comments about the Media Strategy. ‘When’, he asked, ‘did you ever see routine daily briefings on a police enquiry?’ Plenty of times would be my answer. However, I did not give daily routine briefings. As I am sure the Press Officer would confirm I faced the Press when I did because they were there in numbers and besieging her office with interview requests. On one occasion they even knocked the system out.
So there we have my perspective on what Mr. Gradwell said together with Mr. Warcup. Lies and half truths was the phrase that Diane Simon used. Make your own mind up. Which brings me to Ms. Simon.
“Harper lied about the fragment” seemed to be the gist of her recent story. I have already gone through this with her two or three times, personally, face to face, and a couple of times on e-mail. It seems I am not the only one with difficulty in grasping what I am told. She continues to peddle the myth that this fragment was identified as coconut very early on and that I lied about it. I will come to that. Let me once more relate the facts about this fragment known in the media as JAR/6.
The fragment was found on the morning of 23 February 2008. I was telephoned and went to the scene. When I arrived I was briefed as the entry on the Anthropologist’s worksheet reproduced below dated 23 February 2008. I was also told that a News of the World journalist had been caught with a camera in the bushes outside. I knew therefore that someone had leaked our work to the media and I also knew that it would only be a matter of time before the JEP found out about the fragment. Over the previous couple of years we had mounted several enquiries to find the source within the force who kept leaking details to various journalists of the JEP. My view was that if the media reported it before we did we would lose credibility with our vulnerable victims and witnesses. The entry below is quite clear. Note that it was found in Trench 3.
“23 February 2008
09.10 hrs
Examined JAR/6. Recovered from Context 011 Trench 3. Degraded fragment of bone thought to be human skull, probably from a child (see full inventory for details). Associated with mixed debris including animal bone, buttons and a leather “thong”. Discussed findings with SIO Lenny HARPER and Forensic Manager Vicky COUPLAND. It was decided that the bone should be sent for C14 dating*.”
Diane Simon, Mick Gradwell, and David Warcup have all said that I was told the next day that the context of the area I found pre-dated the enquiry. This is simply not true. The fragment was found under the stairs in Trench 3. Anyone who thinks that the inch by inch, painstaking, search conducted on their knees by the Archaeologists and Anthropologists took only one day knows nothing about this sort of work. Page 2 of the Anthropologists worksheet shows that they were still working on Trench 3 on 6th March and were still working under the stairs on 20th March. It was sometime around then that the work on this context was completed and we were told that the context meant the fragment was probably too old to be important to the enquiry. We then immediately ruled it out of our enquiry. Further confirmation of this is given on Page 16 of the Worksheet when the Anthropologist Julie Roberts made the entry reproduced below. This entry was made on 9th April and refers to the 8th April. Note what she says in the entry because it totally contradicts what Gradwell, Warcup, and Simon say. For instance, where she says “now that the phasing of the area under the stairs has been completed,”. This would certainly seem to contradict the information given to the media by Gradwell and Warcup that it had been completed as early as the 24 February.
“9 April 2008
On 8 April 2008 I read the C14 dating results relating to JAR/6. The report stated that the fragment was too degraded to obtain a date. The fragment can however be dated by archaeological context now that the phasing of the area under the stairs has been completed. JAR/6 was found in Context 003, Trench 3. This Context is thought to belong to the earliest phase of the building, phase 1, which has been dated to the Victorian period. It certainly predates the 1940’s aggregate 008.
On 8 and 9 April 2008 I re-examined JAR/6. Since I initially examined the fragment it had dried out considerably and changed in colour, texture and weight. These changes caused me to reconsider my initial observation that the fragment was human bone, although I cannot reach a definite conclusion without conducting further chemical analysis. I reported my findings to Forensic Manager Vicky COUPLAND and SIO Lenny HARPER and we discussed a number of options regarding how to proceed with the fragment. Our conclusion was that as the fragment had been found in the pre 1940’s phase of the building, no further work would be conducted on it.”
Note also what Julie Roberts says about the fragment. Gradwell and Warcup told the media she had changed her mind and now thought it was something else. That is not what she is saying, even after examining it again and reporting changes to it. She clearly says that she cannot be sure without conducting further chemical analysis.
