Scrutiny to review report into child abuse inquiry
Friday 24th June 2011, 2:56PM BST.
A sub-panel is to be chaired by Deputy Trevor Pitman
A SCRUTINY panel is to examine whether a report into the financial management of the historical child abuse inquiry was fair, accurate and independent.
The Education and Home Affairs Panel has agreed to form a sub-panel led by Deputy Trevor Pitman to investigate issues arising from the report carried out by accountancy firm BDO Alto and commissioned by the Minister for Home Affairs Ian Le Marquand.
The report, published in July 2010, made strong criticisms of financial management and oversight failures during the historical child abuse inquiry, highlighting the role of the senior investigating officer Lenny Harper.
A statement issued by the panel said that serious concerns had been brought to their attention about certain aspects of the way in which BDO Alto had carried out its review.
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So all of a sudden we have a handful of states members who have on record been critics of the finance industry now questioning a professional accountancy firm that did work over 2 years ago. Well fancy that!
But why be surprised? They obviously have time on their hands in the States and continue to dodge the real issues that affect the voting public like unemployment, housing, crime, taxes and future prosperity hich has an effect in each Parish they claim to represent.
Bring on the elections.
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It’s good to see the atrocious financial miss handling of Mr Harper and the Haut de la Garenne investigation is under the spotlight once again. The Media appeared to forget all these millions wasted on a useless dog, lavish meals, trips all over the place so quickly.
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That s it ! rub it in and spend more money in some more reports.
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Am I alone in thinking that this old story has been exhausted so many times to date that some people just want to re-write history? The constant referring back is positively mind numbingly boring so why the obsession? Is there really nothing else happening in this Island that these States Deputies can deal with?
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I am very pleased to see this happening as it might finally give us some answers to put this to bed. I am particularly pleased that someone like Deputy Trevor Pitman is Chairing the review. One of our best new States members and one of the few who seems unworried about crossing the council of ministers and their civil servants.
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Ha ha ha! Didn’t Channel TV get an award for the reporting on this last year, so left it a bit late then !!!
No wonder they say the scrutiny process is a waste of time.
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This has nothing to do with the finance industry whatsoever.
Janet has this right an opportunity to finally answer some serious questions. The minister has made an awful hash of this I’m afraid nice chap as he seems. Too much gets covered up in our island. Just look at these huge pay outs to people who have not done their jobs. Madness.
I also have to agree that it is good to see a straight talking politician like deputy Pitman at the helm. One of a number you could count on one hand who talks sense.
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Real Time Man (4)Is there really nothing else happening in this Island that these States Deputies can deal with?
I fear you are right, the States of Jersey budget is racing headlong into the abyss and Ministers are still spending like crazy.
Whatever can be said about the financial management of the historical child abuse inquiry pales into insignificance compared to the woes of the States of Jersey Treasury. That is the real story, with millions of pounds wasted, a story which has yet to see the light of day!
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I am confused, we are in the middle of an Island Plan debate for the next decade and a scrutiny panel announce a look back at an accountant report from 2009 right in the middle of it. Do they have other things on their minds that take priority or something?
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“Paul Gower Posted June 24, 2011 at 3:14 pm
It’s good to see the atrocious financial miss handling of Mr Harper and the Haut de la Garenne investigation is under the spotlight once again. The Media appeared to forget all these millions wasted on a useless dog, lavish meals, trips all over the place so quickly.”
Paul, if you were a more informed of the situation you’d realise this investigation holds the potential to vindicate Lenny Harper.
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Another waste of time and money that will amount to nothing.
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I give up. People sing the praises of these people yet they have delivered nothing so far this term. Even if it was just one item of public interest that scrutiny could look into say like the cost of petrol, I may have something to look forward to.
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Ben – 6, yes they got the ‘Royal Television Society award’ for their coverage of the Haut de la Garenne expenses scandal.
Talk about closing the stable door after the horse has bolted, I guess it just about sums up the timing of the States in general.
