Author Archives: davidhencke

Michael Gove: A Paedophile’s Unwitting Friend?

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Dereliction of duty to protect the nation's school children from child abusers

Michael Gove:Dereliction of duty to protect school children from child abusers

Michael Gove is not known for being shy and retiring when it comes to forcing decisions on the nation’s schools. Yet rather curiously he has disclosed that he has no intention of intervening to ensure that when children are sexually abused in the nation’s state funded and private schools that the incident should be reported.

My colleagues Frederika Whitehead and Mark Conrad have written the full story for Exaro News ( see http://www.exaronews.com/articles/4999/michael-gove-blocks-move-to-force-schools-to-report-sex-abuse) .

Put simply he has written to Cheryl Gillan, the ex-minister and Tory MP for nearby Chesham and Amersham, saying that he is against mandatory reporting of allegations to the specific local officer  because it could ” swamp ” officialdom ” with every incident reported”. He says : ” schools should be trusted to make their own professional judgement ” to report the matter.

This statement is extraordinary for two reasons. Why does Gove think authorities are going to be swamped? Does he think they are loads of kids in the nation’s schools waiting to accuse their teachers of sexual abuse? Or does he suspect, as the abused tell us, that this much more widespread than we realise and he frankly doesn’t want to know?

Also sadly the idea of relying on schools to use their professional judgement to report sexual abuse cases appears to be rather hollow from my experience. In the investigations I have covered what appears to happen is that schools and social services are prone to cover this up. Both the London borough of Richmond and the  Roman Catholic Salesian order have paid off victims and in the case of the Salesians got the person to sign a gagging order not to reveal what happened. This results in the perpetrators often being moved to avoid a scandal and getting new jobs elsewhere  where they repeat the pattern, Jimmy Savile style.

I am sure that Michael Gove is not a supporter of paedophilia nor am I accusing or even inferring in the headline that he is remotely sympathetic to child abusers. But unwittingly by not doing so he is  giving aid and comfort to those who want this hushed up. My accusation against Gove is more dereliction of duty as secretary of state for education in not providing the protection of the law for children who are sexually abused. I know from other sources that the Metropolitan Police Paedophile Unit take a similar view.

An Ed Balls up on rich pensioners benefits

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Ed Balls explaining his balls up on rich pensioners: Pic Courtesy:Left Foot Forward

Ed Balls explaining his balls up on rich pensioners: Pic Courtesy:Left Foot Forward

Update: Since posting this comment  the Labour Party have formally adopted this policy of taking away winter fuel allowances from higher rate pensioners.

 But the Revenue have confirmed that they do  not collate figures showing how many households have higher rate and standard rate taxpayers who are currently eligible for winter fuel payments. They do not need to collect the information as taxpayers are assessed individually. So they don’t know the breakdown. The only figures they have are the number of higher rate taxpayers who are pensioners. He does have  a parliamentary answer from the department of work and pensions based on an estimate for the £100m savings but it does not deal with the situation outlined below.

I am  used to David Cameron shooting from the hip with knee jerk, ill thought out policies to respond to public opinion but I thought that Ed Balls would be cleverer than that.

Evidently not. His latest pronouncement  promises to save £100m by withdrawing winter fuel payments from pensioners who pay higher rates of tax sounds good. Labour expected this to show they are being tough on the rich and offering savings. Actually it will do neither.

As a punter and pensioner who pays higher rate tax because my freelance earnings top up my pension I expected to be one of the people targeted by Ed Balls. In fact it will have zilch effect, a load of old Balls if you like.

Let me explain why. The fuel allowance is currently paid to individual pensioners with a cap of £200 per household. So for a start I only receive £100 of   fuel benefit. The other £100 goes to my wife, also a pensioner, who is a standard rate taxpayer. So his planned saving will be halved anyway in my case.

But it is actually worse than that. My wife became a pensioner before me and was entitled to the full household fuel allowance in her own right. So when I was on The Guardian, our household was receiving then  a £250 fuel subsidy for a short time. What will happen under the Balls changes is that my wife will get back the full benefit of £200 – so we will still continue to receive exactly the same subsidy.

