Prison Documents Relating To Lennie Smith

These documents have come to light as a result of a FOI request by Martin Walkerdine and so credit must go to him but also to Daedalus for formatting this post and images and Greenlight for transcribing some of the very hard to read handwritten documents.

 

Click on images to expand:

Transcription:
John William Thornton, 37, Leonard William Smith, 31, Leslie
Goddard, 37, Sidney Cooke, [58], Roy Morris, 25 and Walter
Balantyne, 46, have all been charged with conspiracy to commit buggary with boys under the age of consent.
Details of the [crimes] were obtained from [ ].
Thornton and the other five used to pick up runaway boys
and use them for their own sexual pleasures before setting
them up as prostitutes.
Morris was the one who usually picked the boys up from
London and took them to the others [ ] usually Thornton
set them up as prostitutes. There was never any violence used towards the boys [ ].
Thornton is suspected of giving them [LSD ].
All 6 were arrested on a [ ].
They have all admitted [ ]
Although the current charge only relates to a 13 year old boy
they are known to have picked up and used many others
and further charges will follow.
All but Goddard have previous convictions. Thornton’s was
for [ ] burglary and [handling]. Morris was for theft,
burglary, criminal damage and [deception]. Smith’s was for [ ] burglary, theft, deception and [ ]. …handling, burglary
and …

Transcription:
…to be dangerous.
distasteful offence in that young runaway boys were used for
sexual purposes and were put on the streets as prostitutes.
None of the boys however were forced to take part in the
acts and no violence was used. None of these in my mind
are anywhere near warrenting cat ‘A’.
? All six not cat A on remand.
I agree that although this offence is distasteful these men
cannot be considered as category A material since no
violence has been used. However I think we should review
carefully on conviction in view of the fact that they may be
charged with further offences.
? As proposed
Cd you find out the number of other charges there may be
involved pl?
Violence was not used in any of them.
20/3

Transcription:
Wormwood Scrubs pleased with [ ] sent.
1) Mr [ ]
2) Registry to note not cat A
Noted 1 Apr 1986
3) PA

PDP Registry
Correspondence date
2/11/87
filed 25 Nov 1987
Initials

Transcription:
I’ve spoke agan to Dc who told me that so far 3 boys have made statements to the police concerning the [evidence]. And that 3 boys have been questioned but are reluctant to make a statement. The police are still making enquiries and it is possible that more victims may be discovered.
Dr [ ]
Although these six men could presumably face at least a further 6 charges of a similar nature there are no indications that violence was ever used against the boys.
The circumstances of the offences do not suggest there is a need to read them as highly dangerous.
I agree we should look closely at this case on conviction.
All 6 not cat A on remand.
Lennie Smith is charged with murder. Details of the offence
are on docs (7). These were confirmed by DCI.

Transcription:
up and arranged the activities. Were it not for the question of the other murder, there would be no case here for category A conditions. It would be helpful if police advisors could provide some indication of how strongly suspected Leonard Smith is of the murder of Barry Lewis.
DCI mentioned that in interview Sydney Cooke and Robert Oliver geve 2 differeing adresses as the scene of the crime. Leslie Baily also mentioned a 1/2 caste boy being present, the fate of whom is not known. Are these circumstances the grounds for the police’s suspicions of another murder?
Police Advisors.
Please see x1 and x2 above for your comments please.
(DCI Coss 0277230373)
P3 8/12/87 (Rest of document is typed).

Transcription:
DCI confirmed that none of the men intended to kill Jason, but once he was dead, they were very calm and careful in disposing of the body. Because of the circumstances of the murder, Smith’s name too has been mentioned in the investigation of the murder of Barry Lewis in South London. However police have no evidence and no charges will be brought against Smith.

Smith has numerous pre cons. A full list of at doc 5. His longest sentence was 2 1/2 years for Ind. Ass. It was on remand for this charge that Smith was a potential cat A (made not cat A 21/3/86). On of his present co acc Sydney Cooke, was also a co occ of Smith in 1986. Smith was [ ] arrested from this sentence, for the current charge.

Smith’s role in the offence is greater than the other five mens and his name being linked with another murder has prompted DCI [Cass] to say he requires cat A conditions. He is not considered an escape risk.

Smith’s ‘great role’ in the offence involves no more than him being the one who picked the boy.

Transcription:
This new information calls for a reappraisal of the
dangerousness of the accused. I should like to consider the
results please. 9 12 87
Leonard Smith is considered by the police investigating to be
the instigator of the offence, and the onlyl one worthy of cat
A conditions, the others just going along with his
arrangements, with the exception of Leslie Bailey who may
have hit Swift with an iron bar (the only action which could
have had no intention other than to harm). As regards the
Carl Lewis murder, all suspects in the

Transcription:
Swift case have been interviewed. It is not probable but
possible that there is a connection. The two investigations
have a computer link up to exchange information so police
keep an open mind on their involvement.
The police investigating the Lewis murder are still actively
pursuing other lines of enquiry. The investigation will continue
up till the mens trial. They are due to be committed on
15.2.88. A lot still seems to remain uncertain. However the
finger of guilt points steadily in Leonard Smiths direction and
as such cat A conditions seem suitable. If there is a
connection with the Carl Lewis murder, he is it.
Details of the above obtained from Dr [Heard]
Smith cat A on remand, review others closely on conviction
(esp Bailey)
I agree
7.4.88
7187

Transcription:
1) Mr [redacted] to note now cat A
2) Mr [redacted] to ” ” ”
3) Police advisors to ” ” ”
4) Regy to note, now cat A
5) BD 5.6.88 to me conviction
22/2/88
Smith’s cases was dismissed on 14/4/88.
He has be rearrested on another murder charge and is in [Bll]
custody. I informed [redacted] he should bring him into
prison custody asap.
20/4/88
The above information now appears to relate to Smith. He*
has only returned from police custody and is not further
charged.
* [redacted]
20/4/88

Transcription:
B87908 Smith
H M Prison
Jebb Avenue
Brixton
London
SW2 5XF
[Stamped] 19 Jan 1988 20 Jan 1988

Dear Home Secretary
As you can see from the above address i am in prison
on remand for murder i am charged along with four others
who are hear in this prison also the thing i dont understand is
why have i been made a cat “A” and not one of the others
have i must stress to you i have never been violent or a
danger to anyone. i have been in prison now for 23 months
and of that time i have done one sentence of 30 moths
(which i had to do 20 months of 30) i have there fore been
hear on the charge for three months and as a cat “A” since
the 8th/1/88.
i would like you if you can to change your mind about my
being made a
PTO

Transcription:
2
cat “A” as i have said already i have never been a vilont or
danger person.
even the officers who have known me for most of the time i
have spent hear can not understand why i should be a cat
“A”.
look forward to hearing from you about this matter
yours sincerely
L W Smith
Leonard William Gilchrist Smith

[Stamped H M Prison and Home Office April 1988]

Transcription:
B87908 Smith L W
H M Prison
Jebb Avenue
Brixton
London
SW2 5XF

i am writing to you as i have as you know lived in the
hackney AREA for sometime before being sent to prison.
i am at present on remand charged with murder as my
solicitor told you in his letter dated the 14th of march.
i put a petition in to the home office 26th of FEB since them i
have heard that they will look into it. i have been waiting now
to come of cat “A” status as yet it seems notheing has been
done i don’t know if there is anything else i can do to speed
things up? as i am back in court on the 11th of april to the
14th for old style committed which i hope to be going home if
not i don’t think i can stand another 8 mo on remand as a
cat “A” that is if it is not me
PTO

Transcription:
2

there is another reason for my writing to you and i don’t
know if you can help me but hear goes i had a flat on
Kingsmead estate hackney but since i have been in prison
the houseing have termanated my tennance i have wrote
and wrote to them and asked about my property they said
they would put it in storage i also asked them is they would
tell me if they would would rehouse me when this is all over
as yet i have not had a letter to any of my letters as to
what they are doing my solicitor had a letter from them
sometime ago in which they say
the flat had been broken into several times and items may
well have been taken.
if this is the case then what can i do about it? i was not
insured also i need a home when i get out i don’t
PTO

Transcription:
3

wish to be in a bed and breakfast as i have been in one
room long enough.
i look forward to hearing from you
yours sincerely
Leonard William Gilchrist Smith

Transcription:
Smith petitions from Shepton Mallet for transfer to a local
London prison in order to have visits and make
arrangements for accommodation on release.
Smith is a Cat ‘c’ inmate, serving 1yr 9mths his EFR is
6.12.83.
Smith does not present any compelling reason for transfer,
he has no relatives who visit and no compassionate grounds.
The probation officer at Shepton mallet has contacted the
After Care Officer in London with a view to helping Smith find
accommodation on release. Therefore, I do not feel this is a
strong case for transfer.
Reply? “NO ACTION”
13/9/83
Agreed. Arrangements for accommodation can be made via
the Prob Service.
15.9.83
Reply “No Action” sent 19/9/83

Mostly typed and legible.