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It has been said many times that there are a lot of back door states members who promise their tiny voting groups so many things at the Hustings yet fail to deliver anything. How many of these people said no to GST in their manifestos yet GST is not only still with us 3 years later but it’s gone up? Great so thanks for nothing. This announcement is only for the benefit of a tiny handful of people if you follow any of this guff on the Net. But why be surprised? I’d actually challenge these deputies to stand in the Senatorials in October if they seriously believe their political work is so popular, but I know the answer to that already.
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‘H. Umblepie Posted June 24, 2011 at 4:21 pm
Paul, if you were a more informed of the situation you’d realise this investigation holds the potential to vindicate Lenny Harper.’
Cough, cough, splutter, put that one past me again. We are talking about the same sensational media coconut man here I assume?
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I agree with most of the comments on here, why now and why weren’t questions raised at the time?
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Enron, Lehman Bros and Fred Goodwin “the shred” costing the UK public £46 Billion in bailout funds.
Their corporate accounts were all audited by independent accountancy firms and looked what happened.
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Dave the last 3 years in Jersey politics have been nothing short of a complete disaster because the whole lot of them are useless.
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“serious concerns had been brought to their attention about certain aspects of the way in which BDO Alto had carried out its review.”
Let’s have it out, I have more confidence in Scrutiny Panel than in anything that Ian Le Marquand has scent marked.
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So a guy whose profession was running a youth club is in charge if this!
Has the world gone mad?
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At least Ben had a go at working at a youth club and did something good for our youth. So at least we have a person who knows what is going on with our youth and can do something about it, instead of hiding his head in the sand!
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After reading this load of rubbish what I will promise myself to do is to only vote for people who actually live in my district. 4 Months before an election, and time is being put aside to look into an accountants report released not only yonks ago but is only of any concern to Police officers that don’t even live or work here anymore! Is this the vote winner that everybody has missed or something?
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Someone some where is having a laugh, you cannot honestly fob the public off with any more nonsence all you need to do is look at who signed the Purchase orders for this entire scandelous waste of tax payers money, but yet again the public will never know who was responsible, Jersey politics must be the best in the world for shourding issues with hipocricy.
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Lets get this right…. they are paying people to check the accounts that have already been checked by a local accountancy firm… Why? And how much tax is that going to cost us now.
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Looking at this action and the main person who is chairing it I have to say that perhaps 3 years in politics for Trevor Pitman is his lot now.
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Hi Ben @20
“Has the world gone mad?”
Well errr… Yes. – or perhaps you hadn’t noticed ?
Historic problem that continued under the noses of “the great and the good”.
Hushed up -rather than investigated and errrrr…… stopped?
Failed by the usual suspects : Jersey lawyers, accountants, businessmen and ‘moneyed’ families.
Opportunity for closure missed – instead years of more festering, expense and bad PR for the island.
Deputy Pitman has shown himself to be restrained and professional. And if he happens to be a youth club manager -what is your problem exactly?
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Deputy Pitman is professional? You are having a laugh? People in St Helier Number One have had him for 3 years but because he doesn’t even live in the Parish they don’t even know who he is. This scrutiny is fine, because how they will over turn all the findings of 2 years ago will be of very special interest.
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Judging by some of the very ignorant posts above I would have to conclude that there are some very worried people out there. The States Coms Unit appear to be working overtime as the panic is palpable!
Anyone who has any real knowledge of how this report was produced would have to say that there would appear to be some very unsavoury working practices involved and it may well be that the report writers were paid for not doing their job properly. It is therefore essential that this is looked into to prove or disprove the claims.
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I think people are more fed up of time wastage than worried. If anything the people the over spends concern should be worried as its all coming back to haunt them again.
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Jamie #29. That is all very well if you start from the premise that the BDO Alto investigation was conducted properly and professionally. However, just for a moment, consider this as an alternative.
What if it is found that BDO Alto were paid a huge amount of our money to produce a report, which is not worth the paper it is written on because they did not act properly, ethically or professionally? Would that not be a huge waste of taxpayer’s money?
What if that useless report was used in the most disgraceful way, simply to trash an innocent man’s reputation? Would that be morally acceptable to you?
