Prosecution failures in Scotland

[UK Column News 10 May 2019]

"This is the Times here: `..Child abuse inquiry to look at Crown Office `failings`. Is it really going to do that?" asks Mike Robinson, "Or ... is that just another throw away headline?"

"That`s an excellent question," is David Scott`s response.  "... Now there have certainly been Crown Office failings... `The Crown Office is organised crime` is a phrase that keeps coming up. The Crown Office... are the only means of any prosecution in Scotland. All prosecutions go through the Crown Office; therefore anything that`s not prosecuted, [that is] held up, [is the responsibility of] the Crown Office; it`s a completely obscure organisation."

"We don`t have any access. It`s all confidential. We don`t know what`s happening in there and of the cases that the police investigate, that are considered to have a good prospect of successful conviction, forty percent of those are decided by the Crown Office to not be cases they want to take forward, and never see the light of day in a court room. Forty percent is in this discard pile. So there are many things about the Crown Office that are very worrying."

"Now there are also many things about the official inquiry that are very worrying."

From the article: 

"The official inquiry into historical child abuse in Scotland is expected to investigate alleged failures by prosecutors to protect vulnerable children in care."

"The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service admitted that it was likely to be the focus of future investigation by the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry."

"Officials conceded that the body may have been `deficient` in the past. `It is anticipated that future stages of the inquiry will require the institutions charged with the investigation and prosecution of crime to face up, candidly and critically, to the practices and policies of years gone by` a spokesman said."  

Remarking on the statement, `The officials conceded that the body may have been deficient in the past,` David Scott added: "Notice it is always in the past," and further on in response to `It... will require the institution charged with the investigation and prosecution of crime to face up candidly and critically to the practices and policies of years gone by, he commented: "Again always painted as `it`s perfect now, but it wasn`t then`. And there`s no explanation as to how this miraculous change ever happened."
 
The article goes on:

"It comes after John Halley, a lawyer appointed to the inquiry, suggested that vulnerable young people in care were being let down raising his concerns about child trafficking through prostitution of children in care in a report sent to Lady Smith, the inquiry`s chairwoman. Mr Halley cited several cases that never came to court despite evidence of trafficking and sexual abuse of children in care,` the Sunday Times reported. `Some victims were linked to senior figures within the legal establishment... And Mr Halley said `I will not be complicit nor tolerate cover-up and failure to report or investigate systemic failures."

In addition, David Scott informs listeners and viewers that Mr Halley put the following statement on twitter: 

"I have been absent from work since 28 October 2016. On 10 October 2016, I was diagnosed with bowel cancer. On 31 October 2016, I underwent a right hemicolectomy in surgery lasting some 4 hours at Borders General Hospital, Scotland. Between 6 December 2016 and June 2017, I underwent 8 cycles of chemotherapy. I have been unable to return to work since then."

"Prior to and after my diagnosis of cancer, I have held appointment as Lead Junior Counsel to the SCAI [Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry]. On 1 April 2019, I submitted a detailed `Note` running to in excess of 17,500 words, on Child Trafficking Through Prostitution of Children in Care in Scotland to Lady Smith, Chair of the SCAI. By letter dated 15 April 2019, Julie-Anne Jamieson, SCAI Secretary, informed me that Lady Smith has decided that the Note is comprised of material that I ought not to have been working on. I refute that entirely. I was instructed and I did investigate and report. The Note sets out a summary of my remit, important facts, allegations, inferences and sources for investigation by the SCAI. It is clear to me that Lady Smith has decided that the SCAI will not investigate the material detailed in the Note."

"Since 1 September 2016, I have had to suffer disability discrimination, harassment and victimisation by Lady Smith. I will deal with that in an application to the Employment Tribunal when I am well enough. However, I will not be complicit in, nor tolerate cover-up and failure to report or to investigate systemic failures, including prosecution policy failures, which appear to have perpetrated injustice on vulnerable young people in care in Scotland. I will not permit the serious allegations, detailed in my Note, of past child exploitation, and failures to report suspicions of child exploitation, by lawyers, judges, public figures and others, to be ignored."

"I have today reported by Note to Mr Graham Fraser, Procurator Fiscal for Scottish Borders Area. I understand that the Procurator Fiscal will report the Note and its content directly to the Lord Advocate if, having considered its content, he is satisfied of the duty to do so. I have felt compelled to immediately report the Note to the Procurator Fiscal in the public interest. However this is spun the facts remain."

"In order to ensure necessary safeguarding of our children going forward, Scotland and our survivors of child abuse require the truth."

Returning to David Scott, he remarks: "So Lady Smith has been asked to investigate the Procurator Fiscal Service because the Procurator Fiscal Service has let down the survivors of child sexual abuse."

