Minister sacked after exposing 'child abuse'
Jersey's Health Minister was sacked after he blew the whistle on a harsh punishment regime in a home where children as young as 11 were kept in solitary confinement.
Stuart Syvret, the island's longest-serving and most popular senator, had accused ministers, civil servants and social workers of failing to protect children but he was forced out this week after losing a vote of confidence in Jersey's parliament, the States.
He claimed to have been defeated by the "one-party oligarchy" of the Jersey establishment. But Frank Walker, the Chief Minister, accused Mr Syvret of bullying and harassing staff and bringing the Channel Island into disrepute.
As to Mr Syvret's abuse claims, the Government said that it had set up an inquiry, to be led by Andrew Williamson, a British childcare expert.
Mr Syvret told The Times yesterday: "There is a climate of fear throughout public administration in Jersey but people will be even more terrified than they were before. The fact that I have become the first health and social services minister in postwar Western Europe sacked for whistle-blowing sends an appalling signal."
The dispute began last year when Simon Bellwood, a British social worker, became manager of the Greenfields home, which cares for runaway children and those facing prosecution. Mr Bellwood was appalled to discover that staff kept children in a form of round-the-clock solitary confinement and threatened them with indefinite isolation if they misbehaved.
The punishment regime was called "Grand Prix" and used motor racing slang. The toughest sanction, known as "the pits", involved children being kept alone in a cell. Bedding and mattresses were removed during the day and only after 24 hours of good behaviour could children rejoin their peers.
Mr Bellwood scrapped the system but he was dismissed at the end of his probationary period. He is challenging the decision and has been backed by the British Association of Social Workers. "He believes he became a target as a result of raising these concerns," said Terry Dadswell, the union's assistant chief executive.
Mr Bellwood raised his concerns with Mr Syvret, who immediately set up childcare reviews. "My initial response is to sack everyone who works [in child mental health services] and close it down," he said. Mr Syvret also blamed protection services for failing to intervene in the case of a 13-year-old boy who was meeting men for sex in public lavatories.
Mr Syvret sacked the chairman of Jersey's child protection committee after it declared no confidence in the minister for damaging the good name of child protection workers. The assistant health minister quit soon after and the Civil Service accused Mr Syvret of bullying.
Mr Syvret blamed the Council of Ministers for being an obstacle to improving child protection but refused to resign from it.In an e-mail to the council, disclosed to the States. Mr Syvret said: "It's 2007 now, and being a good Methodist or knowing a few funny handshakes will not persuade the external world into believing that the probably preventable rape of children is less important than 'creating distress amongst a wide group of staff and undermining their morale and effectiveness'."
The Jersey Government accused him of putting children at greater risk by undermining the morale of people working in a difficult, sensitive field. But Mr Syvret told the States: "I don't care if it upsets staff. People are paid by the taxpayer." He added: "We don't have party politics. That means we are governed by a single de facto undeclared establishment party."
He was ousted by 35 votes to 15. The Chief Minister, who said that by speaking to the media Mr Syvret had damaged Jersey's reputation, added: "If only he had come to me, gone to the Chief Executive, gone to his own chief officer and said, 'I've got real concerns. We need to investigate them'."
Mr Walker said that the States had 53 independent members with diverse views. "To suggest that it's a one-party state is simply not supported by the facts. The only reason we took this proposition to the States was his unacceptable conduct. It was a sad day
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