There are very legitimate concerns about this report. Concerns that need addressing.
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And we have a treasury minister who has no experience of working in the real world. What say you about that….
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Trev you are priceless – Yeh Trevor Pitman for CHIEF MINISTER
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Surprising how many fully qualified accountants are on here all of a sudden. When are people going to stop kidding themselves about coconuts and conspiracy theories and face reality for a change like Judge Sumption’s summing up last week? This constant reference back to nothings is getting not only cumbersome and costly but incredibly boring.
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And when Pitman has completed his report into the BDO report, can we have someone do a report on Pitman’s report…?
Enough already…
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Are Scrutiny qualified to compile a report???
I doubt it.
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Hi Davyecc @35
You doubt that Scrutiny are qualified to compile a report
So what are the required qualifications then?
1. A nose for the money.
2. A moral compass.
Talking of required qualifications, I take it that BDO are specialists in POLICE accounting ?
It is the moral compass that will find the way to the truth
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This story is so old who cares anymore apart from a handful of Harper followers?
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All this proves is that Trevor Pitman is willing to be a stooge for a handful of conspiracy theorist bloggers, rather than spending his time and our money, on the job we are actually paying him to do. Please, people of St Helier, do the right thing and vote for a deputy who will serve the majority of islanders interests, not a tiny minority whose only pitiful aim is to spread their own misery and discontent.
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Jamie 33
What coconut?
The freak hybrid mammal/vegetable who’s chemical make-up contained collagen?
What about the child’s femur that was found?
Or the numerous bones, many burned while they were still ‘fresh and fleshed’, according to the experts. Or the large number of teeth? Were they all part of the mysterious species of juvenile coco-mammal too?
Sorry Jamie, no such thing as a collagen coconut.
I wonder what else it must have been..
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Fair play to Deputy Pitman, this needs looking at to find out what went on and I’m sure his panel will do a good job.
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To all those anti-reviewers, I would suggest that there are enough concerns hanging over this report to warrant a review.
The island is polarised – those who believe that the police administration of Power/Harper lost control of the HDLG enquiry, those who believe that Power/Harper’s reputations have been trashed as part of a cover-up. For the sake of closure (or at least part-closure) we should all be welcoming the review.
As for cost, it’s minimal. And don’t forget that the scrutineers involved will be giving up part of their summer recess to work on the review, while most of our other states members will be enjoying their holidays.
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I note that not only a pointless review is being started by this deputy into a shambles of investigation but he now wants a vote of censure of the Chief Minister. Getting very vocal lately obviously. But before this deputy and his wife stand again in October, can somebody possibly list all the marvellous things they have achieved together to date so that the voters can have a really good idea of their true worth to them payers of their salaries before making their final decision?
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DEPUTY Trevor Pitman has proposed a censure motion against the Chief Minister over ‘failures in leadership’.
The Deputy has proposed the motion – a formal reprimand that stops short of a dismissal vote – over what he described as ‘a whole catalogue of mismanagement’.
In the report accompanying his proposition, Deputy Pitman cited 13 failures by the Chief Minister.
The proposal has been listed for debate in the States during the sitting on 5 July.
Article posted on 29th June, 2011 – 2.58pm
Well done Deputy Pitman.
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A SCRUTINY panel, led by local councillor, Trevor Pitman, is to examine whether a report into the financial management of the historical child abuse inquiry was fair, accurate and independent.Sounds good so far but,err..,Pitman has nailed his colours to the mast in today’s JEP (29th June 2011),in a clear conflict of interest.Chief Minister “has failed”, says Deputy.He cites 13 alleged failures “during this Chief Minister’s Regime”, one of which he cites as “opposing the historic abuse inquiry”.Can we expect a “fair,accurate and independent” review of the above under the chairmanship of Trevor Pitman? The answer is no.He should declare his conflict of interest and stand down now.
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#43 – Most of the house believed in a Committee of Enquiry for the Child Abuse saga. Our Chief Minister badly mis-judged the feeling in the house and that of the general public by arguing and leading his council of ministers against it. It is just one of 13 matters raised.