"Meanwhile the Procurator Fiscal Service has been asked to investigate a case where Lady Smith has let down the survivors of child sexual abuse. And out of this we hope for truth and justice."

"It does not look good."
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-9NPzoKYuA

 

For more cover-ups, see UK Column`s article HERE which refers to the tape which Lady Smith refused to release to now deceased child abuse campaigner Robert Green.

Barnardo`s apologises for child abuse

"The UK's biggest childcare charity yesterday claimed there had been no 'malice' in the mistreatment of children - as it formally apologised to youngsters abused in its homes."

"Former Barnardo's executive Sara Clarke now works for the organisation as a consultant, helping it to tackle historic allegations of child abuse and neglect."

"She said the charity was 'deeply sorry' for any 'hurt' that children in its care had suffered - and accepted that the charity was responsible for 'failures' that led to abuse..."

"The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SQAI) has heard a series of allegations that children in its homes were beaten and raped."

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6609165/Barnardos-insists-theres-no-malice-mistreatment-children.html?ito=facebook_share_fbia-bottom&fbclid=IwAR3AT1ZaPNqZxnh66CIy1DwOCR4KMkQj0vcMXBIKz6zTo-Wxry8gSG4vDNU

Lady Smith and the altered transcript

 [UK Column 19 October 2018]

"Well let`s move on to Robert Green. And of course Robert Green was the man who stayed with the Hollie Greig abuse case where Hollie had been abused and clearly there was no justice coming forward. It took Robert Green to stick with the case to report the facts and ultimately to go to prison for his efforts in trying to protect children from child abuse. This has now reached an interesting stage because although many people probably think everything around Robert has died down, Robert has been campaigning for justice for himself as to what was and was not said in court."

 "And we`ll just pop her up on screen. Briefly, Judge Lady Smith is now north of the border supposedly running the Scottish inquiry into child abuse. What`s the link between this lady and Robert Green ?"

David Scott: "This is very interesting. Lady Smith picked up the reins of the Scottish independent child abuse inquiry... after everyone else led by the chief Susan O`Brien QC resigned, citing government interference and lack of independence. So lady Smith is now the sole director of this inquiry. She replaced the three people formally running it and is there personally directing how it proceeds. Lady Smith is the person who was asked to review Robert`s complaint that the Judge in this case, Sheriff Principal Edward Farquhar Bowen, had made racist comments during the sentencing...[hearing in 2012] These comments were entirely omitted from the transcript provided to Robert of the sentencing and comments. That transcript came from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service... She wouldn`t let Robert listen to the tape but she listened to the tape of the hearing and she assured Robert that there was nothing to be concerned about. It transpires that`s not true."

Brian Gerrish: "Right, so we can show a little bit of the documents here to show people how this trail works. 1`ve got to say up front that of course, at the moment, what was said and what wasn`t said in court is not in front of us as evidence, so what the sheriff did and didn`t say we are trying to track down... The important thing about this is how the system itself seems to be manoeuvring and obfuscating around the information."

"So the first document... is from the Crown Office in Scotland... Tell us about this document."

David Scott: "So this was given to Robert Green on his release from prison. He was complaining that the Sheriff had made racist comments during the sentencing and hearing, and that this showed bias, this being grounds for appeal. [The] document [is] on Crown Office notepaper and it`s as you see quite brief. We`ve actually covered this in detail in the Column many years ago because it`s quite strange as well. But even stranger is that we`ve now, after some considerable negotiation and exchange, found that the original tape is still held. It`s in the archives of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service and after some discussion they agreed to provide initially a written transcript, a new written transcript, of the same comments. So when we see the new written transcript ... we find that it doesn`t match. "

Brian Gerrish: "[The] Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service has now come into it. Have I got the right one?"

David Scott: "That`s correct, yes. Now it doesn`t match. Now indeed it doesn`t match very closely at all. It`s sort of like the first one was a sort of paraphrase. The second one has clearly been transcribed directly from some sort of record, we don`t know exactly what, and lo and behold there`s an additional sentence in the new transcript that was entirely omitted from the original document - and what Robert has been saying for six years."

Brian Gerrish: "So we can bring this new sentence on screen. And what we`re saying here is that this has never been seen before. Suddenly, we`ve got this sentence which has now appeared in a second version of what is claimed to be the transcript."

David Scott: "It`s a very interesting sentence. So this was omitted from the accurate record that was provided by the Crown Office and was confirmed by Lady Smith. And the sentence says: `Let me tell you that we in Scotland are more than capable of identifying our own deficiencies without the assistance of someone with your background`. Now this is interesting on many levels. Not only was it omitted entirely from the initial record but it covers exactly the ground, or subject area, that Robert Green and the six or seven other witnesses in court that day all said was covered by the sentencing comment. It just does it in a way which is neutered. It calms it down; it reads like what the Sheriff maybe wishes he said. It doesn`t comply, tally closely, with what has been reported to me by numerous witnesses ... But it covers the same ground."