Smith was assaulted by another, unamed prisoner, allegedly over homosexual matters. He came here from Midland Region off R43 for this same reason. He is not to be returned to Birmingham for reallocation.

Spurious Allegations Made By Esther Baker And Sonia Poulton Are Dropped

Sonia Poulton and Esther Baker

On the off chance that former Exaro News editor in chief, Mark Watts. doesn’t report this development – good news today as we learn that the spurious criminal allegations of stalking against blogger and former North Wales child abuse victim, Darren Laverty made by wannabe celebrity germalist and internet troll, Sonia Poulton and, Exaro witness and serial vexatious complainant, Esther Baker, have been dropped by the Metropolitan Police.

I can reveal that it is highly likely that the CPS will now inform the former Member of Parliament that Esther Baker accused of sexually abusing her as a child, that there is no case against him – as will others that Esther Baker has made allegations against. This begs the question, was pressure put on the CPS by the officer in charge of the Met investigation into Darren Laverty and Simon Just, who I will not name at this time as she may now come under investigation by the IPCC, not to make public the CPS’s conclusion with regards the former MP who was investigated by Staffordshire Police? This may sound far fetched but I will remind readers that the CPS were asked to make a decision on this politician over a year ago. I can also reveal that the officer in charge of the Met investigation contacted Greater Manchester Police and attempted to persuade them to drop a case made against Esther Baker following a complaint by a head of a charity and so it doesn’t sound too far fetched to venture the possibility that the CPS decision regarding the former member of Parliament had been delayed because it would undermine the credibility of Ms Baker.

I can also reveal that as many had suspected from the start, shameless attention seeker and professional victim, Sonia Poulton, had already been in touch with broadcast media outlets, including the BBC, about her ‘story’ of being a victim of stalking. Ladies and Gentlemen, anyone who has followed Ms Poulton’s online activity of bullying, intimidation, and trolling over the last 5 years would have known that this was likely one of Ms Poulton’s primary motivations – to play the victim and relaunch her haggard media career.

Esther Baker and Sonia Poulton are linked by their close friends Graham Wilmer and convicted troll James Royden Jones which brings me to another very interesting piece of information which has arisen as a consequence of this woeful saga. It would appear that from very early on, soon after the Jimmy Savile revelations, James Royden Jones who set up his Outlaw blog in November 2012, was supplying ‘intelligence’ information regarding victims of North Wales child abuse to North Wales Police – the police force that would see one of their most senior former police officers, retired Superintendent Gordon Anglesea convicted of the sexual abuse of minors in 2016.

James Royden Jones of North Wales, who appeared on Channel 4 news falsely claiming to have been a resident of the notorious Bryn Estyn children’s home and to have erroneously witnessed, now deceased MP, Sir Peter Morrison,  visiting the home, and who has spent the last 5 years stalking and hacking victims of North Wales child abuse and campaigners, and has a criminal conviction for this stalking, was all the time providing ‘intelligence’ information on the very same victims and campaigners to the very police force at the centre of the appalling abuse allegations. To this end, and despite not being a witness to North Wales abuse, Mr Jones even became a witness to the independent investigation run by Operation Pallial.

In my own view, it is high time that the IPCC look into the activity of North Wales police with regards to Mr Jones and also take a good hard look at the officer in charge of the Met investigation into Mr Laverty.

The Truth Shall Make You errr… Fret

 

---

Another excellent blog by Tim Tate. The original can be found HERE and includes Tim’s submission to the IICSA.

Mark Frost AKA Andrew Tracey PIE #268

Copy of entry in the police PIE list

Mark Frost, 70, one of Britain’s most prolific child  rapists today pleaded guilty to 45 historic sex offences against young boys in the UK and Thailand.

His case raises serious questions about the failures of the police and Home Office in dealing with the Paedophile Information Exchange in the 1980s.

Frost, previously known as Andrew Tracey and a former teacher and Scout movement volunteer, was first convicted in 1992 for possession of child pornography. Further convictions followed in 1993 and in 1998: in the second case he was sentenced to 12 months in prison for indecently assaulting a young boy. In 2002 he moved to Guernsey, where he was investigated for paedophilic offences, but left the island before he could be charged. He then travelled freely in Europe and the Far East. In Thailand he sexually abused boys aged between 7 and 13, recording the offences on video.

 But the Metropolitan Police knew that Frost/Tracey was a paedophile at least eight years before his first conviction.   Andrew Tracey’s name and address appeared on the Paedophile Information Exchange membership list held at New Scotland Yard in 1984. His membership number was 268.

I obtained a copy of this list in October 2015.   I wrote then (blog post dated October 29, 2015 – scroll back to find it) that an analysis of the names on it showed that several had been convicted some years later of serious offences involving children. It appeared the police and the Home Office had failed to appreciate the threat these men posed. Mark Frost, aka: Andrew Tracey, is merely the latest example of this.

In July last year I submitted a detailed dossier of evidence to the Independent Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse. It highlighted the cases of a number of PIE members who – despite being on the list held by the Metropolitan Police – had been left free to commit child sexual offences in the UK and abroad for many years. I urged IICSA to include the Met’s failure – and the Home Office’s remarkably relaxed approach to PIE – in its investigations. I attached the PIE list to my submission. (See blog post dated August 5, 2016).

Other than an acknowledgment of receipt, I have heard nothing from IICSA.

Today, Ogheneruona Iguyovwe, from the Crown Prosecution Service described Frost/Tracey’s crimes as “one of the most serious cases that I have dealt with as a prosecutor and one of the most serious cases of child sexual abuse”.

The IICSA should no longer ignore the evidence of repeated – but desperately belated – prosecutions like Frost/Tracey’s. Members of the Paedophile Information Exchange posed a threat to children: the failure of the Metropolitan Police and Home Office to accept this in the early 1980s led directly to the subsequent abuse of large numbers of young children in Britain and overseas.

IICSA must now publicly commit to investigating this historic failure.  In case it has mislaid my original evidence, I am re-posting it here.

timtate.co.uk

Fort Augustus Abbey Child Abuse 1st Extradtion

BBC Reporting Scotland 2017 report on Arrest / Extradition Fr Alexander

STATEMENT ISSUED BY COLIN WALLACE FOLLOWING THE PUBLICATION OF THE HISTORICAL INSTITUTIONAL ABUSE INQUIRY REPORT

Colin Wallace

STATEMENT ISSUED BY COLIN WALLACE FOLLOWING THE PUBLICATION OF THE HISTORICAL INSTITUTIONAL ABUSE INQUIRY REPORT ON 20 JANUARY 2017

Although I initially offered to give evidence to the Inquiry, I later decided not to mainly on the grounds that the Government repeatedly refused to give it the same legal powers as the corresponding Inquiry in London. I believe that both the perception and the reality of the Government’s decision is one of unfairness to the victims.

