Bailhache: the ‘reformer’ again exposed as ‘wrecker’

Of all the many things that can be said about yesterday’s States vote to yet again hold back the tide of desperately needed political/constitutional reform in the Island surely the most crucial point to take on board above all else is this: not only did the manner by which democracy was thwarted see the States Assembly sink to an all time low but ‘Sir’ Philip Bailhache has now been exposed beyond argument as having free rein to abuse the system by whatever means he sees fit to maintain the Establishment Party’s grip on power.

Bailhache, of course, was carried into office by the likes of fawning Establishment organs such as the Jersey Evening Pravda on the back of farcical propaganda that he was the very champion of ‘reform’. That such claims were – as I and others from the progressive Left made clear at the time – utterly fake and in fact highly dangerous for Jersey’s democratic and socio-economic future – have now been proven 100% accurate. What after all it must be asked has the ‘Great Reformer’ Philip Bailhache reformed? The answer is, of course, absolutely nothing.

Indeed, Bailhache's track record on this could not be any more appalling if he tried. lets us not forget his very first move was to hijack and deliberately sabotage the reform referendum - wholly deliberately turning it into a loaded shambles which could only result in one outcome: failure.

In deeply disturbing contrast Bailhache is in truth a political reactionary of the very worst type – a draconian dinosaur in fact. A man absolutely desperate to preserve not only the ‘political stability’ that the Finance industry which has so captured our Island demands of its co-conspirators to guarantee its spiv culture of individual and corporate tax avoidance; but with it the two-tier society of an all-powerful Establishment minority totally immune to the democratic norms of the wider modern world.

And as yesterday shows, terrifying as it is, without outside pressure and ultimately intervention the conclusion must be that in this Bailhache is currently winning. At least until time takes its natural course and he and his aging band of power-obsessed neo-feudalists wither away and pass into an embarrassing history. Anyone who doubts this should simply consider the basic facts of yesterday’s debacle.

In what was so transparently nothing more than a blatant wrecking motion ‘Sir’ Philip Bailhache was allowed to bring an amendment to the Constable of St. Helier’s rehash of former Deputy Shona Pitman’s proposition to put an end to the role of Bailiff and replace this in the States with a democratically elected Speaker and President. Though sad in itself this amendment was, of course, not actually the real problem as I will explain.

It was the fact Bailhache was quite outrageously allowed to bring an amendment which if successful had clear and undeniable potential financial benefit to his own brother: Little ‘bruv’ William after all had already been named in an act of true arrogance and provocation by ‘Sir’ Michael Birt as his successor to the role in advance of the debate.

This is a blatant abuse and manipulation of the intent and spirit of Standing Orders and any claim to the contrary is simply untenable even with the most liberal interpretation of Standing Orders imaginable. Indeed, that ‘Sir’ Philip Bailhache was himself then even allowed to participate in the debate of such an amendment demonstrates just how utterly corrupt and craven the whole system is.

Yet where were the champions of democracy themselves – the voices of the progressive Left – in raising all of this to public attention? From what I heard – and I acknowledge I didn’t listen to the whole debate so depressing was the quality of much that was said within speeches – it appeared they just let the blatant abuse of process pass unchallenged. My word - but not a single one of the Left appeared to stand up to challenge the absolute joke of a claim that the judiciary in the form of the Bailiff could influence or interfere with the democratic process! 

Has no one from the new political party noticed that the Bailiff completely controls what an elected Member can say, what questions he or she may ask and what propositions may be lodged in support of those who elected them? If I missed this then I apologise but regardless it is something surely for the newly announced political party Reform Jersey at least to get to grips with fast if they are to live up to their name as I truly hope they can do.

Who needs a future it might be stated when ‘Sir’ Philip Bailhache can give us a whole new past?  As for me…depressing as the Bailiff debate and abuse of process was I took solace in the fact that I have a project likely to make a far bigger impact on the democratic deficit here in Jersey on course for the early autumn…

Keep the Faith

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

AN OPEN LETTER TO LORD McNALLY & THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR OF JERSEY

The shameless manipulation of the 'justice' system as a tool of oppression by the Jersey Establishment continues...