Brian Gerrish: "To emphasise this we`re going to show - we`ll bring it up on screen - what members of the public who were present at the hearing allege that the Sheriff said to Robert Green: `You are either stupid or misguided, probably both, to think that you, a Welsh-English man, can come up to Scotland to tell us how to run our justice system. I am telling you that WE run the justice system just fine.` So that`s what members of the public who were present allege was said."

"I`ll just jump back and show again what is now being said the transcript shows. `Let me tell you that we in Scotland are more than capable of identifying our own deficiencies without the assistance of someone with your background`... I was told shortly before we came on live for today`s news that in England it is normal procedure that although somebody is actually there taking down the transcript as the trial takes place, that transcript goes ultimately to the Judge to be - what`s the word - verified."

Mike Robinson: "Sanitised?"

Brian Gerrish. "Sanitised ! Before it is released to the public as the true version of events. I don`t know whether the same system works in Scotland but, of course, if it does this makes life very interesting indeed."

David Scott: "Well it`s an excellent question because we`ve been told by the Scottish Courts & Tribunals Service that this transcript is verbatim, taken from the tape that was recorded in court. Now they`ve offered Robert the chance to listen to the tape. So far they`re refusing to give him a copy of the recording for forensic examination but they have offered to allow him to listen to it. So that`s going to happen..."

Brian Gerish: "OK, now you have written some letters on this subject. You thought that this one that you wrote some time ago to Lord Gill was of particular importance because you were coming back to the significance, the legal significance, of this event. We still don`t know what the true facts are but this is giving a flavour for it by having a look at the dangers of bias in court cases and you found this very powerful case precedent."

"Back in the 1980s, a Sheriff whilst relaxing at Ayr curling club, pronounced that the coal miners, then on strike, would not receive legal aid if they came into this court on breach of the peace charges. Some of the miners later appealed his decision, on quite different grounds, to refuse legal aid. The matter went to the Court of Session. The Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Ross, concluded that the Sheriff had not brought his prejudice into the court and that his decisions had been correct in law but that this was not enough. `There must not be even the appearance of bias,` Lord Ross said. `There is nothing to suggest that at the trials the Sheriff acted unfairly. What the Sheriff failed to note was that the interests of justice required not merely that he should not display bias but that the circumstances should not be such as to create in the mind of a reasonable man the suspicion of the Sheriff`s partiality.` Lord Ross found for one of those appealing."

"The inescapable conclusion is that the statements by Sheriff Principal Bowen concerning Mr Green`s nationality failed to live up to the standard required by Scots Law and defined in the statement by Lord Ross. The logical implication is therefore that the court records were altered not for public relations reasons, or to save the Sheriff the embarrassment of an unguarded remark, but to avoid Mr Green having grounds for appeal; an appeal Mr Green could well have won given the previous stand made by the Court of Session on this subject."

David Scott: "Yes, this is a 2014 letter from me to the head of the judiciary in Scotland, the Lord President of the Court of Session. I write here pointing out that - now as I`ve said we`ve got six or seven separate witnesses, all of them reasonable men and women, who came away from that court convinced there were grounds to doubt the Sheriff`s impartiality. These people are on the record... Their records incidentally were offered to Lady Smith who refused to receive them."

Brian Gerrish: "OK we`ve got a slide here, effectively your summary of this, which I can read out...."

Brian Gerrish: "Really David, you are saying that if the public are not entitled to know what really took place in the court hearing and who said what, there is no justice north of the border and there is certainly no justice for Robert Green."

David Scott: "It must been seen to be done; it must be ... as the quote there from Lord Ross made absolutely clear; there must be not even a hint or suggestion in the mind of a reasonable observer the system is less than scrupulously fair. It seems that in Robert`s case we`re failing that by a country mile."　

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WEjDNBhPjs&t=1169s

Scottish child abuse inquiry investigates Quarriers

"The [Scottish child abuse] inquiry will hear allegations of abuse at Quarriers’ Bridge of Weir home, which was set up by Victorian philanthropist William Quarrier."

"The former children’s institution has the most abuse convictions out of any Scottish home."

"Seven people, including Porteous, have been convicted of abusing 23 children at the home."

"David, born in Glasgow, ended up in care along with his sister Irene when his mother suffered a breakdown. He said: `Despite Quarriers having the highest number of convicted carers, the charity has done everything in its power to ensure victims have been denied justice and reparation for what we endured, using time-bar to refuse claims`." 

"`To this day, some won’t realise what evil went on at Quarriers`."

"Porteous refused to accept responsibility for what he did but so have others."