Furthermore, Miss Roberts says that she discussed it with myself and the Forensic Manager and that we discussed a number of options regarding how to proceed. She then says that “our” conclusion was that as we had already ruled it out of the enquiry, no further work would be conducted on it. “Our” obviously includes her in the decision. According to Mr. Gradwell and Mr. Warcup, I rode roughshod over her opinion. More misinformation.
It is the same also with the myth that this was identified as a coconut during my time in the island. I detail below the sequence of events relating to the examination of the fragment. This is fully corroborated by copy e-mails from the lab which examined the fragment. I am not aware that it has ever been identified as a coconut. Anthropologists are trained to identify human remains. The only anthropologist to examine it thought it part of a child’s skull. On seeing it later when it had changed its appearance she was not so sure. People carrying out Carbon Dating are trained for that process, not identifying the matter. Even then, they gave contradictory and confused information to us. When reading below, bear in mind that collagen is found only in mammals, not wood, not coconut.
We sent the fragment off for dating around the 3rd or 4th March. If Gradwell and Warcup are to be believed I already knew it was hundreds of years old. Why would we send it off for dating if we already knew? However, my remarks above and the Anthropologist’s worksheet make it clear this was not true. The accompanying form completed by the Forensic Services Manager which went with the fragment also makes it clear that we did not know its age when we sent it off in March. Why would Mr. Gradwell claim that we did? There are also e-mails which must still be within the SOJP system which make it clear that we did not know the age of the fragment when sending it off, particularly those sent by the Forensic Services Manager.
On 28th March we received an e-mail from a Ms Brock at the Laboratory in relation to the fragment. Here are some excerpts from the e-mail.
“Hi Vicky. Here are the details of the Jersey skull as discussed on the phone earlier. As I said, the chemistry of this bone is extremely unusual – nothing I am familiar with.”
“During the first acid washes we often get a lot of fizzing as the mineral dissolves. The Jersey skull didn’t fizz at all, which suggested that preservation was poor, and which led me to test the nitrogen content of the bone.”
“The Jersey skull had 0.60 nitrogen, which suggested that it contained virtually no collagen. Once we had this result, Tom phoned you and told you it would be unlikely that we could date the sample, but that we would continue with the pre-treatment just in case.”
“Very surprisingly, the sample yielded 1.6% collagen (our cut off for dating is 1%).”
“As there is no nitrogen it cannot contain collagen unless it is highly degraded. The chances are it is highly contaminated and any date we get for it might not be accurate. I have e-mailed the director and asked if we should proceed with a date.”
Now, if you look at that e-mail, it makes clear a number of things. Firstly, they, the experts on dating, are not sure they can date it. Secondly, they make it clear they have found more than enough collagen (only found in mammals) to date the fragment, but then change their mind again and say it is too badly degraded. Also, note the use of the terms ‘skull’ and ‘bone.’ If the experts cannot be sure on 28th March, how can anyone say that I knew on 24th February? On 31st March, Ms Brock e-mailed again. In this e-mail, headed, “Re: Jersey Skull for C14 Dating,” she said that ‘the Director had now expressed concern about what the fragment was. The Technician (who is not an Anthropologist) who was carrying out the process commented that it ‘looked like a coconut husk.’ She went on to say “If it isn’t bone I am really sorry,” but then finishes with “although it could well have been poorly preserved bone as I described it.”
It is clear from those e-mails that the lab did not know what the fragment was. Why, then, have Messrs Simon, Gradwell, and Warcup insisted that the fragment was identified as a coconut by a person qualified to do so? By the time I retired, the only person to suggest the item might be a fragment of coconut was a technician who was trying to date it. No Anthropologist has ever identified it as such. One way to clear this would be to have it further examined, and I am not aware if that has ever been done. I am told, rightly or wrongly, however, that it has been lost. If true, how convenient.
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 6:28 pm Post subject:
Earlier this year, HRH The Duke of Kent visited the island of Jersey to commemorate the liberation of the islanders from the German occupation forces in 1945.
The hospitality of the Governor of Jersey was at his disposal and it fell to the honorary police force – the ‘centeniers’ – to assist in his protection at Government House in the Parish of St. Saviour, covering continuous duties for 48 hours.
The Duke was representing the Queen, but the Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England was being guarded by three fellow Masons, all centeniers.