Despite my decision, I did, however, provide the Inquiry with 265 pages of comment and supporting documents, drawing attention to false or misleading information contained in the transcripts of the public hearings. My reason for doing so was to enable the Inquiry to investigate and corroborate the accuracy of my past comments about Kincora and related matters, and to provide the Inquiry with the opportunity to correct the relevant errors in the its published transcripts.

None of the information I provided to the Inquiry is new. Although some of it has not previously been in the public domain, it has been in the possession of the Ministry of Defence and other Government agencies for many years and should have been made available by those authorities to the Inquiry. It should also have been made available by the authorities to previous Inquiries and the Government needs to explain why that did not happen.

Even more worrying, is the acknowledged fact that key Army Intelligence files relating to Tara and William McGrath appear to have gone missing after they were handed over by the Army to MI5 in 1989, prior to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s admission to Parliament (30 January 1990) that Ministers had “inadvertently misled” Parliament about my case. There also appears to be no record whatsoever of what became of all the ‘Clockwork Orange’ project files which I handed over to my superiors when I left Army Headquarters in Lisburn in February 1975. Some of those files related to William McGrath. To make matters worse, it is now clear from the Inquiry’s transcripts that a senior MI5 officer, Ian Cameron, falsely accused me of ‘leaking’ information to the press about William McGrath. His claim was that I did so without authority.

The MI5 claim is bizarre because, as my Army superior at the time has confirmed in the press, I was officially instructed by my superiors in Psy Ops, at the behest of Major General Peter Leng, to brief the press about McGrath as early as 1973, in a bid to draw media attention to his activities. I have no doubts whatsoever that because General Leng wanted the press to investigate McGrath, he had very good reasons for doing so and deserves credit for what he did.

It is also significant that MI5 officer who accused me of ‘leaking’ information about McGrath to the press later refused to be interviewed by the Terry Inquiry investigators about why he ordered Army Intelligence officer, Captain Brian Gemmell, to stop investigating William McGrath. Clearly, the Army and MI5 had very different agendas regarding McGrath and his activities.

The astonishing claim by the authorities, including the Intelligence Services, that they knew nothing about the allegations surrounding McGrath’s sexual activities until 1980 is a total travesty. As my documents clearly show, it is simply not credible that I knew more about McGrath and his activities than the combined Intelligence community did in 1973/74. One must conclude, therefore, that the Intelligence Services did not tell the Inquiry all they knew about McGrath during the 1970s. Indeed, most of the information I possessed about McGrath in 1973/74 came from within the Intelligence community and was quite substantial. Moreover, my 1973 press briefing document clearly contains more information about McGrath than the Intelligence Services have claimed to the Inquiry that they possessed at that time! Finally, to suggest that because I gave the press the exact postal address (including the street number of the property) and telephone number of the Kincora home, but did not actually include the name, ‘Kincora’, somehow invalidates my evidence, is an unacceptable attempt to avoid facing up to what I have been saying over the years. That information also shows that the claim made by the Intelligence Services to the Inquiry that they were not aware until 1980 of where McGrath worked is demonstrably false.

Overall, I believe the Inquiry has been a wasted opportunity to establish the full facts relating to this matter and I feel the victims have been let down yet again, as they were by previous Inquiries

Police Investigation Into St James, The School Of Economic Science

This post is to notify anyone with information that there is now an ongoing Metropolitan police investigation into allegations of child abuse by former pupils at St James’ and St Vedast’s schools run by The School of Economic Science.

The investigation broadly concerns allegations during the 1970s and 1980s.

If you have information that may help then please contact the Met’s Child Abuse Investigation Team

Former Police Chief And Convicted Child Abuser, Gordon Anglesea Dies

A former North Wales Police superintendent who was jailed for sexually abusing young boys has died.

Gordon Anglesea, 79, of Old Colwyn, Conwy county, was jailed for 12 years for historical offences in November.

He abused two boys between 1982 and 1987 when they were 14 or 15, his trial at Mold Crown Court heard.

Anglesea died in hospital on Thursday, his solicitor Jonathan Wall, of Manchester-based Burton Copeland, said.

In November, the retired police officer lodged an appeal against his convictions for three indecent assaults on one boy and one indecent assault on another.

BBC News

Kendall House Addendum Report

Kendall House Addendum to Main Report

Main Report can be accessed HERE
Click images below to expand, or click HERE to view PDF report.

What can I say? The report  begins well and gives due credit to Teresa Cooper for the 30 years of her tireless struggle to achieve recognition for the maltreatment meted out to her and other residents.

And there it ends. One might ask, given the unprecedented access that Dr Sue Proctor had to Kendall House and Church of England records, why there is no reference to any official documents that might corroborate the testimony of the former residents that participated. One might further ask why the only reference to any official documentation in this report is to note its absence when particularly damning allegations are made by former residents – including the legally sensitive (for the Church of England) subject of organised drug experimentation on children at Kendall House.

Doesn’t that seem odd to you? No documented corroboration of witness testimony – but the noting of the absence of corroborative documentation when it suits?

If I were a conspiracy theorist I’d have a field day with this report – as I’m not, I’ll just say that this report falls far below what I’d expect from an independent report undertaken by professionals.

Happy 100th Kirk…

But when you’re gone the truth will out because everyone in Hollywood is just waiting to tell.

100 year old Kirk Douglas

[This story] concerns one of the biggest male stars ever, and one of the most beloved female stars to ever live…

One day she was invited to meet with this movie star about an upcoming major role. This man was a legend already, and was very powerful. … Thinking [s]he herself was powerful and savvy, she accepted the invite. In his hotel room. She never saw it coming.

Without even discussing the film, this actor — drunk already — began making a pass at her. She politely declined, and excused herself. He wouldn’t have it. He literally threw her down, slapped the hell out of her, and ripped her clothes off. He shouted obscenities at her, continually punched and held her arms so tight he left scars and bruises.

He raped her repeatedly, spitting on her, and did permanent damage to her body. She was bleeding everywhere, with a battered face. She passed out. When she came to, the actor was still in the room gloating, and told her to come see him tomorrow night and he might give her the role. He laughed at her as she fell down, her legs so wobbly and weak. She gathered her torn clothes, and tried to walk out of the hotel and to her car – blood and semen running down her legs and bruises already forming on her face.

She could barely make it back home in her car. She wanted to kill herself, so ashamed of what happened. The damage to her psyche was permanent, and haunted her forever.

…Her mom said she must have made the actor mad and offended him. They called a doctor, who took her to the hospital secretly to have her treated… The studio knew, and did nothing. After all, the star actor was a money machine. … She grew into an amazing woman with a legendary career. But she never forgot, or forgave, and never got over what happened.

She never named the star actor publicly, but her friends and family knew the truth. Even after marriage and kids, if she saw this actor anywhere – she would almost convulse and cry. And worst of all, Hollywood and the world continued to honor him, pay him, and treat him like a king.

Today, he’s still alive and barely holding on. But those who know the truth are still hoping and praying he will rot in hell for eternity. That all his good deeds and donations will never mask the truth…

So when the time comes, and the now 95-year old Kirk Douglas, the superstar actor, finally dies, there will be tributes and honors about him. Just remember that he is a monster who never repented, apologized, nor showed any sorrow for destroying the lives of others. Especially the life of that young beloved actress named Natalie Wood.

Attributed to Robert Downey Jr 

16 year old Natalie Wood in ‘Rebel Without a Cause’

Wife Of Senior Detective Exonerated By Sir Richard Henriques Demands Apology

DCI Settle appearing before the Home Affairs Select Committee

Today we learn from The Telegraph (story below) and The Mail that DCI Settle’s wife has written to Bernard Hogan-Howe demanding an apology for her husband (full letter below). She is absolutely justified in doing so.

