THE man now in charge of the day-to-day running of the Haut de la Garenne child abuse inquiry has made a fresh appeal for witnesses and victims to come forward.

Appearing before the Island’s media for the first time yesterday, Detective Superintendent Mick Gradwell said that he was determined to get to the truth. He arrived in the Island on Friday to take over from Lenny Harper as the senior investigating officer in the historic child abuse inquiry.

Mr Gradwell comes to Jersey with a record of successfully investigating many high-profile cases in his home county of Lancashire. He was the senior investigating officer for the inquiries into the deaths of 23 Chinese cockle pickers in Morecombe Bay and the murder of Sophie Lancaster, who was beaten to death after being taunted for being a goth.

Speaking yesterday, Mr Gradwell said: ‘I am sure that there are people who have information about this case who have still not come forward.’