JERSEY CHILD ABUSE COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY: THE IMPORTANCE OF GIVING EVIDENCE

The official launch of the Committee of Inquiry into the State cover up of decades of institutional child abuse is now just over a week away. Many abuse survivors have often thought that we would never, ever get to see this finally come about. Understandably so, given the rabid opposition orchestrated by those who desperately wanted both the true extent of the victims’ suffering; and the betrayals of those who let it happen and should have brought the perpetrators to justice years ago swept under the carpet in best ‘Jersey Way’ fashion to protect our image as an ‘Off Shore centre’. 

Survivors/victims have not only been dismissed and even simply deliberately ignored over the years many have been bullied; they have been humiliated and insulted. Some have even been threatened with legal action to try and intimidate them into silence. As one of the tiny handful of politicians who actually fought for the establishment of the Committee of Inquiry way back in 2008 I thus really cannot stress highly enough just how crucial it is that anyone who has evidence of any kind comes forward now and presents this to the Committee if it at all possible. 

I know only too well from the large number of survivors I have spoken to that this will be terribly painful for many… 

Perhaps it will even be genuinely impossible for a number. Indeed, just listening to some of the victims’ experiences made me feel physically sick on occasions. But what all of us who do not go along with the ‘Jersey Way’ ethos of the likes of the Bailhache brothers – two arrogant and utterly disgraced Attorney Generals and ‘judges’ whose names are now shamefully synonymous with the betrayal of both child abuse victims and justice alike – must keep in mind is this. 

No matter how painful; no matter what the intimidation or the cost all who can manage it simply must endeavour to place all that we know ‘on the record’ come the inquiry beginning on April 3rd because the alternative is surely even worse. Can we be sure that the Committee will act upon the evidence they are given as a truly independent body should do? No. We cannot. Yet what we can do - and do beyond any shadow of a doubt – is ensure that all of the facts finally do end up on the public record for posterity. 

By doing so we thus may just ensure that this type of sickening cover-up by the Island’s Establishment cannot happen so easily again; nor perpetrators get away with it so easily. 

After all, Jersey won’t always have a ‘justice’ system as corrupt and utterly warped by power and greed as the one allowed to ferment under Philip Bailhache and the equally contemptuous of Jersey’s obligations to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights, Michael Birt. Just as one day the UK finally won’t have weak individuals like recent ‘Justice Ministers such as McNally and Hughes; or of course the Queen’s Lieutenant-Governor for the Island who equally know what is going on but keep their mouths shut for fear of damaging the murky Jersey tax links with the City of London. Truth will always out in the end no matter how long it takes. 

But should you be one of those who genuinely doubt that presenting your evidence is worthwhile or will achieve anything positive – perhaps when set against the pain the process may bring about - please just consider the likely consequences if you do not. For in such a scenario the likelihood is that the lies and false picture of what took place at Haut de la Garenne and so many other places painted by the Establishment and their lackey media mouthpieces like the Jersey Evening Post will over time become accepted ‘fact’. 

Just as Dr. Goebbels stated: if you keep repeating a lie long enough… 

Not only will both the true extent of the suffering of the victims and the complicity of the politicians, civil servants, police and media who made it all possible be airbrushed out of history – the same Establishment and media fabrications trashing the hard work of the brave police officers, Graham Power and Lenny Harper, who finally did act to do something about it all will also become historical ‘fact’. 

This should be something that not a single soul who cares about justice and putting an end to ‘the Jersey Way’ could even contemplate as letting happen. And that is why all who can should give their evidence and give it proudly. 

Indeed, as the politician who led the investigation into the absolute fabrication of what really happened within the financial managing of Operation Rectangle by Power and Harper I know as well as anyone how the Jersey mainstream media – not just the Jersey Evening Post but Channel and the local BBC - sold the public a work of fiction in conjunction with Establishment politicians that would have done Stephen King proud. 

For example, without the evidence secured from witnesses in that Scrutiny Review we would never know such important and revealing facts such as… 

Far from Harper and Power ‘wasting’ 7.5 million pounds as claimed by the State media and some oddly obsessed Establishment politicians the duo did not even spend such a figure at all. The majority of the money actually was spent by their successors Warcop and Gradwell who did not even have a major crime scene to maintain. 