I reproduce below an 'open letter' sent yesterday to both UK Justice Minister, Lord McNally (who has done absolutely nothing about the abuses of justice evident in our case - other than to offer to refer us back to the very Bailiff who had allowed it all to happen) and Her Majesty The Queen's representative here on the island, the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir John McColl.

 

It outlines the incredible - and it must be said, deeply disturbing - latest unfoldings of what has been passed off as 'justice' in our case since we we were foolish enough to place our trust in the Jersey judicial system.

 

Indeed, should you be naive or perhaps simply unaware enough to still have even the smallest trace of trust that the Jersey 'justice' system is anything other than a farce; a completely hijacked tool for the Establishment to both avoid the holding to account of those amongst their ranks who merit it; and to try and bury all and any who dare challenge it please simply read this and the attached letter from current Jurat Collette Crill and think again.

 

A fairly long read perhaps, but five minutes of your time well spent. Finally, tempting as it was to deconstruct the shortcomings and attempted re-writing of historical fact within the letter from Jurat Crill readers of the bald Truth Jersey will perhaps understand why I felt this better to leave to others...

 

Keep the Faith                                                             

 

Dear Lord McNally and Lieutenant-Governor 

 

We write to you in the form of this open letter to bring to your attention – in the remote chance that either of you should have any genuine concern for the on-going abuse of the justice system here on Jersey – to highlight the latest episode of the many abuses evident within our attempt to secure justice for ourselves via the courts.  

As you will both be aware due to previous correspondence our present situation arose from us daring to trust that we would be afforded – just like any other person – a fair and ECHR Article 6 compliant court process. Indeed, as is now well documented the reality has been not only that we were instead faced with a Jurat – John Le Breton - who has a proven history of looking the other way on evidence of child abuse against a former friend and colleague; but who also felt quite above accepted global judicial standards to not recuse himself from sitting on our case – even though he is further evidenced to have wined and dined a director of the Jersey Evening Post’s owning company the Guiton Group. 

That all of this was allowed to take place by Jersey’s Bailiff (who we copy in) and has most recently even been rubber-stamped by three Jersey Appeal Court Judges who – quite incredibly – attempted to re-write the findings of the 1999 Stephen Sharp Report into the child abuse cover-up at the island’s Victoria College to claim within their judgement: i.e. that there is apparently nothing in the report which would warrant John Le Breton being viewed as unfit for such a role would suggest that this leaves little more to be said.  

At least until we progress our case to the Privy Council; and more likely, we must accept, if this abuse of justice is so acceptable to those who should be intervening on behalf of the Queen and United Kingdom government, to the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Nevertheless, given the latest developments which we now outline below we will have at least placed upon record yet more evidence of the corruption and inexcusable failings evident in our case – just as this is within the cases of so many others. 

As you may or may not already be aware, having been brought to bankruptcy by our pursuit of justice; following on from the Appeal Court Judges inexplicable ruling on Friday 29^th November 2013 our lawyer (yes, in Jersey you even have to engage a lawyer to become officially bankrupt!) brought to the court a request that we be granted the process of Remise de biens.

Should either of you not know of this ancient Jersey aspect of law what this does is bring about a form of bankruptcy which allows – subject to certain criteria all of which our situation meets – for one’s property and assets to be sold off by the court. The issue here is that there must be enough money available to pay off in full any secured creditor: in our case just our bank as the mortgage lender. Further still, that some surplus must remain to allow some form of dividend to then be shared between the unsecured creditors such as the Jersey Evening Post and Broadlands – the entities who colluded to publish the lies claiming we had increased our income by four times by Trevor entering politics. 