Re conflict of interest, because one might feel fault in something, and state that they feel thought, especially a politician, does that really make them conflicted to take part in a review? Surely that would rule anyone out of our ‘opposition’ politians from sitting on scrutiny panels.
By the very nature of our government, scrutiny will always be made up predominately of opposition members. Almost all, despite how many people may have voted for them, will remain backbenchers, and a vital tool that can be used by those backbenchers to rein in government is the scrutiny process. If conflict of interest issues are raised in this way by government to change scrutiny panels, then the final possibility of any type of good governance of our government has gone.
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Funny enough I just read this Deputy’s blog and it’s not a million miles away from how the infamous vile blog started. Is this really the kind of person the people of Jersey want in Government still because it’s hardly describable as progressive is it?
We want and need people in the States who spend as much time on blogs as finding solutions to the Island’s needs and if this is the calibre of one deputy seeking re-election so far, I seriously recommend anybody interested in the States stands. Lets face it, its easy to rant on a blog about problems without solutions like we’ve seen before, come on anybody can do that!
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Having read loads of information contained in online Jersey blogs, it would appear there is a serious problem with the original enquiry.
What amazes me is that this has only come to light now.
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I find the blogs have been trying to down play the original report since it was released. Personally I trust the justice system and not blogs run by people with no formal legal knowledge but thats my opinion.
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Thank you Gary @44 – I could not have expressed that better myself.
“Realist” (by name only)@43 has a right to flag this, but “conflict of interest” in this case is very weak, by any standards – never mind those in local government !
“Realist” could realistically describe it as an element of prejudice.
But realistically everyone has made pre-judgements on these issues and that is not a problem as long as people are prepared to look at ALL the evidence and modify their opinions where their “pre-judgements” turn out to be wrong.
I think the panel contains able and principled people -but a big question is what will happen when scrutiny finally publish their conclusions.
I think that we can all guess – but this poor government is a result of the Clohier recommendations being cherry picked to concentrate power.
This is just one in a catalogue of failures of this power:
http://www.thisisjersey.com/2011/05/26/golden-pay-offs/
Well done JEP, but couldn’t you have dug a bit deeper?
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Hedinda Sands 36, Gary 40
BDO are a professional services firm with no axe to grind. If you have your ridiculous conspiracy theories you are welcome to them.
Trevor’s pathetic attempt to win votes will end in failure.
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!
Peter @50 “no axe to grind” – and no past financial relationship or aspirations of future relationship with COM/SOJ ????
If you are correct then there is no harm in having it reviewed by “able and principled people” is there?
By the way Peter, We are aware of the dating vagaries in the human remains partially listed by “Stanley” @39.
But do you have any comment on this @39, or is conspiracy theorist becoming something of a complement in the jersey context. Where else in the world do the conspiracy theorists include poll topping politicians/former ministers and top police officers ?
All is well in fairyland.
This is old news…….
What about the cost……..
You can do better than that; Peter is synonymous with ‘rock’ not with ‘brick’
What do you fink ?
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48. Lee
My understanding, from what I have read on the blogs, is certain information is provable and some on public record.
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Peter, Just because BDO are a professional services firm with no axe to grind doesn’t mean that they can’t produce shoddy or unprofessional work from time to time. Every professional services firm has skeletons in the cupboard.
One question that I would ask you ( or any other the anti-reviewers) is if your own business expenses had been subject to an external enquiry, the results of which would be published through the media, would you have expected the professional services firm to ask you for your side of the story before signing off their report?
Now it may be that the terms of reference did not allow BDO to talk to or interview Mr Harper, but if that is the case, then we should find out why, hence the need for a scrutiny review.
And that is just one of the concerns raised about this report.
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Gary, Your post at 53 is mostly bang on the money.
But could I recommend the wording:
“MANY professional services firms have skeletons in the cupboard”
in place of your:
“Every professional services firm has skeletons in the cupboard”
[These generally being metaphorical 'skeletons']
Indeed many of us have ‘pushed the boundaries’ in order to please the client (who is always right) – school fees etc. don’t pay themselves
-Cupboards checked, moral compass still serviceable but needing an occasional tap.