We would never know the truth that, try as politicians such as Ben Shenton, Jim Perchard and Sean Power did to smear the name of Lenny Harper the only individual leaking information to the media during a live child abuse investigation was actually Mick Gradwell – the man the JEP tried to spin to people as some kind of whistle-blowing hero! Yes, one of the very men brought in by the Establishment to trash and bury the whole investigation! 

These are just two hugely revealing facts amongst a great many that were dragged out into the light to counter the Establishment/State media lies only by people giving evidence to my panel… 

By now speaking to the Committee of Inquiry survivors and other witnesses alike can achieve the same – only even more so! Perhaps even setting in motion moves that will finally bring some of those protected under the ‘justice’ of the regimes of Bailhache and co to belated justice. So I repeat: let the true facts be recorded for future generations. Because if we do not we can be quite certain it will only make the events surrounding Haut de la Garenne all the more likely to happen again. 

Keep the Faith

THE HYPOCRISY OF THE JEP - ATTEMPT TO GAG US ON REVEALING THE FAILINGS OF PAEDOPHILE PROTECTING JURAT AT THE CENTRE OF OUR APPEAL!

They say that a week is a long time in politics. Yet what a difference a week appears to make to the selective memories of those behind Jersey's Establishment mouthpiece the Jersey Evening Post! After all, it was only a few short days ago that we had had to seek a costly temporary injunction due to the newspaper's plans to again smear us by falsely linking Shona and myself with the now infamous bogus 'threatening letter' scam.

 

Of course, even though new editor-designate Andy Sibcy had to back down on this quite heinous lie as a consequence of the judges' words the Main Stream Media still ran a story that gave a wholly misleading and deliberately negative spin on the truth to the Jersey public.

 

Indeed, not only were we falsely accused by the JEP of trying to stifle 'free speech' because we had stood up to these threats of yet another smear; but being fully aware of the truth due to the presence of their journalist Leah Ferguson at the injunction hearing, Channel Television (ITV) still told their viewers that the bogus letter 'threat' was linked to us!  Incidentally, the Director, Karen Rankine is, of course, very good friends of a number of Establishment Ministers, though we are sure this has nothing whatsoever to do with her company refusing to tell their viewers the truth.

 

OK so such behaviour by the Island's MSM is no surprise to anyone who follows local politics closely. Indeed, it is a prime reason why more and more local people are abandoning them for Citizens' Media blogs who tell people the truths the Establishment want covered up.

 

Nevertheless, given that all of this revolves around a court case which the Establishment hope to manipulate to force us out of politics because we refuse to be silenced on matters such as child abuse and judicial corruption; if the MSM really wish to protest their impartiality and fairness then I wonder how they will now report this? 

 

The JEP want to prevent you the public from knowing the truth about a Jurat happy to look the other way on evidence of the most serious nature!

 

Yes indeed, the Jersey Evening Post being a veritable bastion of truth seekers (or so you would imagine after last week's sermonising) have just attempted via their lawyers - in a submission to the Appeal Court judges actually kept secret from us in clear contempt for legal protocol - to prevent the damning evidence against Jurat John Le Breton contained within the Sharp Report from being made available to the Appeal Court in our application to be heard in the week of November 25th.

 

Evidence that would then become available to you and thus allow the public to finally know what the appeal is truly about. Evidence that shows beyond any shadow of a doubt that ANY court in which John Le Breton sat could never be regarded as safe let alone Article 6 European Convention on Human Rights compliant. Why?

 

Because this independent and long-suppressed report reveals a man who was allowed to be put forward - and consequently sit - as a Jurat for 14 years even though it was known by the those at the apex of the Jersey judiciary that he could not be relied upon to fulfil the one sacred duty at the very core of a Jurat's role:

 

TO FULLY CONSIDER ALL OF THE EVIDENCE BEFORE REACHING A DECISION ON FACT!

 

Indeed, regardless of all the other overwhelming evidence in support of our contention that the findings of Jurat John Le Breton and his inexperienced colleague Sylvia Milner were without merit, the evidence laid out about Le Breton's failings within the Sharp Report render the whole court process untenable in itself. Yet guess what? Those pillars of justice and transparency at the Jersey Evening Post have secretly attempted to argue through their lawyers that Le Breton's openness to 'looking the other way' on evidence against certain parties - no matter how serious - are...'irrelevant'!