"He used a change in the law to have his sentence shortened, but has never appealed his conviction or taken part in paedophile programmes in prison."

"A BBC Scotland programme, Secrets Or Lies, which questioned the guilt of Porteous, was later criticised by the corporation’s standards watchdogs."

"They said the programme makers had made `serious errors of judgment`, adding that it was unbalanced and so-called new evidence had not been properly researched`..."

"It is hard to understand why the inquiry sought to give convicted paedophiles a voice..."

"Porteous is not the first convicted sex offender to be asked to appear at the SCAI."

"Earlier this year we revealed how former priest Bernard Traynor, 65, has been called to give his testimony after allegations about him were made to the inquiry by former residents at Smyllum Park in Lanark."

"The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry said: `It is vital that the inquiry hears evidence from anyone who has important and relevant information, including survivors and those who worked for the institutions under investigation`..."

https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/n2110sexabuse/?fbclid=IwAR1baOJh91y8e6WCyJgH-a8Mf-N_xV1SjwaoNgfkBHOB8oUa0IZWOzX_2kM

 

Over 300 complaints against Sisters of Nazareth

"Police have received complaints from more than 300 people against the Sisters of Nazareth Catholic order which ran children's homes in Scotland until the 1980s."

"The Scottish child abuse inquiry has begun hearing evidence in connection with the homes they ran in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Ayrshire."

"Police received 308 complaints against the Sisters of Nazareth."

"They related to their child care homes between 1934 and 1984."

"The complaints are about 194 people associated with institutions run by the Sisters of Nazareth."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-43881629

Launch of Fresh Start

Mass grave for children uncovered in Lanarkshire

"The bodies of hundreds of children are believed to be buried in a mass grave in Lanarkshire, southern Scotland, according to an investigation by BBC News."

"The children were all residents of a care home run by Catholic nuns."

"At least 400 children are thought to be buried in a section of St Mary's Cemetery in Lanark."

"The Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul, which ran the home, refused to comment on the findings."

"The research by the File on 4 programme in conjunction with the Sunday Post newspaper focused on Smyllum Park Orphanage in Lanark."

"It opened in 1864 and provided care for orphans or children from broken homes. It closed in 1981, having looked after 11,600 children."

"A burial plot, containing the bodies of a number of children, was uncovered by two former residents of Smyllum in 2003."

"Frank Docherty and Jim Kane discovered an overgrown, unmarked section of St Mary's Cemetery during their efforts to reveal physical abuse which they said many former residents had suffered..."

"The death records indicate that most of the children died of natural causes, from diseases common at the time such as TB, pneumonia and pleurisy."

"Analysis of the records show that a third of those who died were aged five or under. Very few of those who died, 24 in total, were aged over 15, and most of the deaths occurred between 1870 and 1930..."

"Many allegations of abuse at the care home were also uncovered by File on 4 and the Sunday Post, including beatings, punches, public humiliations and psychological abuse."

"This case mirrors the investigation into the Tuam mother and baby home, an Irish institution run by a religious order, where it is thought nearly 800 babies and young children died and were buried in unmarked graves between the 1920s and 1960s."

"What happened at Smyllum is one of the topics that the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry is examining..."

"Two representatives of the Daughters of Charity gave evidence to the inquiry this summer in which they said they could find no records of any abuse taking place."

"The nuns refused to respond to detailed questions from reporters about how many people were buried in the mass grave."

"File on 4: The Secrets of Smyllum Park was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday 12 September 2017 at 20:00 BST. You can also catch up on the BBC iPlayer."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41200949　

Survivors in Scotland fear a cover up

"When the Scottish Government stated it would set up an inquiry into state child abuse in December 2014 - Nicola Sturgeon then dragged it out - first taking 6 months to appoint a chair of the independent panel - whom 2 religious orders objected to - delaying it further until October 2015."

"The independent panel of three people were finally appointed to lead the inquiry, Professor Michael Lamb, Susan O`Brien QC and Glenn Houston."

"Despite Scottish Government claims this would be one of the most wide reaching inquiries Scotland has ever seen, by 25th November 2015 survivors accused Holyrood of now being complicit in the cover up, after the inquiry remit was restricted to mainly abuse in residential care - blocking many survivors from giving their testimony in one fell swoop."

"The Charity supporting the survivors stating

"This decision resulted in many victims, who had suffered grievous abuse, being excluded from the inquiry. We are of the view that this decision has enabled institutions and organisations, who have covered up criminal activity, to escape public scrutiny, and possible prosecution. The failure to extend the remit of the inquiry has effectively resulted in the Government becoming complicit in a cover-up of abuse."

