With the fallout in Jersey about Bill Ogley and his shredder, disposing of important documents, it is worth casting an eye on Scotland, where Lenny Harper wisely has decided that if he has to answer questions it will be in a British court, rather than a Jersey court where justice can disappear down a waste disposal unit. The idea (already mentioned on Stuart Syvret's blog) that a farewell card contains evidence is one of the stupidest statements ever, and now all the readers of the Sunday Mail in Scotland, the largest regional paid-for Sunday paper up there, can also be privy to this act of lunacy by Jersey legal authorities. I'm still waiting for an official denial to be published, until then I can only assume that was an act of supreme carelessness, which it was hoped would never get out.
http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2009/01/18/scot-in-charge-of-jersey-abuse-case-accuses-force-of-hounding-him-78057-21050583/
Scot in charge of Jersey abuse case accuses force of hounding him
Jan 18 2009 By Norman Silvester
THE POLICE chief who led a probe into child abuse at a Jersey children's home is under criminal investigation. Scot Lenny Harper, 56, has been called back to the island for a court hearing but has refused because he fears arrest as a "scapegoat". Harper, the former deputy head of the States of Jersey Police, has been accused of witholding vital information about the investigation to the police team that replaced him. And he is also alleged to have breached data protection and official secrets laws by leaking information about the investigation to the media. Harper, who was previously a deputy divisional commander for Strathclyde Police, was interviewed by Crown Office staff last week. On Tuesday, he received a letter from Jersey attorney-general William Bailhache ordering him to attend a hearing at the island's Royal Court on January 28. Harper, who lives in Ayr, said last night he did not have any evidence or documents which were not already in the possession of the Jersey authorities. He said: "I have been ordered to appear in Jersey at the Royal Court to give evidence and provide notebooks. "They also want to see a farewell card which my former staff signed which they say contains evidence.
"The order is not enforceable in the United Kingdom. "I have no evidence whatsoever to give or documents which the Jersey authorities do not have. They have spent many thousands of pounds trying to implicate me in Official Secrets Act and data protection offences on no evidence.
"I am being told that certain officials in Jersey are falsely briefing against me and I would need to be stupid to expose myself to these people."
Harper added that he had told the Crown Office in Edinburgh he was prepared to answer the questions in any British court.
He went on: "They are using me as a scapegoat so they can drop all the abuse charges. "Nothing should detract from the fact that there remain serious, credible allegations about the abuse of children in care in Jersey and these must be investigated." The inquiry centred on claims that children had been tortured and killed in secret chambers beneath the Haut de la Garenne children's home in Jersey. Police teams dug in the foundations of the disused home amid speculation that an abuse ring had been covered up for up to 40 years. But detectives now in charge of the case say there is no evidence that any children were killed despite Harper insisting the remains of "at least five children" had been found. Media reports claimed police had found evidence of a secret underground chamber, metal shackles and sites where children might lie buried.
The inquiry led to three men being charged in connection with abuse on Jersey involving girls and boys as young as eight. The Crown Office in Edinburgh confirmed yesterday they had been asked by the Jersey authorities to carry out investigations in Scotland into the abuse case on their behalf. A Crown Office spokesman said: "We are co-operating with the States of Jersey authorities in connection with their investigation regarding Haut de la Garenne." Graham Power, Jersey's chief of police and formerly deputy chief at Lothian and Borders, remains suspended in the fallout from the inquiry.
http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2009/01/18/scot-in-charge-of-jersey-abuse-case-accuses-force-of-hounding-him-78057-21050583/
Scot in charge of Jersey abuse case accuses force of hounding him
Jan 18 2009 By Norman Silvester
THE POLICE chief who led a probe into child abuse at a Jersey children's home is under criminal investigation. Scot Lenny Harper, 56, has been called back to the island for a court hearing but has refused because he fears arrest as a "scapegoat". Harper, the former deputy head of the States of Jersey Police, has been accused of witholding vital information about the investigation to the police team that replaced him. And he is also alleged to have breached data protection and official secrets laws by leaking information about the investigation to the media. Harper, who was previously a deputy divisional commander for Strathclyde Police, was interviewed by Crown Office staff last week. On Tuesday, he received a letter from Jersey attorney-general William Bailhache ordering him to attend a hearing at the island's Royal Court on January 28. Harper, who lives in Ayr, said last night he did not have any evidence or documents which were not already in the possession of the Jersey authorities. He said: "I have been ordered to appear in Jersey at the Royal Court to give evidence and provide notebooks. "They also want to see a farewell card which my former staff signed which they say contains evidence.
"The order is not enforceable in the United Kingdom. "I have no evidence whatsoever to give or documents which the Jersey authorities do not have. They have spent many thousands of pounds trying to implicate me in Official Secrets Act and data protection offences on no evidence.
"I am being told that certain officials in Jersey are falsely briefing against me and I would need to be stupid to expose myself to these people."
Harper added that he had told the Crown Office in Edinburgh he was prepared to answer the questions in any British court.
He went on: "They are using me as a scapegoat so they can drop all the abuse charges. "Nothing should detract from the fact that there remain serious, credible allegations about the abuse of children in care in Jersey and these must be investigated." The inquiry centred on claims that children had been tortured and killed in secret chambers beneath the Haut de la Garenne children's home in Jersey. Police teams dug in the foundations of the disused home amid speculation that an abuse ring had been covered up for up to 40 years. But detectives now in charge of the case say there is no evidence that any children were killed despite Harper insisting the remains of "at least five children" had been found. Media reports claimed police had found evidence of a secret underground chamber, metal shackles and sites where children might lie buried.
The inquiry led to three men being charged in connection with abuse on Jersey involving girls and boys as young as eight. The Crown Office in Edinburgh confirmed yesterday they had been asked by the Jersey authorities to carry out investigations in Scotland into the abuse case on their behalf. A Crown Office spokesman said: "We are co-operating with the States of Jersey authorities in connection with their investigation regarding Haut de la Garenne." Graham Power, Jersey's chief of police and formerly deputy chief at Lothian and Borders, remains suspended in the fallout from the inquiry.
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2 comments:
Heard that LH is looking for JTM.
Should be fun
It's news to me that LH is Scottish, not Northern Irish.
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