 

No - you didn't read that wrong. 'IRRELEVANT'!

 

So (and I make no apologies for repeating any of this again) let's just have a quick re-cap on just what the Sharp Report reveals about the cover-up of the sickening child abuse of Andrew Jervis-Dykes at Victoria College; and what his friend and colleague, John Le Breton did and didn't do in response. Indeed, a re-cap on what the Jersey Evening Post and its lawyers do not want the court to be able to consider nor you to even know should it damage their hopes of benefiting from the original court's failings....

 

Over a period of many years Jervis-Dykes manipulated off-island boat trips where Jervis-Dykes would ensure he was the only adult member of staff. The College knew about this but did nothing. The consequence? Jervis-Dykes was free to ply young boys with large amounts of alcohol in order that he could then wait until darkness and sexually abuse them. His speciality was both masturbating and performing forced oral sex on children. He even liked to video this abuse!

 

What did John Le Breton do, when all of this sickening abuse over many years finally began to hit the buffers after years of the College deliberately keeping a lid on the events?

 

As far back as in 1992 Sharp reveals, along with the College Headmaster, he is seen to have been quite willing to flout all child protection guidelines in not contacting the Police and Education/Children's Service authorities following complaints from two pupils of abuse. Instead, participating in what can only be described as a humiliating and wholly inappropriate ad-hoc 'internal inquiry'. And this was not the only failing by a long way. 

 

 

Yet now, faced with the abuse finally about to become public, even when asked by the Headmaster to examine video evidence against his friend and colleague, John Le Breton instead refused to look at the evidence. Yes - he REFUSED! Even worse perhaps he incredibly then even went on to argue in the paedophile's defence. His argument in support of the paedophile included truly incredible contentions that:

 

• 'he had served the College in an outstandingly competent and conscientious way'
 
• 'that there may be no case to answer'
 
• that if Jervis-Dykes had to resign he should be allowed to do so  'with some dignity'
 
• that without a Police prosecution any resignation could be seen as a consequence of 'an unsubstantiated allegation.'
 
• that even if Jervis-Dykes had to resign he should be allowed to continue teaching pupils as Head of Maths as this 'would not place anyone at risk'
 

Yet the JEP and their lawyers want all of this to be seen as 'irrelevant' and kept out of both the court's considerations and public knowledge

 

All whilst they continue to seek to force us out of politics and financially ruin us. For let readers be in no doubt of the duplicity here. Whilst spouting nonsense about such failures within the judicial process being 'irrelevant', the JEP through their lawyers Collas Crill have already sought a Viscounts order to seize our possessions. We will also of course be forced from our home - and perhaps most central to the motivation behind all of this - consequently forced out of being able to represent our constituents by losing our seats under the States of Jersey (2005) law.  All of this in the event of losing our Appeal as a consequence of this travesty.

 

Oh yes, the hypocrisy of the Jersey Evening Post in regard to attempting to both stifle 'free speech' and keeping crucial evidence from both court and the Island's people appear to know neither shame nor limit. Remember analysing evidence is at the very heart of what a Jurat is entrusted by the court to do. It cannot be said to be 'irrelevant' under any circumstance.

 

It is what the public - and most certainly those directly involved in any court process - MUST be able to entrust a Jurat to do. Yet for Jurat John Le Breton as we can see - and it really does not matter at all whether through misguided loyalties; incompetence or simple lack of integrity - this fundamental commitment to evidence clearly is not there.

 

I thus put it to readers of the Bald Truth Jersey bluntly. When one considers this claim of 'irrelevance' from the Island's only newspaper; and indeed, the possibility that a court would let the findings of such a deeply unreliable individual stand, does anyone really wonder why decade upon decade of institutional child abuse has been allowed to go on unchecked?

 

For perhaps a very good 'snapshot judgement' upon whether anything within the now infamous so-called 'Jersey Way' that allowed all of the child abuse to happen down the years has changed, will simply be to see how many of our MSM (Mainstream Media) now report this attempt at stifling the truth and evidence I reveal and do so fairly. I for one must say I will not be holding my breath.