I suspect I am not alone. I know of many people around me in the shires, where in traditional families of that generation the main earner is the male who may well pay high rates of tax. His spouse who brought up the children, and did part-time work instead, would be a  standard rate taxpayer. These wealthy households will continue to get the subsidy.

Now Ed Balls could get round this by imposing a household cap equivalent to the income level set by the higher rate of tax. But if he does this he will run into fresh problems.

The text of his speech reads:  ( see http://www.labour.org.uk/striking-the-right-balance-for-the-british-economy)

“can it really remain a priority to pay the Winter Fuel Allowance – a vital support for middle and low-income pensioners – to the richest 5% of pensioners, those with incomes high enough to pay the higher or top rates of tax?

We believe the winter fuel allowance provides vital support for pensioners on middle and low incomes to combat fuel poverty. That’s why we introduced it in the first place.”

If he does this he will have misled people in this speech because this would mean that two pensioners with say a combined income of £44,000 will lose the allowance – extending the cuts  right into the middle-income group – the so-called ” squeezed middle”. Millions more people will be hit than Labour claims. Or he could change the entire tax system going back to household not personal incomes, which would be enormously costly.

This proposal seems typical of a metropolitan political elite.  Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper are both high rate taxpayers – just like David and Sam Cameron – and would expect to be hit when they reach retirement age – probably 75 by then. But the rest of the country is nothing like that.

Either you are going to hit more households and take away the benefit from standard rate taxpayers or leave a proportion of wealthy households still receiving the fuel allowance. And the Parliamentary answer does not provide the answer to this.

Saved by the NHS: A Scilly Isles medical emergency

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Some three years ago  I railed about the failure  of the NHS services on the Isles of  Scilly to diagnose  a triple fracture  of my shoulder. I complained to the then primary healthcare trust and about the misdiagnosis by the  GP run hospital  on  St Mary’s.  Since then it looked to me that the  service had improved.Little did I know I was about to test it again.

On a gloriously fine Friday my wife Margaret were sitting out on the terrace of the Ruined Cottage cafe on Tresco while two of  our grandchildren were playing on the beach. Suddenly my wife complained of feeling dizzy and moved into the shade. Within seconds  her speech had become slurred, her vision impaired and she could hardly communicate.

What I didn’t realise is that she had had a stroke totally out of the blue. What happened next virtually  saved the day The waiter realising something was wrong got her a glass of water and a sugary drink.  The cafe called the first responders, volunteers trained by the NHS who arrived in five minutes. They took her pulse and called a paramedic  who got to Tresco in 15 minutes from another island. He called in an air  ambulance which got to Tresco within 30 minutes enough for them to take her by road ambulance to the heliport on the other side of the island. By 5.0 pm she was at  the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro – under two hours from her collapse. She was immediately given a brain scan and is now starting to recover in stroke ward.

But what was well beyond the call of duty was the way the responders and the cafe proprietor also looked after me and by now stunned grandchildren. They were taken away from the scene by the staff and given drinks.   They organised my tickets so that I could get off the island the next morning by boat, despite nearly all places being taken because it was end of half term. They checked the times of trains to Truro from Penzance and even the number of a taxi firm in Truro and a good B & B so we could stay there. They even gave me a BT phone so I could ring my daughter  tell her what happened   – as there is no mobile signal at my cottage.

I couldn’t thank them enough for all their help – they checked up on us the next morning to see we were all right. Now I have the difficult part of waiting to see how Margaret recovers. But it is a timely reminder of how valuable the NHS is to Britain, something we take for granted and how important it is that in this case that all this is provided free of charge. Imagine the bills for just getting my wife to hospital.

Exclusive: Met Police launch nationwide child abuse investigation into Catholic order

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National child abuse hero Graham Wilner: Picture reproduced courtesy Rory Wilmer Photography

Campaigning hero Graham Wilmer: Picture reproduced courtesy Rory Wilmer Photography

Over the last two weeks the Met Police Child Abuse Investigation Command  has been  secretly running a new investigation into alleged child abuse involving former schoolboys who went to primary and secondary  schools run by the Roman Catholic Salesian Order in England and Scotland.