READ MORE http://www.whatthepoliticiansdontsay.com/single-post/2017/06/14/Child-abuse-cover-up---call-youself-women

As if all of that and the loss of three panel members was not bad enough, we have this:

Abuse survivor was forced to waive his anonymity

"A child abuse survivor has said he suffered intimidation after speaking out and was forced to waive his anonymity after his convicted abuser appeared in a BBC documentary."

"Giving evidence to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, David Whelan said he received abusive phone calls at his home after making allegations relating to Quarriers Children`s Village in Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire."

"John Porteous, who worked at the children`s home in the 1960s and 1970s, was jailed in 2002 for sex offences against two boys."

"Mr Whelan, who leads the campaign group Former Boys and Girls Abused in Quarriers Homes (FBGA), yesterday told the inquiry that a 2003 BBC Frontline Scotland documentary, which featured Porteous, had been a `catalyst` which led him to waive his anonymity as an abuse victim."

"In the documentary, entitled Secrets and Lies, doubt was cast on Porteous`s convictions."

"Giving evidence before Lady Smith yesterday, Mr Whelan said: `What happened after the trial of my abuser was that there was media stories saying that we had lied in court. That was in national media stories."

"`Then there was a programme made called Secrets and Lies by BBC Frontline Scotland in 2003 which came out. There was a group of former residents involved. There was former directors involved. Obviously the person who was convicted was interviewed in prison."

"`That really was the catalyst for us... the court had given us anonymity; I would never have wanted to give that up, but I faced no choice because basically in a national programme it was being said I lied in a court of law.`.."

"He told the inquiry he later received an apology from the BBC for what he called `errors` in the programme, but said he did not believe it to be `sincere`."

"The inquiry saw a submission from FBGA which showed it had represented 230 survivors at one point, and Mr Whelan said he regularly took phone calls from those struggling to come to terms with the abuse they had suffered."

http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/child-abuse-survivor-suffered-intimidation-after-speaking-out-1-4496012

See also https://spotlightonabuse.wordpress.com/category/quarriers-scotland/

Charity accepts children were groomed for abuse

"STAFF at a children’s charity have been accused of sexually abusing dozens of young people in their care over the last six decades."

"Barnardo's, one of the UK's largest children's charities, has formally accepted abuse had taken place as disquieting practices previously carried out across the country were starkly outlined."

"Barnardo's said children were groomed for abuse by people connected to their homes and this led to a conviction."

"An unnamed priest, a visiting vicar and other children were among those also accused of abusing children in Barnardo's care."

"Abuse appeared to go unchecked because home superintendents were all-powerful in the eyes of the children who had nowhere to turn or help."

"The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry heard that parents were seen as an `irritant` to Barnardo’s staff once a child was put in care, siblings were split up, and contact with family discouraged."

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15381502.Dozens_of_children_came_forward_over_abuse_at_Barnardo__39_s__inquiry_hears/?ref=fbshr

No faith in Scottish child abuse inquiry

Hollie Greig supporters tackled by Google

BBC News

"I just happened to catch this little bit at the bottom," says Brian Gerrish on UK Column News: "This is what it said: `Europe is now the hub for child abuse content` and I was fascinated that the story which is essentially about the abuse of children is now pushed sideways into the category of technology. It`s nothing to do with children being abused, it`s simply to do with what is circulating on the internet and we should be concentrating on what`s circulating as if the content is not actually child abuse. It`s a fascinating piece of spin and propaganda by the BBC and I found it deeply offensive particularly as this is going on in the background."

Google to tackle terrorists online

"Now just a reminder here that we`ve had a lot in the news that Google and Facebook and other social media providers are going to tackle terrorists and extremists online. So we`ve just chosen the Telegraph article here but what they`re saying is: `Google and some of the world`s biggest internet companies agreed last night to create new technical tools to identify and remove terrorist propaganda in the wake of the Westminster terrorist attacks`."

"So this is all Google doing good work to protect the public and the Guardian here: `Amber Rudd showdown talks with tech firms on extremism are pure PR`. Well the Guardian is being a bit more cynical. It`s saying that `meetings between UK government and Facebook are more ritual than battle as they avoid subjects that both parties disagree on`... tax is obviously an important thing - more important than cleaning up the internet."

"Well, we were informed over the weekend of this, and the information is that the holliegreigjustice.blogspot has been taken down by Google. It was taken down on the evening of 31 March 2017. Apparently, no reason has been given and the site itself has had 1.7 million ordinary views and 5 million google + views."

"So what is the holliegreigjustice site about? Well, of course, it`s about justice for Hollie Greig and in striving for justice for Hollie, striving for justice for all other survivors of child sexual abuse. So we find it interesting that Google has suddenly turned its attention to this website... Remember that the focus of this is on Hollie on the left hand side and the mother Anne and of course Robert Green who`s been to prison twice trying to achieve justice for Hollie. So we wondered why Google would suddenly get tough on child abuse extremists."