 

Keep the Faith

 

 

JERSEY - THREE POSTCARDS FROM THE 'FLYING BANANA' REPUBLIC

A handful of observations from within the best of all places being ruined for the worst of all motives. Forget America where right-wingers would rather risk bankrupting their own country then grant the poorest basic health insurance - when it comes to getting it spectacularly wrong my home island is out there in a league of its own...

Senator Ozouf joins the battle for fair representation - or does he?

It was encouraging to spot in the Jersey Evening Pravda that none other than Senator Philip Ozouf was telling us that we really could not let the unfairness inherent within the over-representation of country over town parishes in the States continue past 2014. Indeed, as I always do whenever he is right - I wholly agree with and even applaud him. Nevertheless there are just two little problems that keep niggling at me over this.

Firstly, if Senator Ozouf really cares about the people of St. Helier at last having voting parity of representation with their country parish cousins (some of whom never even have contested elections at all - just successions) then why doesn't the Senator's proposition attempt to give St. Helier just that instead of something that again sells them short? Secondly, the good Senator has derided the need for changes over more than a decade in government. Whatever can have led to this moment of epiphany after all of these years?

Senator Ozouf really should tell us all about this at once. Otherwise some of our more cynical political watchers might just begin to suspect this change is all down to the Senator believing he wouldn't be able to hang on to his current Senatorial seat. One thing is beyond doubt this week's States debate of 'reform' is likely to be the biggest shambles for years. And that we are in this mess is all down to Senator Philip Bailhache's ego and the lily-livered politicians who allowed him to hijack the independent Electoral Commission

Economic Development to lead clampdown on cyber-bullying

As the politician who forced this on to the political agenda (well, you have to blow your own trumpet sometimes!) this story seemed to be a very welcome one indeed - for cyber-bullying can kill and that should never, ever be forgotten. Welcome that is, until you come to realise that the grim truth is: if you cyber bully someone from outside of the Jersey Establishment fold and/or from a position of power you will remain wholly immune to prosecution no matter what.  

Cyber-bullying and the twisted 21st century social phenomena of the internet 'troll' really is an issue that demands government action. Yet again the sad reality here is that the island's most vicious and cowardly cyber thug has been afforded huge wedges of taxpayers' money by our 'justice' authorities to take another person (one of many) he himself had relentlessly bullied for years to court for....bullying! And this via a secret court circus at that.

Throw in the further facts that police files against the same said cyber-thug get no further than the Attorney General's wastepaper bin; the Managing Editor no less of the local BBC refusing to even apologise for his promotion of a Twitter hate account set up to attack Deputy Shona Pitman; and now yet another staff member of that company being even accused in a national newspaper of involvement in the alleged 'bullying to death' of the late Simon Abbott  and the dire need for genuine government action is loud and clear.

Yet in the cold light of dawn what are we really likely to get? My bet is a cobbled together quasi-legal  'law' to enable the Establishment to try and close down the only independent Jersey news source that is Citizens' Media. You have been warned....

The call for 'Access to Justice' in Jersey isn't just about affordability...

In a week that has also seen my colleague, Deputy Montfort Tadier lodging a proposition calling for Chief Minister Gorst to finally publish the TOR for the Access to Justice 'Working Group' I have a question lodged for the Chief Minister asking that he accepts 'backbenchers' being included on this. Why? Well, a fact that Senator Gorst has been strangely silent on is the truth that this whole initiative actually arose out of a meeting Deputy Shona Pitman and I had with him on the abuses of justice we were (and still are)  experiencing.

You remember - just little things such as... individuals proven to be willing to disregard hard evidence against paedophiles then being allowed to sit as jurats and the like. Anyway, the point of my wishing to be involved revolves around this core: 'access' to justice - as can be seen from what I highlight above - is clearly not just about issues such as putting an end to the Closed Shop of Jersey Lawyers that cements their ability to rip the rest of us off by keeping out far cheaper UK lawyers. It is about the 'justice' the average man and woman in the street are able to access also being guaranteed to be just that: JUSTICE. Transparent. Accountable. Affordable. And Human Rights compliant.