Some 23 alleged victims have already contacted in one of the biggest operations since Operation Yewtree  which involved  Jimmy Savile and Operation Fernbridge investigation into sexual abuse at Elm Guest House in Barnes – including tracing people who had left the country for Thailand.

The full story is revealed today in The People (http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/paedo-probe-catholic-schools-20-1911825) and Exaro News( http://www.exaronews.com/articles/4979/met-investigates-catholic-order-s-schools-over-child-sex-abuse ). It is known to involve at least 30 victims and 20 priests and teachers, some of whom are now dead, and stretching back some 50 years. Some of the figures were prominent members of the Order which was set up in London in the late nineteenth century and now stretches world-wide.

The impetus for the new investigation comes from one former pupil of  a Salesian school, Graham Wilmer, who was sexually abused himself, and has tirelessly and heroically  campaigned for a full-scale police investigation into the order for decades.

He now runs the Lantern Project (http://www.lanternproject.org.uk) in the Wirral  which counsels victims of child sexual abuse and has managed to pass to the police 50 names of victims and abusers, some of whom had left the country.

The extraordinary decision to launch the investigation was finally prompted – after three false attempts – by a former pupil of a London Salesian school who was a senior colleague of Commander Peter Spindler, now at HM Inspectorate of Constabulary. He knew of the abuse in the order and directly contacted Spindler. His intervention led to Spindler launching the inquiry and the contacting of  victims. (See http://www.exaronews.com/articles/4980/operation-torva-ex-pupil-joined-police-and-triggered-met-probe )

The Scotland Yard codename for the exercise is Operation Torva.

One of the schools where abuse by staff was alleged to have taken place was a Salesian College in Battersea, south London. Famous pupils there include Catherine Tate  who attended the sixth form and Lord O’Donnell, the former cabinet Secretary, who was head boy.

The Met Police said: “The Metropolitan Police takes allegations of sexual abuse very seriously regardless of when they took place. All allegations when reported will be recorded and investigated and where possible evidence will be put before the court in order that offenders will have to answer for their actions. Officers from the Metropolitan Police have been engaging with members of the Lantern Project in order to work in partnership to encourage those who have suffered abuse to come forward.

Graham Wilmer said: “It is a matter of great comfort to us that the response we have had, when talking to the police, has always been very positive, and no one should be concerned about how they will be treated if they report abuse to the police. I would urge any one who has been abused in a Salesian school, or elsewhere, to come forward and make contact with the police in the first instant.

“It has always been a matter of real concern to me that, up until the Jimmy Savile case, it has been very difficult to get justice for victims of sexual abuse, as nobody really wanted to know. Now, everything as changed, and the police, the DPP and the CPS are actively encouraging victims to come forward and seek help.

However, there is still no sign from government that they will provide the funding necessary to support survivor groups, such as the Lantern Project, without which the support that victims who come forward desperately need, will simply not be there.”

The police are taking calls  from victims on 101 or 999 and victims can also contact the Lantern Project on 0151 630 6956 if they don’t want call the police to report child abuse in the Salesian Order.

Defamation Act 2013: A boost for free speech, Part 2: Public Interest and Privilege – Timothy Pinto

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This is a second good piece of news for bloggers who follow political scandals, local councils, the NHS and bad practice in public services. You needn’t worry if you don’t get it 100 per cent right.You are going to have new rights protecting your reporting and comments so long as you can justify it is the public interest and produce fair accounts of public events. The great thing is you can report public protest meetings with full protection. Another invaluable piece of legal advice for all those following public affairs.

INFORRM's avatarInforrm's Blog

Houses of ParliamentIn this second part of four posts by Timothy Pinto of Taylor Wessing, he considers the changes to common law and statutory privilege which will result from the Defamation Act 2013. Part 1 on “Serious Harm, Truth and Honest Opinion” can be found here.