"Well the good news is that there is a replacement site up at the moment but it`s very thin on the ground and I know that the people working behind the scenes are desperately trying to get ... the content they had previously up, but this is causing them some problems."

"Now one of the questions that`s been raised - it`s speculation but I think it`s very interesting speculation - is what would have caused Google to take this action? And our attention is turned to these letters which Robert Green`s MP David Mowat has actually been sending out. There`s three of them, and this gentleman has stood up to be counted on behalf of Robert and let`s have a look at what these letters say."

"So basically, the first one is to the Permanent Secretary of the Scottish government and it says: `Mr Green my constituent recently came to see me to discuss a number of issues and during the discussions he made reference to the fact he had requested copies of correspondence from your office and that not only had this been denied but that no satisfactory explanation had been provided as to why his request had been declined`."

"And then the letter says well `I am therefore asking you, if you will tell me why the material has been denied and why you have made this decision`. Now for an MP to do this, that`s a lot of weight behind Robert Green`s original request..."

"So we`ve got another letter here. It says that `I understand that the aforementioned constituent has been in recent communication with your office in order to secure the transcript of a case in which he himself was involved. I understand that Mr Green has subsequently been provided with a transcript as per his request. However, Mr Green has advised that the transcript is incomplete and that a section of the proceedings which he feels particularly significant to his case has been excluded from the text and so Mr Green is asking for that to be provided - and they are being asked why this has been excluded."

"This is the key tape from one of the court cases that Robert Green went through. So the Procurator Fiscal in Scotland is now being asked to provide the tape which Robert Green has been attempting to get and we say again this is really marvellous to see an MP standing up to be counted and now asking himself."

"Right well ... let`s just bring this up... well this is a question being asked on the website that basically on the 4th December 2009, Google got a letter from the Scottish government legal representatives threatening to take down the site. That was overcome but what the website supporters are saying is that in 2017 they may have done the same thing again."

"So the inference is that the letters that have been sent to the Scottish government have been so dangerous that the response has been for the Scottish government to contact Google."

"Now there is another letter and this is probably the key one because of course what we`ve got here is Mr Mowat writing to Nicola Sturgeon and what he`s saying is that his constituent Robert Green has come to see him and pointing out that the Scottish child abuse inquiry has now had a number of individuals resigning and surprisingly the Scottish government has simply replaced them with one individual and how can that possibly work?  How can you take an investigation which was supposedly going to have a team of people working and then you simply replace it with Lady Smith?"

"The aforementioned constituent has been in contact with me over a number of years and keeps me abreast of his endeavours to secure justice for Hollie Greig. I understand that he has written to you on a number of occasions regarding this and related matters. However the purpose of my writing to you today is in respect of the Panel that has been set up for the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry."

"Mr Green recently came to my office to discuss a number of issues and during our conversation he mentioned that of the three persons originally appointed to the Panel: Ms Susan O`Brien QC, Professor Michael Lamb and Mr Glen Houston, all have now stepped down from the inquiry. I understand that the first two cited interference from the Executive as their reason for so doing."

"However, my concern is not so much that all three of the panellists have determined not to continue in post; albeit that this is not a particularly helpful state of affairs, my concern relates to the fact that three panellists have all been replaced with a single person; Lady Anne Smith."

"Given the important work that this inquiry is required to undertake it does seem rather unorthodox to appoint a single person to take matters forward, when initially it was considered necessary to appoint three people to share the load. Furthermore given that Lady Smith was nominated to post by Mr John Swinney MSP, a member of your Executive Team; does this not open the Executive up to potential challenge?  As such it would appear to me to be a risky strategy to pursue."

"So the inference is that these letters have upset the Scottish government and particularly Nicola Sturgeon... to such an extent that they`ve called upon Google to take down the whole of the history which of course has been up on that website about the Hollie Greig case. I think there may well be some merit in this because obviously the Scottish government has been prepared to act and attack Robert Green in particular every time he started to make headway with questions about the Hollie Greig case."

 

"Now just for completeness: I spoke to Google media team this morning [3 April 2017] and followed up with this email simply saying `We understand that you`ve taken this website down. Please confirm that. But also is it correct that this `take down` action is at the behest of the Scottish government? So we sent that email off just before we became live. We haven`t had a response yet but it`s going to be extremely interesting to see what Google says."

"So Google, publicly tough on terrorists, but behind the scenes the inference seems to be that if you get too close to criminal activity at the government level you`re going to be taken down as well."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvAmhhldGic

Another setback for Scottish child abuse inquiry

"SCOTLAND’s beleaguered child abuse inquiry has suffered another setback after the Government sent out a desperate appeal for staff to work on its side of the investigation."

"A leaked email reveals the Government is at `serious risk` of missing a deadline set by the inquiry and warns of a `potential loss of credibility` among stakeholders..."