For if Chief Minister Gorst is allowed to get away with handing over this review - both its make up and its working mandate - to the very same people whose lucrative gravy train relies upon it - just as it has done for decades - we the ordinary public will get nothing like what is needed at all. We simply must not let that happen.

Keep the Faith

Meanwhile I leave you with the following oral question to be asked of the Minister for Home Affairs:

 

“Would the Minister inform members whether the Chief Officer of the States of Jersey Police, in response to allegations made to the Police by former Senator S. Syvret relating to corruption, advised Mr. Syvret that his concerns had been referred to a local legal firm and had been deemed groundless, and, if so, which legal firm was utilised and why?”

The answer - or perhaps even the non-answer - stands to be quite fascinating. Maybe because I know the answer already?

 

SEX, LIES, TROLLS & VIDEOTAPE OR JUST ANOTHER WEEK TRYING TO RESTORE DEMOCRACY & JUSTICE TO THE CROWN DEPENDENCY OF JERSEY..

'Taking on the trolls! Ministers back new law to allow action against on-line bullies.'

So screamed the front page of the Jersey Evening Pravda last Thursday 25th July. What was this all about?  New proposals being brought forward  between Economic Development, Home Affairs and Jersey's 'Law' Office to apparently stamp out what is widely known as 'trolling'.

In essence, for anyone who has been living in a cave this is the cowardly, revolting pastime of socially inadequate thugs who hide behind countless fake avatars to spread lies, hate and bully innocent people - even very young children - on the Internet. Sometimes even bullying them to the point of suicide. Do I support such initiatives? Of course I do.

Though as the States Member who actually made this problem a political issue by raising awareness to it I do have to observe that you would have thought the above trio might have at least consulted me for my insights. After all, not only have I seen the damage this social disease has done to a whole variety of decent, ordinary people in the island - Shona and I have even experienced this to a staggering degree ourselves first hand.

Applauded - but with a note of caution...

But it is because I have had these unpleasant experiences myself that my one reservation to this - on the surface - wholly welcome new law is that it may yet not end up actually being used for what it should be. That it instead might be a thinly disguised vehicle for attacking and suppressing the service provided by the excellent Citizens' Media blogs that have, over the past few years, been putting Jersey's 'mainstream media' to shame in exposing all manner of political cover-ups and general bad practice.

What exactly do I mean? Not just the twisting of 'law' that has already resulted in unprecedented 'secret court' hearings. But concerns like individuals with complaints against them now in double figures - serious allegations at that including threatening to put caustic soda in an ex-girlfriend's face; sending out anonymous,  sickening, hate-filled posters seeking to smear people for no other reason that the psychopath's personal jealousy.

The setting up of  both 'hate' sites like the pro-child abuse cover-up Farce Blog with its hundreds of fake 'comments', and similarly twisted Twitter accounts. Concerns in fact that go all the way to tormenting recently bereaved mothers; and even posting greeting cards with razorblades glued inside of them to people. Concerns incredibly never resulting in prosecution in Jersey even when the police have often been involved and have even sent files to the Law Office.

Should we be concerned at the fears I raise here?

I would obviously have to say most definitely. After all, just consider we have already quite incredibly had senior figures at the local BBC in the island actually both encouraging people to go on to a hate site set up to vilify a US journalist; and re-tweeting a sick and twisted Twitter account run by the very same psychopath to attack and smear Deputy Shona Pitman - a media executive telling his followers that it was 'amusing'!

Almost as bad it must be said we have had the BBC continuing to read out 'comments' from the same, sick and cowardly thug behind this live on air to listeners as if they were from real people: even when members of the public have highlighted the truth behind such avatars as 'James Le Gallais', 'Sue Young', 'Julie Hanning', 'Jane Care' and countless others. 

Last but not least we really mustn't forget we even have a Data Protection Office which has documented proof of the thug and handful of contributors behind the likes of the defunct Farce blog and its equally twisted successor. Documented proof of sickening trolling yet doggedly won't hand that information over so that legal action can be taken against such thugs by authorities - as they could already under existing harassment laws..

Indeed, just using our own experience of being on the receiving end of a sick and deluded social inadequate thug;  I can genuinely say we went through all of the right channels. We approached all of the right agencies/people. Truth was the experience was really little different to what we found with our highlighting of our non ECHR Article 6 compliant court hearings.