In this colourful world there are shades of grey not just black and white and life is full of compromises.
The real skeletons (or few bits thereof) that survived the burning processes before disposal and subsequent discovery could do with more accurate dating if this is possible. We hope that the dates put them outside of living memory but whenever they date from they were still living, breathing, feeling,crying…….people [juveniles] who departed from this world in mysterious circumstances.
“Tooth fairy” does not explain that [more recent?] collection of children’s teeth.
Question: Where is the best place to “bury” [hide] an old(ish) skeleton ?
COM Answer : Why; under a pile of fresh skeletons of course !
Doh!
Bad things undoubtedly happened in the more recent past – WE KNOW THIS ! – hopefully stopping short of further skeletons. [bar those due to suicide
]
Some questions are bound to remain unanswered but COM behaviour just makes one fear the worst.
We need truth and reconciliation, followed by some form of closure.
Some of us will find it more difficult to move on from this than others – those who have not suffered loss should spare a thought or those who have.
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I think the scrutiny panal is a sham. Reading the comments online by two of these deputies you’d say they had firmly made up their minds already. I also think its a disgrace that they are liaising with a person who recently released an affidivat against people to cause nothing but upset and damage. So much for States members showing compassion for their fellow islanders and siding with people who only want to destroy our island.
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#55- Alan – “I also think its a disgrace that they are liaising with a person who recently released an affidivat against people to cause nothing but upset and damage.”
Firstly, Alan, an affidavit is a formal sworn statement of fact which is made under oath or penalty of perjury. Some people may be upset and feel damaged by the allegations made in Mr Harper’s affidavit, some may be concerned by them, but unless you can prove that these allegations are baseless and without foundation i.e. get Mr Harper tried and convicted of perjury, his affidavit will remain as a true and proper record for historians of Jersey history in the future.
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Oh dear “Alan” @55
May I direct you to Gary’s post #53 which explains some of the problems in terms that perhaps even you can understand.
If you wish to explain why and where he is mistaken then I am happy to talk to you.
Otherwise who is going to be interested in what you FINK ?
Accepting only the prosecution case might be excusable from one such as yourself showing ‘neanderthal characteristics’ (though rather sad and virtually funny)
[/no offence to Neanderthals]
It is certainly NOT acceptable from ILM or BDO.
You go on to say “…person who recently released an affidivat [sic] against people to cause nothing but upset and damage. So much for States members showing compassion for their fellow islanders and siding with people who only want to destroy our island”
Could it be that you have PRE-JUDGED other people and their motivations.
I wonder if you are conflicted ? Ask ILM; presumably it is a concept that he is able to understand.
[/or maybe not]
“Sham” on you.
[/pathetic]
HIDS and the three monkeys x.
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Gary affidivats are only a person’s versions of events in their words and would under normal circumstances be challenged by others in court and who is to say this is still not going to happen? But you can already tell by the recent news that this particular affidivat doesn’t have any influence over anything. So this cods whallop about historians using it for Jersey’s history is just laughable I am afraid.
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Alan, as I said, unless challenged in court, the affidavit will remain as a sworn statement of fact with all the names and events listed therein – it will then, of course, be used as a primary source of information by historians studying this period of Jersey history (together with Mr Power’s affidavit).
In view of the subject matter, and the relevance of the author, if you think that historians will ignore it (or anyone else interested), then I’m afraid that it is you who doesn’t know what they are talking about.
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Gentlemen, this affidavit is already being ignored, you only need look at the recent news to figure that out, and do not forget that the Wiltshire Report and all its umpteen pages of findings is not only historical fact, its a ‘full’ public document!
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Gary, you talk gibberish. Using your argument, if I make a sworn affidavit that I was abducted by aliens last night, all of whom looked like Stuart Syvret, you contend that is fact unless challenged in court. You are either very gullible, naive or stupid; or, I suspect, a mixture of all three.
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“Silly people” 60,
The famed Wiltshire Report -Wiltshire must be squirming, and they have more squirming to do yet.