"Established in 2015, the inquiry is examining the abuse of children in care going back decades. It is currently taking evidence from people who were abused and a report is expected by late 2019."

"However, the complex probe has endured various crises, such as the resignation of all three of the original inquiry panellists."

"In June last year, Professor Michael Lamb quit after claiming that the inquiry was `doomed` due to government interference..."

"Weeks later, the then chair Susan O’Brien QC resigned and echoed the concerns of her erstwhile colleague: `My trust that the Scottish Government will actually respect the independence of the inquiry has gone. You have therefore left me with no alternative but to resign. I do so with a heavy heart, as I am clear that there is a real need for this inquiry to take place`."

"At the time, Deputy First Minister John Swinney said he had accepted her resignation after starting the formal procedure to remove her from post."

"O’Brien is now suing the Scottish Government for £500,000 in loss of earnings and damage to her reputation following her departure from the role. She was replaced by Lady Smith. Glenn Houston, the last of the original panel members, quit last month, citing personal reasons."

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15150391.Child_abuse_inquiry_suffers_fresh_blow_over_Scottish_Government_staffing_crisis/

Two Dundee institutions are being investigated as part of child abuse inquiry

Dundee Council

 

"A former school and defunct orphanage in Dundee are both being investigated as part of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry..."

"The two Dundee institutions being investigated both closed down in the early 1980s: the Balgowan List D School and the Roseangle Orphanage (St Vincents)."

"The inquiry is collecting evidence from the victims of abuse."

"Dundee City Council has said it is reviewing what information it holds on the two institutions that may assist the inquiry..."

"A number of schools, including Morrison’s Academy in Crieff, and residential care units are being investigated as part of the probe."

"Other schools specifically being investigated by inquiry staff are Fettes College, Gordonstoun, the former Keil School, Loretto School and Merchiston Castle School."

"Eight children’s homes and secure units across Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth and Fife are also being looked into."

"Faith-based organisations being looked at include those run by religious orders including the Benedictines, Sisters of Nazareth and the Christian Brothers."

"St Ninian’s in Falkland, Fife, which was run by the Catholic Christian Brothers organisation, is also being looked at."

"The inquiry is due to report in 2019 but some survivors’ groups say they are losing confidence in the probe."

"All three original panel members have resigned since the inquiry was set up last year."

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/dundee/374766/two-dundee-establishments-investigated-as-part-of-scottish-child-abuse-inquiry/

Another panel member resigns from Scottish child abuse inquiry

"Survivor groups have reacted angrily after the Scottish child abuse inquiry lost the last remaining original panel member."

"Glenn Houston said he had resigned as a member of the panel because he had accepted two other public appointments which he is unable to hold in conjunction with his panel membership."

"Houston said the inquiry had made `considerable progress` and wished it well in the future."

"His departure follows the resignation last year of chairwoman Susan O'Brien QC and fellow panel member Professor Michael Lamb amid accusations of government interference."

"Senior judge Lady Smith, who replaced O'Brien as the third chair of the inquiry, is now the only remaining member of the panel."

"Lady Smith said: `Mr Houston has made a valuable contribution to the work of the Inquiry during his time as a panel member and I am very grateful to him for his support. I fully understand his decision and wish him well in his new ventures`."

"`The important work of the Inquiry continues as normal and we would encourage anyone who has relevant information, whether they have been abused themselves or know others who have, to get in touch`."

"Survivor groups said the state of the inquiry was `an absolute disgrace`."

"Alan Draper of In Care Abuse Survivors, told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland the inquiry would miss Houston's experience."

https://www.holyrood.com/articles/news/last-remaining-original-member-scottish-child-abuse-inquiry-resigns

Dystopian future or best place on the planet?

Sturgeon announced an independent review of the care system in October: "to look at the underpinning legislation, practices, culture and ethos of care which will be driven by those who have direct experience of it."

It was Duncan Dunlop, CEO, Who Cares? Scotland, who inspired the latest Scottish Government review. He believes that "Sturgeon is on to something and that she is both politically and emotionally invested in it."

"A pressure group has found their voice, and when a collective group finds their voice and realises that their rights are being impinged, they decide to do something about it," he said...

He bigs it up even more by saying: "This opportunity has never happened anywhere on this planet, as far as we know, where a group of care-experienced people say: ‘This is how we want to make things better.’"

Then he blows it:

"You have abuse survivors but this is a very different conversation."

Eh?

Abuse survivors are very care-experienced people, Mr Dunlop. Leave them out of the equation and you will never get anything right. Hasn`t that been part of the problem all along?