Those who should be putting such abuses right really don't want to risk getting their hands dirty and upsetting the Great and the Good by actually doing their job and denting the rose-tinted myth that everything in Jersey is always perfect no matter how bad the true picture is.

OK. So the proof of the pudding as they say will be in the eating. Yet if one sick and twisted individual known to dozens of victims isn't the first to get his collar felt under this new law then we can all be 100% confident the whole thing is indeed nothing more than a wooden horse aimed at closing down anti-Establishment dissension.

In this Council of Ministers lying seems to have spread like a virus...

Jersey politics certainly may not be unique in this problem. Yet in my experience of dealing with all too many of those at the top of  'ministerial' government these past 6 years - and this term in particular - power and lying really do seem to go hand-in-hand all too often.

Just think back to the very beginning and Senator Gorst in his 'vote for me to be Chief Minister' election pitch of accountable, inclusive government. Right up to this very summer's appalling affront to the public that  was the 'maliciouos', 'fictitious', 'I will NOT be drawn any further' diatribe of  'Bailhache-Gate'.

Yet in checking out comments on the excellent Voiceforchildren blog yesterday lo and behold but I stumbled upon confirmation of yet another one. This latest one revolves around the answer I was given on March 5th this year to the written question re-published below to the Minister for Home Affairs, Senator Ian Le Marquand; the question being on the issue of the Haut de la Garenne child abuse cover-up.

"Can the Minister inform Members whether, in the early stages of the historic child abuse investigation, both a current States Member and an individual still employed by the States and himself facing a number of allegation relating to abuse, went to Haut de la Garenne and attempted to gain access past the Police cordon stating that they needed to collect/remove personal material?"

Is this a lie or is this a... downright LIE?

"The States of Jersey Police have no formal record of any such visit by either party and with the passage of time, there is no-one still serving within the States of Jersey Police who is able to confirm that any such visit took place. "

So answered the Home Affairs Minister. Okay, so the answer was actually slightly longer - even going on to try and muddy the water a bit by throwing in the red herring that Deputy Kevin Lewis might be the cause of any confusion because of his past involvement with the site through his Bergerac days. The message was clearly: don't bother pursuing this because there is nowhere for you to take it and it is all unsubstantiated rumour.

Maybe even that old Establishment Party favourite dismissal - a conspiracy?

Yet just as I already had pretty good information back in March regarding the true identity of the two people who sought to breach the Police cordon, this week the lie I was spun back in March has now been confirmed. And confirmed by no less an authority than former Senior Investigating Office for Operation Rectangle, Lenny Harper. For I quote:

"On 19th February at 3pm Ann Pryke attended HDLG. I was asked to go to the entrance by officers on security duty there. Pryke was demanding entry and a full update on our activities. She was complaining loudly that we had not pre-informed her of our entry to HDLG. I told her it was police business and she should leave.

The following day the Chief Minister Frank Walker e-mailed Graham Power who passed the e-mail to myself. Walker stated that he wanted Pryke fully updated and told of any discoveries. He was told "no" in firm terms and given a number of reasons why it would not be happening. He was also warned that all approaches such as his would be recorded and would be disclosable.

At 5.30pm that day (20th Feb) Danny Wherry turned up at HDLG and demanded entry to recover some items he had left there previously. He was refused and told to leave as it was a potential crime scene.

I am somewhat surprised at Mr Le Marquand's reply for two reasons. Firstly, both visits are recorded on the official security log for the scene, and the e-mail from Frank Walker will also be logged. Secondly, there are a number of officers still serving with the force who could confirm the visits. The Home Affairs Minister needs to do his homework!"

Another line of investigation for the Committee of Inquiry

How is it I have to ask that these blatant instances of what can only be called lying keep on happening as regularly as clockwork? Is it all some bizarre unfolding of pure chance; coincidence? Frankly I think you could get better odds on Senator Bailhache again topping the polls come 2014. This is undoubtedly deliberate policy. The only two questions arising are: just where is the lying originating from and for what purpose?

If Senator Le Marquand has lied to me deliberately then let me tell him now: I will be pursuing him come September with just the same tenacity that I will be doing with Senator Bailhache (no, it isn't over by a long shot, Sir Philip) until he does the required thing within Standing Orders and resigns from the Council of Ministers.