Have another look at comment 54:
“Question: Where is the best place to “bury” [hide] an old(ish) skeleton ?
COM Answer : Why; under a pile of fresh skeletons of course !
Doh!”
And remind us how much we paid for that (so necessary?) ‘fresh skeleton’ – well over £1 million ?
Scrutiny is looking like very good value for money.
Openness breeds trust.
Some want to keep it buried no matter what the cost.
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Silly people – how can the Wiltshire Report be a ‘full’ public document, when only 15% of that document was actually made public?
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I have to say that when I looked through the evidence givers to this inquiry and saw Lenny Harper I agree that it’s got to be a sham to start with because he never admits to any wrong doing ever! Then to top it this entire scrutiny panel is using a person that isn’t even officially connected to the inquiry, or has any formal accountancy qualifications but just once a mono visionless blog to give evidence! Now I know where this is going so yes you couldn’t make it up!
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Gary@59 You are wrong an affidavit is only evidential it is not fact. Many affidavits contradict one another. You really need to know what you are talking about.
The seearing statement says Statement “These matters are to the best of my knowledge true and correct”
Do you notice the rider in that?
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#64 – You sound like Ben Shenton!
Even if you think that ‘Lenny Harper never admits to any wrong doing ever’, don’t you think that he has a right of reply to a document that is so critical of him – especially when the authors deemed it unnecessary to speak to him when they were writing their report.
No matter what you might think personally about Mr Harper, anyone in his position should have the right to be heard and I cannot understand why people do not respect this.
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These posts are amusing because you would think this is fresh news! The fact remains that they have had a year to respond to these accusations and from the interim reports even more time yet they leave it all till now to say something. No wonder they say scrutiny is a waste of states time!
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Paul Marriot @64
“Lenny Harper …………………….. never admits to any wrong doing ever!”
Perhaps you would like to tell us where ILM has “admitted to any wrong doing ever”
One side here seems to be relying excessively name calling………..
and on doctored terms of reference.
The Chinese state use to “denounce” critics
This was generally injurious to well-being / fatal; lucky that this is not China…. is it ?
Imagine a state where you don’t have to listen to people – you can just “denounce” them.
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Ade, the fact that anyone swearing an affidavit may be tried for perjury if that person has been shown to have lied in his affidavit, proves that the affidavit is a legal document and that, although not carrying the same weight as evidence given in a court of law, will be accepted by a court of law as evidence.
What I’m saying, and that you cannot seem to understand, is that unless Mr Harper’s affidavit is challenged in court, then it will be accepted by historians as a proper record of what went on in Jersey during his term here. He is, after all, one of the major players in this matter, and I believe that historians (who will probably arrive at this subject without bias) will want to look at both sides – whether that be a flawed BDO report or an affidavit signed by Mr Harper.
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Gary I have given affidavits they are only a record of a person’s recollections and do not often lead to perjury convictions – look at the rider I have mentioned before. What about you have you ever been called as a witness or given an affidavit in a civil case?
Besides that Mr Harper’s recollections have already been dissed on several occasions or do you live in a hermetically sealed vessel?
Why should ant more credence be given him than any other of the so called players when he obviously is slightly conflicted (another legal term for you)
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#67 Tony, the problem is that this report was signed off, published and accepted across the media without question. It is only in the last couple of months that serious faults have been allegedly discovered therein. If these are proved to be true, then surely it was right to investigate, if they are false, then that should signal closure on this particular matter.
What you should be complaining about is how such an expensive report as this, into the financial oversee of the HDLG enquiry, was allowed to be signed off without any form of communication with the actual person deemed responsible for the financial oversee – Mr Harper. It beggars belief!
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Ade, ignoring your patronising tone, the point still stands, in the absense of a witness, an affidavit is an acceptable legal document, albeit without the weight of cross-examined evidence. I am not a lawyer, but yes, I have dealt with one or two affidavits during well over 30 years in the finance industry.
But again, I’m not talking about this affidavit being used in a court of law – I’m talking about this affidavit being classified as a valuable refernce document by future historians, at least to balance the reports that have already made their way into the public.
