NEVER MIND ‘MR. BEAN’ HERE’S AN E-MAIL TRULY WORTH A FULL PAGE OF COVERAGE IN THE JERSEY EVENING POST (which is probably why we only got a ‘redacted’ version!)

THE FIRST OF TWO GUEST POSTINGS 

FROM DEPUTY SHONA PITMAN

Dear readers

Judging by the number of contacts that I have received from members of the public – all very supportive I’m pleased to say – I expect many of you will have seen the full page coverage the JEP strangely saw fit to give a one line e-mail I had sent (29/08/2011) to other States Members. 

Sent in response to an earlier e-mail from Senator Ian Le Marquand, informing us all of the exciting news that he is to stand for Chief Minister, this e-mail was allowed by the JEP to be accredited to an anonymous ‘concerned’ States Member. But why would a States Member be so concerned at such a triviality? 

A good and baffling question – until you learn the actual identity of who this oh so ‘concerned’ member really is. And, just as fascinating, learn the circumstances underlying why the e-mail was sent to the JEP. But more detail on all of this in a couple of days perhaps?

I have this evening sent off a response to the letters page of the JEP. So let us first wait to see if the editor will adopt a fair and even-handed approach and actually publish my response in full. There are absolutely no reasons at all why the full response shouldn’t be published, I can assure you, and it doesn’t take up a whole page of space. Even with a large, colour photo! But should it still not be printed then I will be publishing it here on www.thebaldtruthjersey.co.uk instead for all to see within my second guest posting.

Meanwhile, having the full permission of the author I publish below an e-mail that really should have warranted a full page worth of coverage in our Island’s only newspaper. It is from Mr. Lenny Harper to the Home Affairs Minister; and asks some very serious questions that you really might have thought journalists would have been asking of the Minister themselves. As to why they haven’t  - I’ll leave you to make your own mind up…

Regards

Deputy Shona Pitman

 

E-mail from Mr. Lenny Harper to Senator Ian Le Marquand

Dear Mr Le Marquand,

I was disturbed to see in an exchange between yourself and Deputy Pitman an allegation that despite the well evidenced and probably unlawful leaks to the Daily Mail by Senator Perchard and Mick Gradwell that you were more concerned by the fact that I purchased a meal and other hospitality for the Chief Crime Reporter of the News of the World, thus inferring that I had acted in some way improperly and, if it concerned you more than the other stated leaks, possibly illegally.

I have sought advice on this matter and have been instructed to firstly, make a few points to you, and then to seek an explanation from you.  The points I wish to make are,

*  In stating that you find my conduct to be more concerning than the unlawful leaks mentioned above you are seeking to infer some wrongdoing on my part.  Either you are in possession of "evidence" to base this on which can only be false, or you are deliberately trying to infer I have behaved worse than this with a view to smearing myself and drawing attention away from the transgressions of  Mr Perchard and Mr Gradwell.

*  I have been instructed to counsel you against repeating these falsehoods without the protection afforded to you in the States.

*  The News of the World reporter was one of at least eight people at that meal, which was a continuation of what Sir Hugh Orde called the other day the "proper and necessary" interactions between senior police officers and the media.  Somewhere between £70 and £80 would have been spent on this journalist.  This is a far cry from the sums being talked about in the NOTW/Met Police scandal which, you will well know, relates to officers RECEIVING hospitality from suspects and possibly other payments for information.  If you are inferring that I have done this you should be clear and state it.  I can tell you now there is no truth in that particular allegation which three of your colleagues are also trying to infer without any evidence and without the courage to say it clearly.

I would like you to answer the following questions;

1.  Why do you find the fact that I used a legitimate hospitality budget to spend around £70 -£80 on a reporter in an attempt to control some of the wilder allegations the paper had been given more disturbing than the unlawful leaks of Messrs. Gradwell and Perchard?

2.  What evidence do you have to support this slur, or are you simply plucking it out of thin air?

3. Why do you pretend that the only mention of the Perchard leak is the one by me in Scrutiny evidence?  You will be aware that the SOJ made a formal complaint about it but the Chief Minister refused to investigate.  You will also be aware of the tape recording of David Rose stating that Perchard did indeed leak the police e mail to him.  There is also other evidence to support this.  Why do you ignore this?

4.  Seeing as you deplore leaks to the media so much, can I now assume that you will authorise a full, independent, and rigorous investigation into leaks during the HDLG enquiry which will cover the Perchard leak, the Gradwell and Warcup leaks, and of course, the "leaks" for which there is no evidence, but which you, Shenton, Perchard, and Power, all seem to be trying to infer, without having the courage (or in reality, the evidence) to actually come out and say, that I am supposed in your imagination to have instigated.  I would remind you that, despite the relentless attempts by you, Gradwell, Perchard, Power, Shenton, and the JEP to dig some evidence of wrongdoing up by myself, you have come up with nothing.  I now demand that you come clean with the evidence you are pretending to have when inferring that I passed information to the NOTW in the same unlawful manner as Gradwell and Perchard did to the local media and the Daily Mail.

I would hope, that unlike my last e mails to you, I receive an answer to this one.  It is time you put up or shut up.

Leonard Harper