Of course if it is the Police leadership who has lied to the Home Affairs Minister then I equally expect a full statement on who, why and what disciplinary action is to be implemented. Anything less and one really has to conclude this Council of Ministers really does have something to hide. Something that is beginning to appear increasingly worrying and desperate.

Why did Deputy Anne Pryke feel the need to 'demand' entry; to what purpose and under what authority? Why did Danny Wherry turn up and demand he be allowed to 'recover' some items he had left there previously? Indeed, what were these items? Has he ever been interviewed to explain? The questions are of the sort that really cannot be satisfactorily left unanswered.  I mean, just imagine if either of these individuals were facing hushed up allegations from any of the abuse victims....

Meanwhile, maybe I really ought to dust off that 'recall referendum' proposition over the summer and get it lodged after all? Well, there's the trolls and the lies. I guess you'll just have to log on again in a day or two to catch up on the sex and the videotape...

Keep the Faith


 

SNAPSHOTS FROM JERSEY - THE ROYSTON VASEY OF GLOBAL POLITICS

   

This is a 'local' democracy...

One of my old University lecturers absolutely loved the old saying that suggests - on occasions - 'less' really can be 'more'. Whilst reflecting upon what single topic I might post about this week; and being pushed for time between a raft of new constituent and corruption cases the truth of this really came home to me for some reason.

 

Of course it would be very easy and quite justified to write a lengthy, detailed post on any one of a half-a-dozen issues that have come to the fore in Jersey politics this past couple of weeks. Yet given the gravity of what some of these happenings reveal, why I thought, not instead just flag up the 'basics' of two or three in a few paragraphs on each for discussion?

 

After all, if the reader can't grasp the seriousness of all of these headings from considering just the fundamental basics of the problems then our island, you have to conclude, may well be beyond saving. Do we want to have things like justice, democracy, transparancy and genuine community as central to our way of life? Or do we just want to be the equivalent of a mad, black comedy where the only thing that matters is keeping the rich powerful and the poor powerless?

The choice as they say is yours. For if you don't DO politics, then politics in the shape of the Jersey Establishment will DO you...

 

Bailhache-Gate. Or liar, liar your pants are on fire? 

 

Now this issue all arose from my daring to bring States questions on serious concerns raised by a member of the public who stated he had been able to see damning confidential documents (revealing both the identity of HG in the Dean suspension case, and her alleged abuser). All of these being allegedly carelessly read in public by Assistant Minister with responsibility for External Relations, Senator Sir Philip Bailhache during a flight from Gatwick on March 21st.

 

As I have said, the details provided by this member of the public in contacting me revealed - beyond any question - details that are not in the public domain and could not have been faked. Yet how did Senator Bailhache respond? Was there an explanation; an apology? No. The claims were 'fictitious' and 'malicious'; the document containing them being described as 'purporting' to be an e-mail from a member of the public. In essence both this gentleman and yours truly were, by extension, liars. Ah..the 'Man who would be King' or at least El Presidente: how dare we mere mortals; we peasants question HIM? It was all a wicked Lefty plot it seems.

But... unfortunately, for both the Senator, Chief Minister Gorst and the MSM who failed to do any investigative journalism on the story whatsoever - it ISN'T. The gentleman, a successful businessman, has thus quite understandably become so disgusted and outraged by the Senator's reaction that he has now written to Chief Minister Gorst giving...even more details of this 'fictitious' event. And guess what else? The whole episode can also all be verified by the man's business partner who was travelling with him. They have even offered to meet with the Chief Minister accompanied by yours truly.

 

Misleading the States? Testicular Fortitude required I fancy. and a large dose at that. But has our Chief Minister actually got any... 

 

The alternative 'Jersey Way' reality unfolding in Court No.2... 

 

Now I spent this Tuesday morning in court again - and just for a change it didn't have anything - directly - to do with me!

That's right: I wasn't challenging a 'justice' system that had allowed former Jurat John Le Breton to sit on our defamation case against the JEP and the estate agent Broadlands even though he is an evidenced long-standing friend of one of the paper's directors. Not to mention being a man who was allowed to become a Jurat even though proven in the Sharp Report to be quite happy to look the other way on evidence against a friend and colleague who was a predatory paedophile!