The role of the centeniers is a long and honourable one, having been mentioned in 1502. The force provides support to the States Police, yet the centenier has greater powers, in that only they can charge an accused and bring them to court.
They, along with their vingteniers and constables, are the front line to the community, and it is the centenier who acts as parish magistrate, offering words of advice and issuing cautions, fines and eventually prosecutions.
The centeniers have carried out such functions recently as protection to the Queen, Prince Charles, the Princess Royal and regular Government House community functions, which are all part of their responsibilities.
In 2003, the greatest honour bestowed on the honorary police was to receive the Queen’s Jubilee Award for the vital role of voluntary service within the community.
For further details go to www.jerseyhonorarypolice.org and the Jersey Masonic website at jerseymason.org.uk and learn of the many years of service given by the local masonic community, its charitable work and history, which includes the sacking of the island’s temple by German forces during the Second World War.
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 8:34 pm Post subject:
Mr Warcup has been dripping his poison and this story is hotting up......!
Senator from Jersey accused of leaking police report wants asylum after fleeing trial
By Eileen Fairweather - Mail On Sunday 25th October 2009
A leading Jersey politician accused of leaking a police report is claiming asylum at the House of Commons because he believes he will not be given a fair trial on the island.
Senator Stuart Syvret, a former Jersey health and social security minister described by supporters as a ‘voice of the people’, fled to London shortly before he was due at a court hearing on Wednesday.
He has moved into the home of Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming, who is backing the senator’s case for ‘legal asylum’.
Support: Mr Syvret, right, with Lord Wallace, left, and Mr Heming who has given the senator a place to stay
As a Channel Islands citizen, Mr Syvret has an automatic right to live in Britain, but the senator will tomorrow ask the British Government for ‘protection from harassment’ from the Jersey authorities.
He was arrested and charged in April for data-protection offences after he made public a police report into an aborted investigation into the conduct of a male nurse on the island.
On Friday, Jersey magistrates made an order for Mr Syvret’s arrest when he failed to turn up to two court hearings.
But Mr Hemming, MP for Birmingham Yardley, along with Labour MP Austin Mitchell and Lib Dem peer Lord Wallace of Saltaire, are supporting the senator’s application for protection from the Jersey judiciary.
They say the British Government should intervene because Jersey is a Crown dependency and Britain has a responsibility for its good governance.
Mr Syvret was the ‘whistleblower’ who previously claimed island officials covered up child abuse at Jersey’s Haut de la Garenne children’s home.
Arrests and charges were made. But when Mr Syvret called for an independent inquiry into the handling of that case, he was accused of damaging Jersey’s reputation and dismissed as health minister.
Mr Hemming said: ‘He is staying in my London flat as my guest and they can arrest him over my dead body. He is a brave and principled politician.
‘Jack Straw must act. The Jersey establishment care more about covering up their failures than protecting patients. Stuart has revealed a botched investigation into a major crime, but the authorities are prosecuting him rather than investigating the allegations about the nurse.
‘It is quite clear that the judicial processes in Jersey are skewed against Stuart. We should not allow him to be extradited, to be prosecuted in a kangaroo court.’
In March this year Mr Syvret, Jersey’s longest-serving senator, published details of a police investigation into a registered nurse in what he described as an effort to challenge ‘the Jersey way of constant cover-ups, a toxic culture of concealment’.
He claimed police feared the nurse was obsessed with death and that further investigation was needed, but that officers had been obstructed from interviewing witnesses by the island’s health services and senior officials.
The nurse has previous convictions and was sacked from his post after having sex with a seriously ill patient.
He was also arrested after a girlfriend claimed he had gone to her home and hidden stolen hospital drugs, for which he was convicted.
Police reports confirm that detectives found drugs at her house.
Background checks revealed further grave concerns, including complaints by relatives who claimed they had discovered him turning up morphine doses and a senior nurse who found that he had blocked a heart patient’s life-saving drip with a bung.
Following Mr Syvret’s publication of details of the investigation, Jersey police asked the Metropolitan Police to review its handling of the case.
A report by former Detective Chief Inspector Keith Eldridge of the Met’s Specialist Crime Directorate, which reviews unsolved homicides, confirmed that the nurse was ‘potentially a danger to women’ and prone to ‘predatory and violent sexual behaviour’.