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Defamation Act 2013: A boost for free speech – Part 1: Serious Harm, Truth and Honest opinion – Timothy Pinto

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I am reblogging this post because it provides free of charge some vital legal advice from an expert for bloggers who challenge power and authority. It makes it pretty clear that bloggers can now without fear of libel threats be highly critical of private companies who provide bad services to the public. It also makes it tad more difficult for nasty public figures- I am thinking of Barnet councillor Brian Coleman recently convicted of common assault of a member of the public – to bring actions when they acquire a bad reputation. This is good news for free speech, democracy and holding companies and public figures to account.

INFORRM's avatarInforrm's Blog

Defamation Act 2013This is the first of four posts by Timothy Pinto of Taylor Wessing where he provides analysis of the key provisions of the UK’s Defamation Act 2013 and its likely practical implications under English law. The four posts will cover: Serious harm, Truth and Honest opinion, Privilege, Intermediary liability, and Other key provisions.

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Am I bovvered? The Ministry of Defence on sexual abuse and bullying of forces’ kids

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Ministry of Defence: Not safeguarding forces children

Ministry of Defence: Not safeguarding forces children

A virtually  unreported hearing of the Commons defence committee has revealed an extraordinary complacent state of affairs of the Ministry of Defence towards complaints from forces parents of sexual abuse and bullying at private schools.

MPs from all three parties have condemned the attitude of officials responsible for paying out school fees for forces children who evidently admit to refusing to move their children from a school if they are bullied or sexually abused.

A full report is  published today on the Exaro website by Frederika Whitehead and myself ( see http://www.exaronews.com/articles/4971/mod-policy-on-claims-of-child-sex-abuse-at-schools-stuns-mps ).

The MPs anger in part stems from a report on The People  ( see http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/police-probe-sexual-assault-claims-1781432 ) which revealed that Stanbridge Earls School in Hampshire where soldier’s children are sent by the MOD  was now the subject of a sexual abuse police investigation.

But the real anger came from three  MPs. Madeleine Moon, Labour MP for Bridgend, said “The MoD should put the protection of children first, not the protection of the ‘continuity of education allowance’ first.”
Two other MPs on the committee – Sir Bob Russell, Liberal Democrat MP for Colchester, and Penny Morduant, Conservative MP, for Portsmouth North, also had strong views.

And Tom Watson has also expressed concern. “This has highlighted the inadequacies of the MoD’s rules for military education. In not offering parents greater choice, the system is too rigid. Worse, the ‘don’t cause a fuss’ attitude of the department makes it hard for the families of service personnel to publicly voice their concerns. This has to stop.”

In its defence the MOD said it did not always enforce this rule. However it is a pretty bad state of affairs in the present climate that the MOD do not seem to have a duty of care towards the children of its forces personnel – given many are serving abroad and not on hand to easily intervene when their kids face bullying or sexual abuse. It all suggests that the forces still have some very antiquated attitudes towards these issues. Expect more investigations from Exaro in this area.

Exhibit C – the “paedophile”

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I have put this excellent blog up to show how important it is to have really good lawyers dealing with child sexual abuse cases – and how plans by the man I dub the ” political mugger ” Chris Grayling, the justice secretary, wants to put this at risk by putting out future legal aided work to the cheapest firms. His package includes encouraging the accused to plead guilty which would have been a disaster in this case. He also wants to put out of business thousands of competent lawyers from taking up cases by excluding them from tendering for work..And incidently if you haven’t got the cash depriving you of your right to have a lawyer of your choice in criminal cases.. I wonder if Grayling would care if the wrong person had ended up in this case in jail – as long as he had saved money.

barristerswife's avatara barrister's wife

This post is one of a series that seeks to dispel the myth that everyone who ends up in court is a scumbag criminal. It is another example of how easy it is for good guys to end up in court. It is another case that illustrates why everyone should be entitled to independent, quality, legal representation and the chance to go to trial and clear their name.

At the moment your rights are under threat from proposals in the MOJ consultation paper Transforming legal aid.  I hope that reading this post will help you understand what these proposals will mean for our justice system.  I hope that once you understand you will want to sign the Save UK Justice petition to have these proposals debated in parliament.