Once accepted by the court and a Remise has been successfully completed with a property being sold and the secured creditor paid in full; and unsecured creditors having received a share of the remaining dividend, the matter is concluded and a discharge from the bankruptcy debt may be obtained allowing people to start again. This is clearly the best route for us to follow, especially given the fact that having been forced to this position by the Jersey Evening Post and Broadlands an additional consequence almost no other individual would face is that we immediately lose our positions and income as States Members. 

Even given the clear UK authorities indifference to the delivery of justice here in the Crown Dependency we would thus hope that to then find the judge hearing our request for a Remise – no less an individual than the Deputy Bailiff, William Bailhache, attempt to wholly mislead our lawyer with false information as to how the process works and it’s benefits and drawbacks; and indeed, to suggest – in our view, we repeat, attempt  to mislead – that the best route for us would instead be to seek to go en desastre is wholly unacceptable. Following this route would actually place us in a far worse position and leave this hanging over us for a full five years 

That the Deputy Bailiff would not know of the damaging misinformation he was suggesting as the better way forward for us is clearly inconceivable. Indeed, the true facts have been verified by lawyers and even the Viscounts Office.  

We were fortunately tipped off to the above by a concerned person who was in the court on the day and we have now even secured an audio disc of the exchange. We feel that we must ask that you look into this as a matter of urgency as – very co-incidentally – the Jersey Evening Post and Broadlands, having no doubt been failed by their own lawyers, just happen to now suddenly be seeking that the court reject the fully justified Remise and push us down the desastre route suggested by William Bailhache. We repeat: what a strange coincidence. Not only do two of the biggest critics of the Establishment’s failings on matters such as abuses of justice and child protection cover-ups get forced out of public office; we also face manipulation by the court down an even more damaging bankruptcy path than is necessary.  

We would thus hope that you might understand that all of the above cannot do anything, other than fill us with concern as to a likely pre-decided outcome of the Remise hearing set for Thursday 19^th December – just two days hence. After all, should you also not be aware of it this was actually set to be concluded this past Friday. However, any hopes we might have had of some degree of fair play - given that both our lawyer and the two Jurats who compiled the necessary report confirmed we met all criteria to satisfy a successful Remise were quickly stripped away when the lawyer for the Jersey Evening Post, Advocate Nuno Santos-Costa, informed our lawyer just moments before the hearing that he had a close personal friendship with one of the Jurats sitting; this being Jurat Collette Crill. 

Having been made aware that both the Jersey Evening Post and Broadlands were attempting to buy time as they knew they really had very little grounds for argument, the fact that this Advocate – who had at no time appeared for the JEP during the defamation case – suddenly appeared to be followed by this announcement was highly suspicious in itself. Has Jersey really got such an unprofessional and shambolic court-process that a lawyer- any lawyer – would not know beforehand which Jurats were sitting?  

With this conflict raised the court retired for a brief time then returned. Here, quite incredibly, Commissioner Julian Clyde-Smith announced that whilst the court would reconvene with two other Jurats at a later date Jurat Crill, nevertheless, apparently felt that her close friendship with the lawyer for the Jersey Evening Post – and a lawyer whose firm obviously stood to make many thousands of pounds from a decision in his client’s favour did ‘not’ conflict her from ‘administering justice’! 

We must put it to you as representatives of the Queen and UK government respectively that the picture this all paints of the attitude to justice for all within the island, is totally unacceptable. Indeed, once aware of who Jurat Crill was once we returned home a little on line research following further contact from the public revealed matters to be even more disturbing. 

Not only was it quite apparent that we had a Judge in William Bailhache who has no love for us or our politics, attempting to mislead our lawyer to take us down a route far more damaging to us than the requested and merited Remise de biens; it now became apparent we had had a Jurat who was intending to sit on our case in the full knowledge that she had previously written an insulting – many would say malicious – personal attack on Shona within a letter published by no less than the Jersey Evening Post. All, we would point out for the record, because Shona had dared to bring a vote of no confidence in Sir Philip Bailhache whilst he was Bailiff. This being on account of his several well documented serious failings on child abuse. 