He recommended that Jersey police ‘carry out an up-to-date risk assessment with a view to prevention of offences against vulnerable members of the Jersey community’.
However, he added that there were ‘no grounds to invite the Crown to review its position as there is no new evidence’.
Despite the report, Mr Syvret, 44, is still facing the possibility of a jail sentence should he be found guilty of breaching the Data Protection Act.
But he claims he fled Jersey only after he was advised that he may be barred from mounting a public-interest defence in court.
Mr Syvret said: ‘My home was raided in April by ten police officers, my parliamentary email account downloaded and I have even been billed thousands of pounds in court costs. I haven’t even been allowed legal aid so I have had to represent myself.
‘It has been a travesty of justice. During the past three months I have made around 50 different applications before the judge – relating to disclosures of evidence and the calling of witnesses – and every single one has been rejected.’
Mr Syvret intends to give himself up to police at the House of Commons tomorrow and then go through the unprecedented process of claiming the right to a fair trial on the mainland.
Lord Wallace claimed the Jersey government was attempting to silence its critics. He added: ‘Senator Syvret is a leading member of the States of Jersey. As an elected representative, it is his job to investigate the quality of public administration in Jersey and to respond to what those who voted for him have told him about past administrative actions.’
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 8:51 pm Post subject:
Does Warcup REALLY think he can get away with this? Maybe he has previous on fitting up innocent people? Maybe he has previous on protecting child abusers rather than the children they have abused?
Syvret arrest ordered
The fate of Jersey's most senior politican remains unclear after he failed again to appear in the Island's Magistrates Court this morning.
Senator Stuart Syvret is in self-imposed exile in the UK because he claims he cannot get a fair trial in Jersey where he faces charges relating to breaches of the Data Protection Law and driving offences. The charges carry a maximum total fine of £5,500.
Senator Syvret claims the court is biased and 'politicised' and is therefore stacked against him. He was due to appear this morning to put his case as to why he does not believe the court will give him a fair hearing, but failed to show. Instead he is in London preparing a case against the Justice Minister Jack Straw for failing to ensure a fair judicial system exists in Jersey.
The Senator was on bail of £100, which he has not paid, and this morning Magistrate Bridget Shaw was left with little alternative but to order his arrest. The Magistrate has no power to hear the case in the absence of the defendant.
It is up to the Law Officers Department now to decide whether to execute that order. They will have to get it approved by a UK judge before authorities there can enforce it. Senator Syvret claims he will not return to the Island until the judicial system changes. That leaves the situation in something of a stalemate unless local authorities decide to pursue the arrest order.
If Senator Syvret DOES return voluntarily to the island, he will immediately be taken into custody and brought before the court as soon as possible. In the meantime he remains a guest of UK Lib Dem MP John Hemming at his London flat.
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 10:12 pm Post subject:
...............Not only for the good of the people of Jersey, for the forces of law and order, and of good governance – but to protect the good name of the Crown itself.
Philip Bailhache.
Michael Birt.
William Bailhache.
Tim Le Coque.
Emma Martins
All must go – and go now.
As must their equally corrupted colleagues. For example; -
Stephen Baker.
Bridget Shaw.
David Warcup.
Jurat Le Breton.
Bill Ogley.
Mario Lundy.
Piers Baker.
Richard Jouault.
Marnie Baudains.
Terry le Sueur.
The list just goes on and on
But notwithstanding the unanswerable and utterly damming catalogue of evidence now in the public domain against this collection of gangsters – we all know – if left to their own devices – they will simply carry on as usual.
Only the appropriate interventions from London could give effect to the necessary cleansing of the Jersey polity.
That won't happen – of course.
At least – not on a voluntary basis. The relevant UK politicians are spineless, weak and unprincipled.
And the mandarins who advise them in these matters are – let us be charitable – simply incompetent, ignorant and thick. Though there are - very easily – other reasons we might speculate upon.
I call upon all of the Jersey gangsters to go; in the name of God – just go.
And failing that – I call upon Jack Straw, the UK Justice Secretary who holds the relevant power – to make like a vertebrate – for the first time in his life – and intervene to rid the community of Jersey of this collection of shysters and criminals.