If there were any justice DCI Settle wouldn’t just receive an apology and commendation for his work but also an immediate promotion. He alone had the courage to stand by his principles and though there will be many in the Metropolitan Police, some senior officers and a great many rank a file officers who will have supported his stand, it is he and his family that have had to deal with the consequences of doing nothing more than his job with dilligence and integrity.

DCI Settle is exactly the kind of police officer that the Metropolitan Police need to help take them forward as they enter a new era after Hogan-Howe leaves in the new year.

The Telegraph states:

“A spokesman for the IPCC said the investigation remained ongoing but it is understood DCI Settle will be formally cleared when its findings are published.”

Quelle surprise! Two complainants both with previous criminal records for different forms of deceit and both with well known links to discredited news site Exaro.  These complaints to the IPCC against DCI Settle were always just another way of attempting to smear him personally and reputationally.

“I accept that the correct decision was made by Detective Chief Inspector Paul Settle in concluding that no further action should be taken in the case.” – Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe

Met Police

Full Letter

Dear Commissioner

You may recall that I wrote to you in September with a letter regarding the abysmal treatment my Husband Detective Chief Inspector Paul Settle had received at the hands of your organisation. Given that you did not even have the common courtesy to acknowledge receipt, let alone compile a meaningful reply I have taken the liberty of copying this email to several Journalists who have covered the case to date.

Following the publication of the Henriques Report it would appear that the only person to come out of the whole affair with any credibility is my husband. I believe that Sir Richard stated that his conduct was exemplary. I also note that you admitted in your press release that his decision was correct despite the underhanded behaviour that followed it.

Given that my husband has been completely exonerated and praised for his actions by a High Court Judge, I would like to know if you have any intention of apologising to him? If not, why not?

Furthermore I am acutely aware that others have been recognised for their work on Operation Yewtree. Taking into account, the lack of support and resources my husband had, and the fact that unlike many others he has shown to have his integrity intact, this is of course despite efforts to the contrary by your own senior leadership. I would like to know if you have any intention of commending my husband? Again if not, why not?

Finally this has had an incredible impact upon my husband. The blanket of professionalism that he had prided himself on has been needlessly ripped from underneath him, by the very organisation he has loyally served for 25 years. I would like to know why it took an independent review for you to listen to what my husband had been saying all along?

I would also like to know what you are doing to prevent this sorry state of affairs from occurring again, and impacting upon others the way it has my family?

I look forward to your reply.

Yours Sincerely

Story In The Telegraph

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howehas been accused of destroying the career and wrecking the health of the only senior detective to warn him that the VIP sex abuse inquiry was a “baseless witch hunt”.

In a blistering letter, seen by the Daily Telegraph, the wife of Detective Chief Inspector, Paul Settle, accused the Met Commissioner of treating her husband “abysmally” and called on him to apologise immediately for the damage he has done.

DCI Settle was forced to step down as head of the Met’s paedophile unit after he tried to close an investigation into Lord Brittan, the former Home Secretary, over unsubstantiated claims of rape.

The case was reopened after political interference by the Labour deputy leader Tom Watson and DCI Settle went off on sick leave, suffering from stress.

He was later placed under investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) after being accused of leaking personal information about a convicted fraudster and a fantasist.

But last week a damning report by Sir Richard Henriques into Scotland Yard’s handling of the disastrous VIP sex abuse investigations, completely exonerated DCI Settle of any wrongdoing.

The Telegraph

Richard Kerr And Mark Watts – And Why One Journalist Left Exaro News

I wrote the majority of this article a year ago but I decided not to publish at the time for various reasons that I won’t go into here. Things have changed.  I’ve made a few changes from the original.

~

Richard Kerr

Talking to Richard Kerr for the first time, I’m struck by his politeness.Whether this is due to his upbringing or the famous courtesy you find in those southern states of the USA which may have washed over him  down the years, in the same way his accent of Irish brogue evenly competes with the Texan drawl of his adopted home, I can not say but what I can say is that it is a pleasure to talk to him.

Richard has every reason to wish engage in the current UK wide debate regarding non-recent child sexual abuse. At the age of five he entered the Northern Ireland care system, and in 1975, at the age of 14, he became a resident of the notorious Kincora Boys Home where he was sexually abused. He is referred to in The Hughes Report  but on this occasion, this post will not concern itself with the sexual abuse he suffered as a child, which continued after he left the care system, and it will not attempt to untangle the web of Unionist politics and security service involvement which has made Kincora a byword for child sexual abuse, scandal, and cover-up. Instead I’d like to look at the reason Richard Kerr will no longer deal with Exaro News and why one journalist, Fiona O’Cleirigh, will no longer work for them.

A quick word here about why I think this is important, and even necessary because there are some that have suggested that I have some personal vendetta against Exaro News and their Editor-in-Chief Mark Watts in particular. I’ve met Mark Watts on only one occasion and our meeting was quite cordial but ultimately someone has to carry the can for what has happened and as Mark Watts was the Editor-in-Chief and therefore the person who decided which stories were published and which were not, how and when they were presented, and would have been cognisant of the overall impression that they gave, I think it is only fair that he take the responsibility.After all, that is what he has been paid to do.

Another reason for writing this is that I believe it demonstrates that often media outlets, not just Exaro News, may publish material that may not be in the interests of the survivor they have talked to. There is also the danger, especially in this post-Panorama period, that any survivor who may have had dealings with Exaro may become contaminated by association and more generally this may happen to any survivor making allegations regardless of whether they’ve talked to Exaro, or indeed any media outlet and that, I feel, would be a crying shame.

Mark Watts, former Editor-in-Chief of Exaro News

This particular account begins this Summer [2015] when Richard Kerr was visiting the UK on personal business and he was asked by Exaro to participate in the Australian 60 Minutes programme. “I felt that if I could help other survivors by speaking out and talking about my own abuse then I should.” Richard tells me.

And so, in the middle of June – a month before the programme was broadcast, Richard was interviewed by the Australian Channel 9 journalist Ross Coulthart for the documentary. During the interview Richard was shown a number of photographs of men and asked if he had been abused by them or if he knew whether any of them had been part of the Kincora abuse cover-up. With no warning and taken by surprise by this approach Richard answered as best he could. However, following the interview he expressed his concerns to Ross Coulthart and asked that that part of the interview not be broadcast and that no mention of the men he named be included in the programme. Ross Coulthart agreed to Richard’s request and it is to Ross Coulthart’s credit that when the 60 minutes was broadcast, no mention was made of any of the men that Richard had attempted to identify from the photographs.

The interview in the can, nothing that further impacts on this narrative occurs until just before the broadcast in Australia of  the 60 Minutes documentary. Like any editor of a news outlet which has worked in concert with a film like this one, Mark Watts wanted to run parallel stories. Readers will have noticed a similar approach from the BBC just prior to the broadcast of the Panorama documentary. There is nothing really very  unusual or controversial in this strategy. However, Mark Watts had not had a preview of the Channel 9 documentary and had become convinced that Ross Coulthart and the film makers would not keep their word with regards to the undertakings given to Richard Kerr.

The story that results and which carries Mark Watts’ name on the byline is entitled ‘Richard Kerr names powerful men who ‘cover-up’ Kincora’, in the article published just before the broadcast of the 60 Minutes, Mark Watts writes;

“The programme is expected to show on Sunday night (local time) some of the dramatic sequences where Kerr identifies powerful men as part of the Kincora cover-up.”

The 60 Minutes programme does not do that but Mark Watts does and I think it’s telling that Watts doesn’t believe that other journalists keep their word.

In the hours preceding the publication of this Exaro story, Richard Kerr couldn’t be contacted. Texts messages between Fiona O’Cleirigh, a freelance journalist who had been working with Richard Kerr for Exaro News, and Mark Watts were exchanged which ended with Mark Watts demanding from her Richard’s contact details which, to her credit, she refused to pass on to him and as a consequence she lost her job with Exaro News.