That such behaviour could not be seen as a serious conflict of interest is impossible to credit even within a jurisdiction with Jersey’s laissez-faire approach to judicial corruption. That Jurat Crill could not be aware of her resulting conflict; or that her remaining silent on the matter was completely at odds with the principles of justice – certainly as applied by any respectable jurisdiction - are even more inarguable. Indeed, not only does the Jurat’s letter reveal just how little she was aware of the true facts relating to Jersey’s appalling child protection failings arising from those in high office; her choice of insults demonstrate beyond any question her entirely prejudiced attitude to a person upon whom the Jurat wished to now ‘administer justice’. For the record we reproduce the letter from Jurat Crill below.  

As you will both be aware we have little reason to have any faith in the justice system that is allowed to operate under this present Bailiff, Sir Michael Birt, and for very good reason when one considers the evidence of our case alone. A case that is, of course, just one of many destroying the lives of ordinary Jersey people simply because the UK does not fulfil its obligation to step in on ensuring good governance and law and order. As with a growing number of other islanders we will continue to highlight these abuses and fight for them to be rectified no matter what.  

Yet with our hearing set for just two days hence we first urgently ask you: what confidence can we have that a process for which we meet all of the criteria (even with our home having been mysteriously undervalued compared with independent valuations of just a year ago to the tune of some £60 + thousand) will not somehow instead be manipulated to accommodate the wishes of the Jersey Evening Post and Broadlands estate agents? We have, it must be said, been put through hell by the catalogue of appalling failings allowed to go un-rectified during our case. Yet it seems that even having reached the stage when we expected to achieve – at least - some degree of conclusion for ourselves and our families the system was once again manipulated to thwart this with the unfolding of the deeply disturbing events surrounding this past week or so.  

We believe this is what is known locally as ‘The Jersey Way’. 

Yours sincerely 

Shona & Trevor Pitman 

 

17th December 2013

 

The letter published in the JEP from the now Jurat Collette Crill who attempted to sit to 'administer justice' on our case... 

JEP – 2 July 2008.  Collette Crill, Le Solaize, Les Ruisseaux, St Brelade. 

“On the day of her election, Deputy Shona Pitman engaged in offensive behaviour in public.  Many would deem that such behaviour rendered her unfit for elected office.  Since then I am unaware that the Deputy has distinguished herself as a States Member.  It seems particularly ironic, therefore, that it is she who sees fit to call for a vote of no confidence in order to vilify and bully the Bailiff.  Mont of the Bailiff’s career has been devoted to serving this Island in Crown Office, instead of pursing a more lucrative path in private practice.  One can’t help wondering whether Deputy Pitman even understands, let alone appreciates, that all our Crown Officers are highly skilled and in many cases brilliant legal practitioners who choose for altruistic reasons, to offer themselves for Crown service instead of using their admirable academic and intellectual skills in far more self-serving ways. 

Given the behaviour and performance of many of our present elected representatives on can’t help feeling that precisely the opposite motivation applies to them.  The list of our current Bailiff’s achievements for this island good is as long as it is impressive, not only as a lawyer and judge, but also in so many other aspects of island life. In common with the reset of humanity, he is not infallible and as humility is one of his many qualities, I believe he would be the first to acknowledge this.  Indeed, he has publicly expressed regret for a possible error of judgement made years ago, long before he became Bailiff, in relation to the Holland case. 

Deputy Pitman, though, would have us believe that along with one sentence in his Liberation Day speech when he spoke about Jersey’s recently maligned reputation, using a turn of phrase not quite up to Deputy Pitman’s exacting standards, this is enough to wipe out years of exemplary service and dedication to the island. 

Deputy Pitman’s use of this form of politics is absurd and risible, yet sadly dangerous and adding to the immense harm that some of our politicians seek to cause by being so obsessive destructive and negative.  She and her cabal would be far better employed in using their position and salary, our money, in trying to rectify the many genuinely important matters of injustice and inequality in this island.  Of course, it’s so much easier to be negative and destructive.  Or could it be that they don’t actually have any positive or constructive ideas to offer?”