You state that ‘Mr Harper’s recollections have already been dissed on several occasions or do you live in a hermetically sealed vessel?’ Unless you are talking about reports written about Mr Harpers oversee of finance, which appear to be getting a ‘dissing’ themselves at the moment, then I can think of none. Please give an example.
As for conflicted – what are you trying to say – that if a person is accused of something then they cannot defend themselves because they are, in effect, conflicted?
And more credence has already been given to the other players than to him – no one even bothered to speak to him.
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There seems to be a lot of excitement over one person here who hasn’t even got the nerve to step back into Jersey to give any ‘evidence’ in person. To me that shows there is something wrong with it all.
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Gary
It does not matter if you are factually and morally right in practically every point you have made in your posts because it is totally obvious that you fail to understand the Jersey way of “denouncing” a former leader as an “enemy of the state” (of jersey).
It is like we are talking Cantonese. China may have gone all progressive by not overtly using such techniques for the control of the masses; but in Jersey we have not gone soft and I would say that you are just a hairsbreadth of being “denounced” yourself.
Once you are “denounced” you have no right to reply and you are lucky to escape house arrest. (& data protection investigation etc)
We do not want the truth, or even an alternative interpretation. We want to be told that everything is fine and always was fine. This is the only path to true enlightenment.
There are great rewards for model citizens who do not want to destroy Jersey :
http://www.thisisjersey.com/2011/05/26/golden-pay-offs/
-a grateful people show their gratitude because engineering many “denouncements” is hard work
Your “re-education” will be long and uncomfortable and luckily what you think does not matter. In the meantime you you will achieve happiness through labour as you pay your GST and tax increases.
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Gary Number 2 – (congratulations on your originality)- Why should Lenny Harper return to Jersey? He hasn’t broken any laws. You might not know this, but conference calls are an accepted part of the communication process these days.
However, it will be interesting to see if Messrs Warcup and Gradwell return to Jersey, if they are called, particularly in light of data protection issues arising from their alleged involvment in the leaking of the BDO report and use of confidential statements from other reports.
Euen Mee – I’m afraid that you have to be of sound mind to have your affidavit accepted by the court – so that would appear to rule you and your alien story out, although I’m sure that Freud would have something to say about your claim that they all looked like Stuart Syvret.
Conflict of Interest – thank you for the support.
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Gary
I hope that you have taken note of my post #74 and perhaps linked:
http://www.thisisjersey.com/2011/05/26/golden-pay-offs/
with the link:
http://www.thisisjersey.com/2010/10/08/report-criticises-suspension/
which deserves particularly careful reading.
I trust that you appreciate that the gratitude that you (and all good citizens) feel does not come for free, so we are glad to pay any tax increases.
GNo.2 @73 you have no idea how pathetic that sounds ?
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Regarding the “upset” that Alan expresses @55
Alan, do you need to “man up” a bit ? you are presumably GROWN MAN.
My opinion is that for all the good work that Harper may have done he may have failed to keep as tight a rein on expenses as he perhaps should have.
Did BDO Alto produce totals on the marginal expenses that could be classed as plainly excessive and those that were questionable?
This could be compared to the £7.5m (?) or the total investigation as it would indeed be a miracle if there was NO wastage.
More to the point the expenses ‘wastage’ could be compared to the cost of the BDO Alto report £??0,000 and the famed ‘Wiltshire Report’ (£1m plus?)
“Gary Number 2″ @73 says:
“………one person here who hasn’t even got the nerve to step back into Jersey to give any ‘evidence’ in person”
ERRRR……. So that presumably means that you are not one of the people critical of the spend on air fares, hotels, meals etc. as you appear now to be requesting even MORE.
-That really does not look too clever to me !
HIDS x.