Email sent to Mark Watts on behalf of Richard Kerr following the publication of the Exaro News story.

Following the publication 0f the story Richard Kerr was naturally very upset. He’d been taken by surprise when the five photographs of individuals had been produced during the interview, he’s an obliging gentleman and attempted to help the interviewer but directly after the interview, recognising that he couldn’t be 100% certain that he had correctly identified all of the men in the photographs, or if he had recognised them, from other sources. Of the 5 men that Richard identified he was certain that he’d met of two of them but of the other three he was uncertain. He  he had immediately requested that this part would not be made public.  Richard Kerr knows too just how much such a mis-identification, once public, can harm the credibility of a survivor (even one like himself who can demonstrate his abuse very clearly).

However, despite requesting that the VIPs he had named under these pressurised circumstances be removed, it was never done and they remained on the Exaro News website until the day the site recently disappeared.

Putting aside the dubious usefulness of this photo-identification technique, this kind of shoddy journalism may grab the attention of  conspiracy theorists, it may result in a website getting more hits but it does nothing for the reputation of a witness who may have very valuable information about establishment CSA.

 

 

 

 

The Henriques Report

(Click images to open)

Pages 1 – 67
Chapter One of the Review, covering Terms of Reference, Background, Scope and Recommendations:-

Pages 68 – 73
Summary of Recommendations:-

Pages 74 – 85
Sir Richard’s conclusions and Principal Police Failings on Operation Midland:-

For completeness, this is the covering letter Sir Richard Henriques sent with his full report (491 pages);

And this the statement from the MET Police;

The Henriques Report (and the other documents) can be found HERE

Op Midland Complainant ‘Nick’ To Be Investigated For Perverting The Course Of Justice

This document can be found HERE

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howes Statement On Henriques Report

 

 

The Metropolitan Police Service has today, Tuesday, 8 November published the key findings and recommendations from the independent review into the investigation of non-recent sexual offence allegations against public figures.

That review was carried out by former High Court Judge, Sir Richard Henriques. He examined eight investigations, including cases from Operation Yewtree; Operation Midland and Operation Vincente.

The report contains 25 recommendations, that are relevant to law makers and policing nationally, it also highlighted a number of ‘significant failings’ in Operation Midland.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, said:

“I asked for this independent review because I wanted to know if mistakes had been made in Operation Midland and other investigations into prominent persons so that the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) could learn any lessons.

“Over eight months, Sir Richard has been able to examine these cases in detail, and the MPS is publishing his findings today.

“His review articulates serious failings in the conduct of Operation Midland, an investigation into allegations of historic sexual abuse, and Operation Vincente, the unrelated investigation into an allegation of sexual assault by Lord Brittan.

“It also highlights the impressive and dedicated work in Operation Yewtree and Operation Fairbank.

“In his letter accompanying the report, Sir Richard Henriques, a former High Court Judge, says the failings of a few officers should not undermine the reputation of the Metropolitan Police Service as a whole.

“Forty-three failings are identified in Operation Midland. The principal errors were:

“To believe the complainant Nick was a credible person for too long;

“To say publicly that the allegations were credible and true;

“To obtain search warrants with flawed and incomplete information; and

“Not to have closed the investigation sooner.

“I accept on behalf of the Metropolitan Police accountability for these failures as I accept accountability for failures in any of our operations and investigations.

“It is a matter of professional and personal dismay that the suspects in the investigation were pursued for so long when it could have been concluded much earlier.

“I am today issuing a public apology to Lord Bramall, Lady Brittan and Harvey Proctor for the intrusion into their homes and the impact of Operation Midland on their lives.The public identification of suspects compounded the harm of our investigative failures.

“They have all suffered as a result of the investigation and our description of the allegations as ‘credible and true’. We should not have said this, and we should have tested the credibility of the complainant more rigorously before conducting the searches.

“I fully recognise that Mr Proctor, Lord Brittan and Lord Bramall are innocent of the offences of which they were accused of by the Operation Midland complainant. That investigation found no credible evidence against any of the suspects.

“Sir Richard also concludes that there were significant failings in respect of the way in which Operation Vincente was handled.

“I accept that the correct decision was made by Detective Chief Inspector Paul Settle in concluding that no further action should be taken in the case, although I can understand why the case was reopened and note that Sir Richard describes the decision as not wholly unreasonable.

“However, once the investigation had been reopened, Lord Brittan should nevertheless have been told before he died that the CPS full code test had not been met and that there was no intention to prosecute him in the case. Again, for these failings I have offered Lady Brittan an unreserved apology.

“I have already conveyed my sincere apologies to Lord Bramall in person and have offered to meet Lady Brittan and Harvey Proctor for the same reason.

“Under my leadership, I have been clear that the Metropolitan Police should apologise when it get things wrong.

“In these cases, I believe it is right to offer a personal meeting because the damage caused was amplified due to the public profile of the suspects.

“These investigations – and those in Operation Yewtree many of which led to convictions – started at a time when there was significant concern that numerous sexual attacks on children and others had been ignored, including by the Metropolitan Police in decades gone by.

“Even worse were the allegations that abuse had been covered up by the establishment, including the government.

“It was in the context of the creation of an independent inquiry, together with parliamentary and media scrutiny that officers made their judgment.

“I cannot, and do not expect the sympathy of the suspects in these cases. But I do believe that it is necessary to understand the pressure on the investigators at this time.

“I am grateful to Sir Richard for his scrutiny of our investigations and for the series of recommendations he has made. This is an important contribution on a subject of significant public interest, and the police service and criminal justice system should give his recommendations detailed consideration.”

Met Police

Operation Stranger: Walter Ballantyne

We have no photograph of Walter Ballantyne – If anyone can find one we’d be grateful

~

Under Operation Stranger the following twelve men, who had preyed on runaway boys, were convicted. This network became known as the ‘Dirty Dozen’.

Walter Ballantyne, 46; a stallholder at Dalston Market and one of the ringleaders of the network was given 6.5 years
Leonard William Smith, 31, was sentenced to 30 months;
Sidney Charles Cooke, 59, remanded for bail reports / got 2 years
Simon Haeems, 35, was sentenced to 2 years
Colin Byrne, 18, was sentenced to 1 year probation
Daniel Paine, 33, was sentenced to 2 years;
Roy Alan Morris, 26, was sentenced to 30 months,
Alfred Goddard, 58, was sentenced to 2 years;
John Thornton, 36, was sentenced to 8 years
John Stead, 23, was sentenced to 5 years;
Edward Talbot, 47, was sentenced to 1 year;
Brian Turner, was sentenced to 5 years

Walter Ballantyne and Brian Turner appealed.

(Prior to publishing, victims’ names have been redacted).

1988] EWCA Crim J1111-11

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL

Friday, 11th November 1988

The Lord Chief Justice of England (Lord Lane)

Regina

v.

Brian Turner

and Walter Ballantyne

(Transcript of the Shorthand Notes of Marten Walsh Cherer Ltd., Pemberton House, East Harding Street, London, EC4A 3AS. Telephone Number: 01-583 7635. Shorthand Writers to the Court.)

MR. D. MARTIN-SPERRY appeared on behalf of the Appellant Turner and the Applicant Ballantyne.

JUDGMENT

(As approved by judge)

MR. JUSTICE FARQUHARSON: We will deal with the case of the appellant Brian Turner and the application of Walter Ballantyne together as they emerge from the same indictment.

They were convicted after an 18-day trial at the Central Criminal Court in May and June of last year, and were sentenced by His Honour Judge Underhill on 4th June 1987. Turner was convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit buggery, in respect of which there was imposed a term of two years imprisonment, and on another count of indecent assault on a male, for which he received a further term of three years, expressed as being consecutive to the two years. The total amount was five years in all.