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 9:51 pm Post subject:
Syvret arrested at Airport
Mr Syvret was arrested on arrival
FORMER Senator Stuart Syvret was arrested at the Airport today as he arrived back in Jersey after six months of self-imposed exile in the UK.
Mr Syvret, who was disqualified from the States after spending more than six months out of the Island, has been the subject of an arrest order since failing to appear in court on data protection and motoring charges.
He appeared in court this afternoon and was granted bail.
http://www.thisisjersey.com/2010/05/04/syvret-arrested-at-airport/
Quote:
What happened at Auschwitz, or Dachau, or Ravensbruck were not isolated, unconnected acts of mass-murder. They were components in a greater whole. The most disgusting act in human history. And people rightly see that "thing" as the distinct, entire, entity that it was.
We look back upon it; we see it; we know it. We recognise it.
Many Jewish people describe it as the Shoah; more commonly, "it" is known as the Holocaust.
But we have named it – we see it – for the specific episode in history that it was.
That is not, of course, to compare the persistent hate, contempt, disregard and criminality shown towards vulnerable children for decades in Jersey, with the nature of the Holocaust. But nevertheless, we are confronted with a continuing atrocity, that is a distinct entity, and which is greater than the sum of its parts. http://stuartsyvret.blogspot.com/2010/04/letter-from-exile-22.html
There's a link below with regards to the three policemen who supposedly killed themselves within 4 days. It's not mentioned in the article but Neil Munro was alleged to have been investigating the yachting community, following claims that children from the Jersey homes were being loaned out to wealthy yachtsmen. Richard Fuller was a member of the security team looking after Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Michael Todd's being linked to the North Wales care home abuse investigation. I wouldn't be surprised if all these care home allegations are linked. Kincora, Islington, North Wales, Jersey, Leicester etc. I've also heard that Leon Brittan's name kept being brought up during the Jason Swift murder investigation. Jason Swift was once in a care home in Islington. A lot of people know about what's been going on in the care homes but they just can't get to the people involved. How many children have been harmed and how many people have died trying to expose them?
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 5:44 pm Post subject:
MPs condemn decision to send Stuart Syvret to prison
Stuart Syvret has been sentenced to 10 weeks in prison
18 November 2010 Last updated at 10:46
Three MPs are condemning the decision by Jersey's magistrates' court to send former senator Stuart Syvret to prison.
Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming tabled a Commons motion claiming Mr Syvret was the victim of "political persecution".
The 45-year-old has been jailed for 10 weeks after being convicted of contempt of court and breaking data protection laws.
Mr Hemming wants the British government to raise concerns about his treatment.
Mr Syvret was arrested after publishing a confidential police report into suspicious deaths at the island's General Hospital, containing the name and details of a suspect.
He argued there had been a "cover-up" and said he was acting "in the public interest".
John Hemming, along with fellow Liberal Democrat Bob Russell and former Conservative minister Peter Bottomley, said he has been jailed for "criticising the Jersey establishment for its failures to enforce the rule of law".
They say the sentence "is an attempt to frighten others away from raising concerns about the failings of the justice system in Jersey".
Mr Syvret stayed with Mr Hemming for six months while in self-imposed "exile" in the UK.
Mr Hemming told BBC Jersey he felt Mr Syvret wanted to make a point.
He said: "I'm not surprised because what he wants to do is see the rule of law properly instated.
"One of your problems in Jersey is you do not have judicial review on the Attorney General.
"Which means you cannot challenge the failings of the prosecutary apparatus to prosecute people who have committed real offences and not nonsense offences.
"He needs to highlight this and I understand all of that and I am not surprised that he wasn't going to compromise."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-11785593 _________________ www.lawyerscommitteefor9-11inquiry.org www.rethink911.org www.patriotsquestion911.com www.actorsandartistsfor911truth.org www.mediafor911truth.org www.pilotsfor911truth.org www.mp911truth.org www.ae911truth.org www.rl911truth.org www.stj911.org www.v911t.org www.thisweek.org.uk www.abolishwar.org.uk www.elementary.org.uk www.radio4all.net/index.php/contributor/2149 http://utangente.free.fr/2003/media2003.pdf
"The maintenance of secrets acts like a psychic poison which alienates the possessor from the community" Carl Jung
https://37.220.108.147/members/www.bilderberg.org/phpBB2/
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