IF anyone can actually see clearly through any of this information, coverage, claim or counter-claim regarding Haut de la Garenne, it would be good to know how they have achieved it.

In all honesty, right now I do not see how anyone can have a clear enough picture of what on earth is going on to have a fully informed opinion. Everyone, after all, now has their own private opinion on what is really happening.

For some, this is always going to stink of a conspiracy ranging from the offices of all the local media to any number of civil servants and politicians wishing to cover their backs.

For others, it was all either based on lies or, at best, exaggerated stories in the first place. And there are any number of variations on these themes, depending on who you have found most plausible at any given time.

You can fight your way through the coverage and try to ignore the rumours and the opinions of those whose views are coloured by their own entrenched positions, but you may still find yourself wondering how on earth it all came to this and how the current situation is actually helping anyone.

We seem to be whipping up another bout of fairly unhelpful hysteria and, while it is easy to blame the media for this, the blame would be even greater if nothing were said at all.

Now we are in a situation where claims have been made on the back of information that may have been wrong, evidence that didn’t exist (or may have done, but not in the way it was thought to) and arguments that always had more to do with the personalities involved than the matter in hand.

In short, it is a complete bloody mess from which it is difficult to see anyone emerging with any real credit.
Since we must all live in hope that police officers do not lie or do discredit to their office on purpose, we have to assume that both the current regime and that led previously by Lenny Harper were acting in the best interests of Islanders and the investigation.

But none of this really helps to explain the fact that what now appears to be the case is so fundamentally different to what it was a couple of months ago.

On top of all this is the mystery resignation recently of the former Home Affairs Minister, Wendy Kinnard, and now the suspension of police chief Graham Power. In a world where we like to solve something by giving someone the chop, Mr Power’s suspension can hardly be a surprise given that Lenny Harper, who would have been the obvious candidate, had already retired.

In conventional thinking, someone at the top has to take the rap and you don’t get a lot higher than someone with the title of chief. There is, however, one small line in the interview given by Mr Harper which sticks in the mind a little more than most: ‘The media treatment of the inquiry was vital in bringing victims forward.’

No matter what the motive, the implication of this is quite clearly that the information needed to be given out in a certain way, the truth, of course, being different things to different men. Which really seems to bring us to the crux of what has gone wrong here and that is manipulation.

No matter which piece of the arguments and information you wish to hold on to, they have all been manipulated to suit the purposes of the various bodies involved, not only in the investigation itself, but in the political machinations which surround it.

Instead of simply giving information in a sort-of bullet-pointed factual way, all of those with the strongest voices are trying to manipulate it to fit into their view of the truth, rather than believing that the latter can emerge of its own accord.

The historical abuse inquiry must continue. The alleged victims must be heard. Both of these are givens which are becoming lost in the battles raging all sides to maintain some credibility despite the manipulation and the mess.

Will the four horsemen now be riding donkeys?
WHAT a difference a couple of nautical miles make. Even in Guernsey they are bracing themselves for a recession along, it would seem, with most of the rest of the world. But what about Jersey? Hell no! We are just going to have a gentle slowdown.

Well, thank goodness for that because, frankly, it was all starting to sound a little apocalyptic and now we sleep safe and sound in our Caesarean beds knowing that the Sarnians can take the flack when it comes to an economic meltdown.

Maybe the four horsemen will trade in their traditional steeds for donkeys for the occasion, just to add that personal touch.

You see, there is an upside to GST after all, you just weren’t looking hard enough. And if we really don’t hit recession, but simply reduce speed, does that mean that all the sarcasm and criticism that has been heaped on our Treasury bods, from the Minister Terry Le Sueur downwards, for their policies in the last few years will have to be retracted? Blimey, if that is the case, I’m not sure where to start.

A staggering thought…
THIS may be a completely unwarranted criticism, but if our parish authorities did not want to have a rush on driving licences at the end of this year, why didn’t they stagger the dating on the ones that were issued last time.

I’m sure there is a really complex and probably legal reason why this could not have been done, but that still leaves the question of whether the same thing is going to happen in another few years.