The applicant Ballantyne was also convicted on two, although different, counts. The first of those was one of attempted buggery. For that he received a sentence of four years imprisonment. On a further count of conspiracy to commit an indecent assault upon a male person, he received a consecutive sentence of two years imprisonment. He was at the time subject to a suspended sentence for an earlier offence of indecent assault. Three months of that sentence was implemented, and each of them was expressed to be consecutive, so that he received a total sentence of six and a half years imprisonment.

The facts of the case were quite appalling and involved not only this appellant and this applicant, but a number of other men who were in fact trading in young boys for sexual use. The boy who was involved in the offences for which these two were convicted was called [redacted]. At the time of the offences against him he was some [redacted] years of age.

He frequently had run away from home when he was younger. In September 1985 he ran away to Dalston Market, where Ballantyne was a stall holder. According to the evidence he gave to the Court, [redacted] asked Ballantyne if he could stay at his house. Ballantyne agreed and led him to his flat at Stoke Newington, having instructed the boy to walk behind him in case the police were observing them.

According to the boy, he had no previous experience of sex. On the first night at Ballantyne’s flat he was sleeping on the couch when he felt Ballantyne attempting to bugger him, but the act was not completed. That was the subject of the first count against Ballantyne.

On another occasion, when he went to the market with Ballantyne, he was introduced to a friend of the applicant called Smith. As a result of that introduction he stayed with Smith in Hackney for a week, there being the subject of various sexual practices on the part of Smith, including acts of buggery. It appears from the account given by [redacted] that Ballantyne had mentioned to him that he could earn money from sexual activity.

Smith was not the only person to whom the boy was introduced by Ballantyne. There were several other people. One in particular was the appellant Turner. According to the evidence he gave, which formed admittedly a very small part of his account of the men he was involved with, he had spent the day with the appellant Turner, where he had been the subject of certain indecent acts involving mutual masturbation.

Following on these activities, [redacted] was introduced to what might be described as another circle of homosexuals at the centre of which was a man called Thornton. Thornton lived at Croydon. Not only was [redacted] allowed to live there, but so were other boys, including one named [redacted], who was exactly the same age. Over a period of time these boys were the subject of sexual activities on the part of Thornton and a number of Thornton’s friends. These men appeared with the present appellant and applicant at the Central Criminal Court in the same trial last year. During these activities it appears that when the police were investigating the activities of these men, the boys were hidden, so that these offences went on for much longer than they otherwise would.

Turning to the records of this applicant and this appellant, dealing first with Turner, he has been convicted on a number of occasions, some six in all, of various sexual offences, usually involving male persons. It is right to say as has been urged on his behalf by Mr. Martin-Sperry before us, that the last of those convictions was in September 1975.

Ballantyne has also been convicted of a number of offences, in his case rather more serious ones, including previous convictions for buggery in 1973 at the Central Criminal Court when he received a term of five years imprisonment. I have already mentioned the suspended sentence which was in force at the time of his conviction. That had involved an indecent assault on a 13-year old boy.

The appeal of Turner, and indeed of Thornton and others against conviction was earlier this year before another Division of this Court. Whilst his appeal against conviction was dismissed, Turner was given leave to appeal against sentence.

The first point that is made on his behalf is one of comparison between the sentence passed upon him and that passed upon Thornton.

Thornton was convicted of an offence of buggery and of an indecent assault on a male person. There was no doubt at all that those were specimen counts. For those offences he was sentenced to terms of four years imprisonment and three years imprisonment consecutively. Before the Court of Appeal the second of those sentences was reduced to a term of eighteen months. So instead of serving seven years for these sexual offence convictions, he will only serve five and a half years.

It is undoubtedly the case that Thornton’s abuse of these young people went on for a considerable period of time. It is urged upon us by way of comparison with that sentence that in Turner’s case it was only proved against him that he had offended on a single occasion on one day and therefore the similarity between the five and a half years on Thornton and the five years passed on Turner calls for amendment.

The other matter urged on behalf of Turner was that the boy [redacted] was already corrupted when he came into Turner’s hands. That perhaps is not a very powerful ground.

In all the circumstances, notwithstanding the earlier convictions of Turner, we feel that there is some substance in the complaint made on his behalf. If one compares his one series of acts on one day with the offences committed by Thornton, then there is evidencely not sufficient difference between the two sentences so as properly to reflect the criminality of the two of them. For those reasons we propose to alter the sentences upon Turner.

One argument advanced before us by Mr. Martin-Sperry is that as both the conspiracy and the indecent assault were committed by Turner on the same occasion, both charges involving the same facts, it really would be proper for those sentences to be expressed as concurrent sentences rather than consecutive ones. We think there is force also in that submission.

However we are not persuaded that the total sentence to be passed on Turner should be only three years, which would be the case if his existing sentences were made concurrent. We have come to the conclusion that a sentence of four years imprisonment for the offences which he committed would be right and properly comparable with the other sentences passed. We therefore propose to quash the sentences passed upon him and substitute therefor terms of imprisonment of four years on each of the two counts upon which he was convicted and order that they should be served concurrently.

I turn to the case of Ballantyne, who, it will be recalled, was sentenced to a total term of six and a half years imprisonment. Ballantyne was in a much more serious position than Turner. He it was who first corrupted [redacted] by taking him to his flat and immediately attempting to commit an act of buggery; and he had, if one can use the expression, handed him round to his friends for sexual purposes. Whether that represents an abuse of his position of trust is something which it is not necessary to comment upon, but the very nature of his activities were such as to merit the condemnation of everybody.

Having looked at the full nature of his offences, this Court takes the view that the sentences passed upon him were correct and accordingly his applications both for an extension of time and for leave to appeal against sentence are refused.

Twelve years following this appeal and after he’d served his sentence in 2000 Walter Ballantyne makes the news once again.

Originally from The Sunday People

The Evil Pied Piper

YOUNG boys gather round in delight as the chatty, cuddly older man entertains them with his harmonica… It looks like an innocent family scene at a riverside leisure park.

But we can reveal that the harmonica player is a convicted paedophile who was once a member of Britain’s worst child-sex gang dubbed The Dirty Dozen.

Pot-bellied pervert Walter Ballantyne, 60, booked into the leisure park under a false name. And like an evil pied piper, he used his harmonica and magic tricks to entrap youngsters for sex abuse.

Mums and children at the picnic benches were blissfully unaware the harmless-looking “entertainer” has a long history of molesting young boys and is a deadly accomplice of Britain’s most hated men, child-sex killers Sidney Cooke, Lennie Smith and Robert Oliver.

Ballantyne’s perverted gaze lingered for hours over the half-naked boys at Roydon Mill leisure park and camp site in Hertfordshire.

But the slimeball was unaware that HE was being watched – by Sunday People investigators. He openly admitted to us at the campsite that he was there to hunt child victims, and told us how he’d changed his name to evade police. He also sickenly boasted of getting away with abusing a string of young children over the last 10 years.

But while the rest of Britain agonised over what to do about the paedophile threat, this newspaper took firm action to halt Ballantyne’s disgusting behaviour.

We had him: BOOTED out of the leisure park. WARNED other leisure sites in the area of his evil presence.

TIPPED OFF the police child protection unit in East London, where Ballantyne lives, that this vile sexual predator is on the prowl once more hunting children.Mum-of-two Julie French, 42, who was on a three-day break at Roydon Mill with another single mum and a total of four children, told us: “You can’t imagine how pleased we were when you got rid of him. “Call it a mother’s instinct, but I thought there was something strange about him. “He spent hours just staring at my kids and kept walking past our tent playing a harmonica.

“We warned the kids to stay away from him but he was very persistent and started to turn nasty when we called the kids away from him.” Her friend Julie White, 37, added: “We were getting scared. Whenever we looked around he seemed to be there.” The authorities lost track of serial-offender Ballantyne years ago.

