LENNY Harper went on national television and radio this morning to claim that the interests of abuse victims have not been the primary concern of the Jersey authorities.

Speaking from his new home in Ayrshire, Scotland, Mr Harper said: ‘I think the victims’ interests have been sacrificed for whatever reason, and I don’t have an answer to that, but I think that interests of the victims have been sacrificed for some reason, and that there has been a marked reluctance to vigorously pursue the allegations to their natural conclusion in court.’

Mr Harper was speaking to BBC and former Island journalist Robert Hall. In the interview, Mr Harper repeated his criticisms of the Island’s law officers. He explained that his inquiry team would put together a file on a suspect outlining its evidence against them, but then they would run into ‘inexplicable delays’.

And he added that ‘the goalposts were being moved’ and the decision-making process for the Jersey legal system appeared to be ‘whenever, wherever’. Mr Harper has also been critical of warnings from Jersey’s Attorney General, William Bailhache, that extensive media coverage may have jeopardised future court proceedings. He told BBC News today: ‘Whenever you’ve got allegations that children’s bodies may be disposed of at a care home and you find bones, some of them burnt, and you find children’s teeth, that’s not a matter any police force in the UK would hide.’