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What a depressing photo accompanied the report of the “hearing”. Monty, looking as though he has just blagged Stewart’s autograph and can’t wait to show it off to the rest of the team. The usual grisly gang of “citizen journalists” and Trevor Pitman, self appointed all round witch-finder poursuivant. How on earth did a suposedly intelligent man like Dan Wimberley get himslef caught up in such a circus at the end of which, can you credit it, Trevor opened up the enquiry to quesions from the floor? Can you imagine it happening at a House of Commons Select Committee? Fact finding and impartial? For just about the first time since he got himself elected, I can actually see Ian Le Marquands point. And how impartial can a panel leader with such deep Guernsey roots really be? (only joking Trev, but as you so regularly put it, “there you go”).
Perhaps a few difficult questions as to Mr. Harper and his teams relationship to News International journalists (who have recently made no bones about regularly paying UK police officers (and the Met in particular)for “scoops” received)would give this “enquiry” at least some small shred of credibility as, to this fairly jaundiced observer, it presently has many of the trappings of our old friend the Stalinist Show Trial. I feel confident that the doughty officers would confirm that they were briefing the News of the Screws at their famous (and now famously expensive) London soirees as a way of “building the case” but it would great to know that perhaps the only other exchange was the Jersey tax-payer picking up the tab for the tame hacks chicken biryani and diet coke.
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Hi “Merlin” @78,
Your “News International” angle is new (for me at least) and warrants checking out.
I expect that it has already drawn a blank in one of the many “Get Harper” etc investigations.
My feeling is that, in the unlikely event of Harper being that corruptible, why should News International want to pay for information that Harper & co have been criticised for being too free with.
Furthermore, I am not aware of any sensitive police information making it into those publications at that time.
e.g de-fleshed and burned juvenile human femur and many other bone fragments
(within the vagaries of carbon dating (of damaged) artifacts we hope that the timescale of these items puts them at the edge or
beyond useful investigation, though still within living memory).
This information presumably having come out later from other sources without money changing hands?
Also it appears that Harper was not a loose cannon as widely put about,
I quote from:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6241652.ece
“I [David James Smith] had never given much credence to the more lurid tales of possible homicides, mainly because I had been counselled against them by Lenny Harper”
So, bar the pertinent and topical “News International” angle the rest of your post covers nearly all the bases in terms of prejudice and innuendo.
It is actually quite a work of art and very readable.
As you put it: “Trevor opened up the enquiry to questions from the floor” :
-unconventional but in some ways an eye opener in terms of democratisation.
-refreshing to see a politician loosening his grip on control for once, by nature they tend to want to control and direct.
This “opening the floor” presumably gave the ‘accredited’ journalists there opportunity to ask all those difficult questions that you thought should have been asked ?
I have got to say; your ‘Guernsey angle’ was a stroke of genius – you are within a whisker of convincing me now
HIDS x.
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@Hedinda Sands #77
“My opinion is that for all the good work that Harper may have done he may have failed to keep as tight a rein on expenses as he perhaps should have”
Well that’s one way to live up to your name! Why are you so keen to pass judgement and opinion without researching all the evidence and arguments from both sides? Look online for what Lenny Harper has said on the matter, and then see what you think.
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The rumor is this inquiry is costing £10,000.00. A great waste of tax payers money before elections from a bunch that spend all their time in the states playing personality politics whilst the better states members do all the work.
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“Graham” @81,
I see you are a rumour man not a facts man when you say:
“The rumor is this inquiry is costing £10,000.00″ – and then it seems you tell us what to think !
From page 6 of JEP 7/7/2011: £82,000.00 was JUST THE HOTEL BILL (Radisson Waterfront Blu) for the famed ‘Wiltshire Enquiry’
Ian Le Marquand has just said that he thinks that was good value – Is that what you think too ?
Voting for ILM are you ?
HIDS x.
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At least the Wiltshire Report Personnel didn’t use tax payers money to entertain News of the World journalists !
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“Get real!” @83 (NO you get real),
Well thank god for that ! The HOTEL BILL for the totally unnecessary ‘Wiltshire Enquiry’ might have been
£82,090.00 if they had met a third party over a meal – pushing up costs by just over 0.1%
Watching the pence is important but you need to get a sense of proportion as well as getting real; try to concentrate on the thousands and the tens of thousands.
Hopefully any meals gave News of the World journalists food poisoning – but that’s probably too much to hope for.
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