Because his last conviction was before 1997 he is not required to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register and police have been powerless to monitor his movements. He has served three jail terms for abusing young boys – the last in 1987 when he got six years as ring-leader of a child-sex network which preyed on runaways. The boys had been hawked around “safe houses” and passed on to other members of the gang which included council porter Alfred Goddard, father of 1980s pop star Adam Ant. Since then Ballantyne, who now calls himself Mark Bailey, appears to have kept out of trouble.

But the Sunday People can reveal that his sickening behaviour has not changed. The vile pervert has been an active paedophile since his release from prison in 1990.

He keeps a low profile but regularly meets other members of the Dirty Dozen paedophile gang who are now free and living in the same area.

Our investigators got on Ballantyne’s trail at a London street market where he runs a stall selling kiddies’ harmonicas and toys. He lives in a grubby bedsit in East London where neighbours are unaware of his squalid history. He told our investigators: “Since getting parole after my last spot of trouble I have changed my name a few times and moved around.”I still like chickens (perverts’ slang for under-age boys) but I don’t get the opportunities I did in the old days.

“I haven’t been caught for years now and I want to keep it that way. “Cruising is a lot more difficult than it used to be. Now they are closing down all the cottages (public toilets) you only have the parks and swimming pools left.” Ballantyne sells his cheap harmonicas at various street markets in London. He bragged: “I have learned to play a few tunes myself to entertain the kids.”I only have to sit down somewhere and start playing and soon they are all around me. “Parents warn them about not approaching strangers but the kids love my music and party tricks.” Frighteningly, the pervert gets young boys to help him at Sunday markets by offering them free toys.

Ballantyne boasted: “I have got this 11-year-old Bengali boy in tow at the moment. “He has worked for me for a year although I haven’t tried anything…yet. “At my time of life I have got plenty of patience and can wait till I make sure the time is right. “He wants to go bike riding with me so one day I’ll take him somewhere quiet.” The pervert added: “I am going away for a few days to another holiday park in Hertfordshire next week and I wish I could take him with me.

“I have been there before and there is a lot of potential. “They have got everything – playground, paddling pool and sandy beach. “I am not on the sex offenders’ register but even so I hope no one drags my name up again.” Unlike other holidaymakers at Roydon Mill, Ballantyne turned up without any fishing tackle, sports or picnic equipment. He pitched his tent within yards of a group of children playing shuttlecock on the riverbank.

He then headed off to watch youngsters swimming and riding boats on the lake and finally settled at a picnic bench in the centre of the crowded artificial beach. Ballantyne sat staring for hours, transfixed by children clambering about on the swings and climbing frames. He decided to try to attract their attention by striking up a tune on one of his harmonicas.

He told our undercover investigator: “This is a great place for kids and sometimes the temptations drive me crazy.

“The last time I was here I met two boys aged 11 and six. “I wanted to see them again but they checked out the next day. “Then there was this l5-year-old from Switzerland who bought a harmonica from me.” Ballantyne added: “I have often fancied going abroad to have a look around.

“I have got a pal who lives in Leytonstone and goes out to Africa all the time. “He has a great time because he says he is much more relaxed. “Here it is difficult when you know you are doing wrong and might get caught.” The disgusting pervert spent time lurking around the park’s shower and toilet unit. He paused to watch a lad in his early teens struggling to put on a pair of bathing shorts behind a bush. Our sickened investigators decided they had enough evidence to have Ballantyne thrown out and we alerted the park management.

The appalled owner of Roydon Mill, Dave Davison, immediately sent staff to escort him away from the children’s beach area and stood watching him pack up and leave. He was refunded his money for the planned three-night stay and told in no uncertain terms not to return.

His description and a warning were then circulated to other holiday camp sites within the Lea Valley Regional Park.

The Sunday People dossier on Ballantyne’s sordid activities is available to Scotland Yard’s Paedophile Unit and Tower Hamlets borough council which grants him the licence to run his market stall.

The Free Library

Op Midland Were Unaware Of Nick’s Savile Allegation Before Bramall Raid

Field Marshal Lord Bramall

Before looking at The Telegraph story regarding Metropolitan Police commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, visiting Field Marshal Lord Bramall on Wednesday and apologising to him, I thought I’d lead with some new information, namely that, according to an informed source, Operation Midland were unaware that their key witness ‘Nick’, under the pseudonym ‘Stephen’, had previously made an allegation in a Sky documentary that Jimmy Savile had abused him at the time that they raided the homes of Lord Bramall, Harvey Proctor, and the late Lord Brittan in March 2015.

It is believed that Operation Midland detectives only became aware of this after The Needle revealed this information HERE in September 2015, and the national press reported it.

Though this will come as a surprise to many, I’m afraid this is fairly indicative of the shambolic Op Midland investigation headed by Met’s Homicide unit. That is an important distinction. This investigation was not headed by the Met’s Paedophile Unit who may have recognised in Nick’s allegations a familiar pattern of conspiracy theorist fantasy that they had occasionally encountered since November 2012; this investigation was headed by the Homicide Unit.

Whether the summary and conclusions of Sir Richard Henrique’s report, when published, will contain the detail of the Op Midland investigative failures such as being unaware of the Savile/Nick connection  remains to be seen – somehow I doubt it.

It is also my strongly held suspicion that Operation Midland were unaware that ‘Nick’ had visited Wilton and Imber Village military premises only the year before in 2013, until  The Needle  reported that he had in Feb 2016 HERE. Certainly The Guardian’s Vikram Dodd appears to suggest that Midland were not aware of it at the time.

In one instance Nick correctly described the interior of a military premises in southern England, where he claimed abuse had taken place. The details he provided were not publicly available, and the premises itself is not open to the public, making it likely he had been there at some stage, police concluded.

The Guardian

Such oversights might appear incredible to readers but bear in mind that Operation Midland didn’t even interview Nick’s ex-wife despite the fact that she was one of the first people he had told about his alleged sexual abuse.

Below is the five minute extract from a documentary called Crimes That Shook Britain: Jimmy Savile which was first broadcast on the Sky Crime and Investigation Channel on 17th August 2014, which contains an interview with Nick about his abuse by Jimmy Savile that we revealed in Sept 2015. The full programme can be viewed HERE. 

On to the apology to Lord Bramall,

Britain’s most senior police officer has issued a humiliating apology to Field Marshal Lord Bramall, admitting his force was wrong to raid his home over false paedophile allegations.

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, also said sorry for the length of time officers took to finally drop the investigation into the 92-year-old D-Day veteran and war hero.

Lord Bramall, the former head of the Army, has been told he remained a suspect in the high-profile paedophile investigation for months after police realised there was no case against him – meaning his wife died without knowing he should have been cleared.

The Telegraph

Elsewhere, The Mail reports today that Harvey Proctor is to meet Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe to ‘discuss the Henrique Reports findings’ HERE One thing we can all be certain of is that soon after the meeting we’ll learn the full details of it from Harvey Proctor himself.

Alexis Jay Needs To Draft 3 New Panel Members.

There’s an old joke about an English tourist in Ireland who asks one of the locals for directions to Dublin. The Irishman unhelpfully replies: ‘Well sir, if I were you, I wouldn’t start from here’, and it is tempting, looking at how the troubled child abuse inquiry can move forward, to give a similarly non-constructive reply because most of the problems facing inquiry chair Pof Alexis Jay are inherited and she’s not starting from a good place. The IICSA relationship with the media, the primary source of information for  the survivors the child abuse inquiry is attempting to help and who the inquiry needs on board if it is to be successful, is at best non-existent, at worst terrible. Sure, there may have been a few vocal survivors and influential survivor groups that have been kept in the loop but tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands of survivors across the country are no less invested in the inquiry’s outcome and are no less in need of reassurance that the IICSA is progressing well and the media is the only way reach them and reassure them.