Nor was I finding myself in Petty Debts Court because of holding to the ever-so-silly principle that an contract built on fairness wasn't being applied that way! No. I was there simply because of a quite unbelievable, indeed, bizarre example of the 'Jersey Way'. This being a truly staggering case that had seen a good, decent and hardworking local businessman Mr. Martin Kane not only ARRESTED but having to report DAILY to the police station - all because of an alleged breach of a Planning regulation/by-law! 

I really am not making this bizarre case up I assure you. Its true. And, though I make no claim to be an expert in the area, like others who have also now examined the case, I have to say that in my view the pursuit of this individual and his company is the biggest waste of taxpayers' money since... a cowardly, abusive, convicted petty  thug was given our money to take one of the people he himself was abusing to court!

 

Believe me, I would love to say more on this astounding 'court case'. But I won't just now. For without the full details as yet being in the public domain you would probably end up thinking I was just pitching a script for a fantasy film. A 'malicious' prosecution as is being claimed; or just a misguided mess that never should have happened? What certainly can be said even at this stage is the complex web by which it is all being held together to progress just this far goes right to the heart of 'the Jersey Way'...

And one other thing is also certain: it will all cost we the taxpayers an absolute fortune. 

 

BBC Jersey ask: should 'backbenchers' not willing to spout Establishment propaganda be allowed to talk to foreigners...

This truly bonkers issue was incredibly given the bulk of the Beeb's Politics Show recently and arose from that naughty Lefty troublemaker Deputy Montfort Fawkes - sorry, Montfort Tadier giving an interview to the French newspaper Le Parisian. His 'offence'? He didn't have permission from the Establishment Party Fueher Bunker; and he didn't espouse the party line that 'Off-Shore' (or tax havens - you take your pick) must be viewed through rose-tinted spectacles.

Now enough has been said about the damning attitude of arrogance and contempt for differing views that the swivel-eyed reaction of the Treasury Minister and Finance industry 'big-wigs' has revealed here. The angle I want to put up for discussion is just what such a reaction from within our MSM tells us? I mean, can the local BBC really believe that it is in any way compatible with a modern democracy that elected representatives of the public should not be free to speak to international journalists unless they adhere to the majority party whip on tax evasion/avoidence?

Frankly it is both embarrassing and a damning indictment of the mainstream - or State - media itself. The Bald Truth is that such a debate would be laughed out of the boardroom in just about any other jurisdiction in the world - no matter which political philosophy held the majority. It wouldn't even matter if the Deputy's views were right or wrong. true democracy guarantees his right to hold and voice them.

OK. The head-in-the-sand approach might be comforting for the MSM, the Finance industry and even our Neo-Liberal politicians alike I accept. But the cold, hard truth of the matter is that the sun is setting on the view that tax 'dodging' by big business and the super-wealthy is socially acceptable. To contend otherwise is akin to King Canute commanding the tide not to come in and drown him. The sooner the Establishment - both politicians and MSM apologists - wise up to this truth the sooner economic diversification can become more than just pre-election buzz word.

Saying sorry but really not meaning it: part 98...

Meanwhile, isn't is strange how having been exposed by me yet again as a regular purveyor of pathetic and malicious 'anti-Leftist' fake letters the Jersey Evening Pravda have still got the offending missive attacking Montfort Tadier up on their website. Complete of course, with scores of similarly fake comments using avatars of one Mad Jon the Cyber-rash - exponent of drunken death threats and scavenger of takeaway dustbins. All doing exactly, of course, what these fake letters are meant to achieve: trying to negatively mislead wider public perception...

And the moral of this post?

If the above 'snapshots' above conjure up the type of Jersey you want to live in then keep voting for the Establishment. But if such a 'democracy' is really not what you want then let me say quite bluntly here: you had better make sure you aren't one of the apathetics who just sit on their butt and moan. Doing nothing is as sure a way of ensuring this attitude to democracy continues as is putting your 'x' next to the name of an Establishment candidate on an election ballot paper. In fact it is precisely what their bullying, lies and manipulation hopes to achieve...

Keep the Faith

Trevor