NB this is a true story. Certain details that don’t relate to the factual and legal process have been changed…

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Revealed: Cameron’s nudge,nudge survey to woo marginal voters

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David Cameron outside Downing Street. Picture courtesy: Guardian

David Cameron outside Downing Street. Picture courtesy: Guardian

David Cameron has started his re-election campaign by sending out a private questionnaire and personal letter to targeted voters in marginal seats with leading questions on cutting benefits,encouraging immigration and freezing petrol. My story is in this week’s Tribune magazine.

The survey bears all the “dog whistle”  hallmarks of libel trigger happy Lynton Crosby and the execution of Giles Kenningham, now at Conservative Central Office.

The survey also wants to get hold of e-mail addresses of all the participants for future use by Conservative Central Office. It purports to be a simple request to evaluate how the government is doing to help families and asking for advice on how to continue existing policies. The tenor of Cameron’s letter is couched in party political terms.

He says: “Even with the enormous deficit we inherited from the last government forcing us to make tough decisions in every area, I am committed to doing everything possible to help families with the cost of living in these tough times. So I’d like to know what you think about some of the steps we’ve taken so far – and I’d like to know your ideas about what more the Government can do to help families like yours.”

cameron's survey letter to marginal voters

cameron’s survey letter to marginal voters: click on it to read better

There follows a detailed questionnaire on the economy, welfare benefits. And direct questions on attitudes to life  and to political leadership – such as whether or not you believe in rugged individualism without the support of state and that people can get on regardless of  background or not.

The choice is between “How well I do in life is first and foremost down to me. OR How well I do in life is primarily decided by forces outside of my control.”

The main economic question is slanted against Labour saying : “Even before the banking crisis hit in 2008, the UK was borrowing too much money to pay for public services and public sector jobs that, in the long-term, we couldn’t afford.” Some of the choices are extraordinary – such as a question asking whether a two tier benefit system should be introduced – and existing benefits cut by more than half for those who have only just started paying tax and national insurance.

Voters are invited to put in figures for benefit levels, new caps for the “bedroom tax”,and to comment on evicting council tenants who earn too much money.

David Cameron’s and Ed Miliband’s leadership the questionnaire proposes a dramatic choice. People are asked to choose between “We need leaders who are prepared to listen and to do what people really want” or “We need leaders who will stick to what they believe is right, even if it is unpopular.”

Three rather different questions are asked on immigration, same sex marriage and education  – one definitely pre UKIP surge. The immigration question is ” On balance immigration has been a good thing for this country”. The other on education looks like it had been inserted by Michael Gove: ” Educational standards have been steadily improving in recent years”.

Altogether a very interesting disclosure from a Labour marginal seat in the Midlands. One wonders what that Lynton Crosby  fan (NOT) ‏@LordAshcroft would make of it for fairness and as a tactic. It does suggest Labour need to wake up and small the coffee on campaigning double-quick and start working hard in these marginal seats.

welfare questions - click on it to read it better

welfare questions – click on it to read it better

The Unsavoury Boom in Child Grooming revealed by Oxford gang

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I have updated my blog on the scale of child grooming in the light of the Oxford trial verdicts yesterday – and revelations today on the failure of authorities to believe or support victims – and even allegedly lie about supporting them.

davidhencke's avatarWestminster Confidential

The huge scale of the activities of the Oxford paedophile ring revealed yesterday when seven men were convicted of 43 charges of rape, child prostitution and trafficking is but the tip of the iceberg.

Extraordinary figures revealed earlier that police forces across England and Wales are engaged in more than 30 separate investigations into suspected child sexual abuse and exploitation.

The most damning thing is the failure of social services and the police to get a grip on the situation despite being warned and some of the victims going to the police for help.

A damning article  in today’s Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/may/14/oxford-abuse-ring-social-services) based on an interview with one of the victims reveals yet again the failure of authorities  to support them. Indeed it is worse. From her interview it appears that Oxfordshire  county council MADE UP they were giving her ” wrap around support.” to her and her family…

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