I would suggest that Prof Jay draft three new panel members. The first, an experienced and respected journalist. I’m not going to suggest a anyone in particular but such a person could bring a great deal to the IICSA. Not only a slightly different way of investigating but also an understanding of how the media work. It should be noted that the very successful Hillsborough inquiry had the former ITN and BBC journalist Peter Sissons. Not only would someone like that bring a wealth of insightful experience it would also reassure the media. Nobody would suggest that confidential information should be routinely leaked to the press but it is essential that there is a good relationship between the media and the inquiry and appointing someone like Peter Sissons is a good start.

I’d also recommend appointing a retired police officer to the panel. I’ve suggested before that former head of CEOP Jim Gamble would be an ideal choice, not only would someone like that bring valuable experience, an investigative background, it would also reassure the police who would know that someone on the panel understood what might compromise ongoing investigations. However astonishingly, the former head of  the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre hasn’t even been asked to meet the IICSA.

The third panel member I’d like to see is an archivist. The Hillsborough inquiry had two, the ICSA has none.

The panel that Dame Goddard appointed was lawyer heavy. With Emmerson always influential and powerful and Goddard the chair, four of the six main players were lawyers. I’ve nothing against lawyers, that kind of experience is very valuable but ignoring the experience and investigative skills of other occupations always left the panel unbalanced.

I hope that Prof Alexis Jay will seize this opportunity to make the IICSA inquiry her own and at the same time bring balance to the Inquiry panel . If you were a football manager you wouldn’t pick a team with 11 strikers, so why have a panel with so many lawyers ?

BBC Inside Out Request: Epilepsy Drugs

Hi,

BBC Inside Out would like to speak to ex-inmates from Yorkshire and Lincolnshire who were diagnosed with epilepsy in the 70’s-90’s and were given drugs such as Haloperidol and Beclamide.

We are also interested in speaking to those inmates who were not diagnosed with epilepsy but were still given these drugs.

Please email Gaggan.Sabherwal@bbc.co.uk with your stories and experiences along with your name and contact phone number.  

 

BBC Request: Medical Drug Trials

Hi there,

 My name is Gaggan and I work for BBC’s Inside Out programme based in Leeds. It has been brought to our attention that a number of medical drug trials were carried out on children and inmates at various detention centres and approved schools which apparently were not approved by the children/inmates or their guardians. The authorities apparently used the children/ inmates as guinea pigs and carried out a number of medical trials and experiments. I would like to speak to people who have had similar experiences and were a part of such medical trials during the 60’s,70’s,80’s and 90’s.

I am keen on speaking to people who have had similar experiences especially from the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire areas as I work for the local BBC Yorkshire station. But I would love to hear from people outside Yorkshire and Lincolnshire too.

 Please can you get in touch with me with your name, phone number and a brief note about your experiences on : Gaggan.Sabherwal@bbc.co.uk and I will call you for an off the record chat.

 Many thanks

 Regards

 Gaggan

Exaro Is Finished

Last night came the unsurprising, as yet unconfirmed, news that Exaro News was folding from Guido Fawkes and Exaro’s former Editor-in-Chief, Mark Watts via Twitter.

As Mark Watts alludes to in his tweet, this news follows a tweet a few days earlier by Mark Conrad stating that David Hencke had taken over as ‘Head of Exaro’.

Many will now be asking what exactly has gone on and I’m afraid that I don’t know the answer to that; all I can do here is speculate – it may be informed speculation but it is still speculation and there is a reason for that because although I have been trying to find out what has been going on at Exaro News over the last few weeks, it appears to me that everyone involved with the news agency has been in a mutually agreed purdah – everyone that is except for Mark Watts who has been talking to Press Gazette first on 3rd June:

Watts told colleagues in the email: “You have the right to know that further cuts to the editorial team are, indeed, planned, and, as you know, no proper announcement of this was made at the outset internally.”

He added: “Even if you end up leaving Exaro, you can all be justifiably proud of the terrific work that you have done to ‘hold power to account’. How many journalists can say that today? I am sure that your time at Exaro will be a real boon to your future careers.”

Press Gazette

And again a few days ago apparently following a statement by David Hencke and  Mark Conrad’s tweet copied above:

Watts told Press Gazette: “Exaro’s management made clear to me during the course of meetings about my position that they would be making a cut of at least 25 per cent to the casuals budget.

“But they were working from a baseline figure that was 20 per cent lower than in reality, amounting to a 40 per cent cut overall. I was merely reflecting what I was told by management and what their intentions were.”

He added that losing the editor position at Exaro would result in the agency running “less challenging stories”.

Press Gazette

Intriguingly, between these two Press Gazette stories Anna Raccoon tweeted:

So, what is going on ?

My best guess is that this is a consequence of the inquiry announced by Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan Howe earlier in the year which is being undertaken by former judge Sir Richard Henriques which is looking at the police handling of historic allegations of sexual abuse against public figures over the last few years and which is due to be completed by November. I know for certain that Henriques has been interviewing individuals connected to these investigations and it stands to reason that he would want to talk to Mark Watts and other Exaro journalists.

I can think of three areas over which Henriques may want to talk to Mark Watts and others about.

1. Issues related to the Met investigation into an allegation against Leon Brittan made by Exaro witness ‘Jane’ – not the actual allegation itself but what followed when ‘Jane’ had been told by DCI Paul Settle that there would be no further action. This also draws in Labour’s Deputy Leader Tom Watson MP  (I doubt he’ll be too happy about that) A timeline for that can be found HERE
2. Operation Midland and Exaro Witness ‘Nick’ and perhaps other Exaro witnesses (Too many different issues to go into in detail.)
3. The false allegations made by Exaro witnesses that DCI Paul Settle had leaked complainant’s personal information to the press. This amounted to false allegations of misconduct in a public office and has led to an ongoing IPCC investigation into DCI Settle. More on that HERE

There are probably more areas that Henriques may have wanted to talk to Exaro staff about but as you can see there is enough to justify a chat and it isn’t hard to see how such serious issues once exposed by Henriques may have consequences beyond an internal Met Inquiry – regardless of whether it was Bernard Hogan Howe’s originally intention when setting up the judge led inquiry.

Some people have suggested that I focus on Exaro’s former Editor-in-Chief, Mark Watts too much and that others like David Hencke and Mark Conrad should be equally criticised and I think to some extent that is probably fair – I agree that they both need to take some responsibility.

However, I’ve heard enough stories over the last few years from reliable Exaro insiders to lead me to believe that it was Mark Watts who was the driving force. He was able to wield executive and supreme editorial power which he exploited in pursuit of his own deeply flawed strategic vision founded on a possibly delusional, certainly conspiracy theorist’s, view of the CSA reality; too often information was increasingly made to fit this view, any information contrary to it was ignored – the owners were hands off as a matter of genuine principle and the staff working under Watts were almost powerless to  change the disastrous course.

Some suggest that if that is all true then those journalists should have resigned and two I know of did just that.  However, reasons for not doing so can be very complex and aren’t necessarily explained by self interest or that everyone at Exaro News was fully on board.

There will be criticisms of others and I’m certain some of it will be justified but rather than attribute blame to everyone involved at Exaro, I’d rather wait to hear their side of the story. Remember also that there were staff working at Exaro News who were absolutely nothing to do with the reporting of child sexual abuse who’ve also lost their jobs yesterday.

It looks like the Exaro brand, like Ratners before it, was just too heavily contaminated to continue.

If any former staff members of Exaro News would like to contact me – IN ABSOLUTE CONFIDENCE – and help me to understand better what has been going on, then please email me at gojam57@gmail.com

I’ll leave everyone with one question:

What on Earth does Watts mean by “An act of vandalism” in this context ?

PS, The apology by Exaro to Patrick Mahoney, HERE, for publishing stolen material might have contributed to Mark Watts being sacked but given that such an apology is an admission of liability and therefore very likely part of an agreed settlement between Mr Mahoney and Exaro News – it is unlikely to be the reason why Exaro has folded.