Read more: https://www.holyrood.com/articles/inside-politics/children-care-how-many-reviews-are-needed-we-get-it-right　

Scottish child abuse inquiry will not widen its remit

"The Scottish child abuse inquiry will not widen its remit to include non-residential incidents of abuse, Deputy First Minister John Swinney has announced."

"He made clear the inquiry would look at allegations made by those who were in a care setting at the time `where institutions and bodies had legal responsibility for the long-term care of children in the place of the parent, with all of the legal and moral obligations that status carries`."

He said: "That is different to the position in 'non in-care settings', such as day schools and youth groups, where others had a duty of care on a short-term basis but crucially were not in any way replacing the role of parents."

"In too many cases, terrible crimes were committed in those settings too. Criminal behaviour should be referred to the police and I hope, where the evidence exists, this will be energetically pursued through the criminal courts."

He stressed: " If we set a remit which would in practice take many more years to conclude, we are failing to respond to those survivors of in-care abuse who have taken us at our word - in Government and in Parliament - that we will learn from their experience and, by addressing the systematic failures which existed, ensure it can never happen again..."

"Professor Michael Lamb, the other panel member who stepped down, will not be replaced, Mr Swinney said, adding that Lady Smith is `content` with that decision."

"He confirmed the Scottish Government has introduced its first Bill since May's Holyrood election, with legislation being brought forward to remove the three-year time bar on abuse victims making a claim in the civil courts..."

"He also announced a consultation with abuse survivors and others about possible financial redress, pledging to `fully explore the issues and gather a wide range of views`..."

Scottish Labour’s Education spokesperson Iain Gray said failing to widen its scope may be a `serious mistake`.

Mr Gray added: "The membership of the panel of this inquiry has been a source of controversy in the past. The Scottish Government must ensure that this limited membership does not impede or slow down the progress of the inquiry."

"Finally, the Cabinet secretary has further delayed a decision on redress and refused to provide interim payments for elderly survivors. That is disappointing."

http://www.careappointments.co.uk/care-news/scotland/item/40816-swinney-confirms-historic-abuse-inquiry-remit-will-not-be-expanded

"Meanwhile the child abuse inquiry in England saw a barrister quit this week with ‘concerns’ about its leadership. Aileen McColgan resignation followed senior counsel Ben Emmerson's in September, a day after he was suspended."

https://www.holyrood.com/articles/news/scottish-child-abuse-inquiry-remit-will-not-be-widened-announces-john-swinney

The plight of children in Scotland, UK and elsewhere

Scottish child abuse inquiry

 

 

David Scott is on Skype link with Mike Robinson in the UK Column studio and they begin Friday`s programme by talking about the Scottish child abuse inquiry headed by the Right Hon Lady Smith. "She was appointed in July this year," explains David Scott, "After the previous head resigned under huge pressure from the Scottish government where there seemed to have been a trumped up character assassination attempt. One of the other three members of the panel also resigned citing government interference."

Robert Green

"So Lady Smith is the latest person to head up the inquiry and is a very interesting name to anyone who has followed the Holly Greig case, " says Scott, "Because she had a hand in the appalling treatment of Robert Green at the hands of the Scottish judiciary."

"So you wrote to her then," prompts Mike Robinson.

"Yes, we pointed out that when Robert was sentenced there was an outrageous and bigoted anti-English outburst from the [sheriff] in the case, Sheriff Principal Edward Bowen, and this showed prejudice but was entirely omitted from the official court records. Robert took this as a complaint and Lady Smith oversaw the complaint. She interviewed Robert; she interviewed Sheriff Principal Bowen and his clerk but none of the witnesses who were in the court and who heard the outburst... She wouldn`t talk to any of them. The official court record did not show the offending statements that had been made and although the entire proceedings were recorded, Lady Smith said she had listened to the recording and the phrase was not there. But she wouldn`t let Robert listen to the recording. So it was all very unsatisfactory. We had multiple witnesses who had all reported more or less the same thing, not necessarily word for word. The reports came in but they were almost identical and it was all to do with Robert`s nationality. And `How dare you come up to Scotland and tell us how to run our justice system. We know how to run the justice system in Scotland`. And these comments were stricken from the record as they would have been grounds for appeal."

"So we asked Lady Smith for comment on this and how we can trust her to enquire into child sexual abuse when we couldn`t apparently trust her to enquire into the mistreatment of a campaigner against child sexual abuse. This was the detailed response we got:"

Hi David,

A spokesperson for the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry said: "It would not be appropriate to comment on individual cases."

Thanks

Heather.

Plight of child migrants

The next item deals with an article in the Telegraph: France rebukes Britain over plight of children left stranded after destruction of `Jungle` camp at Calais.

Mike Robinson clarifies: "They are saying that between 100 and 200 children spent the night in a makeshift school at the edge of the `Jungle` after sleeping rough the previous night and Bernard Cazeneuve who is the equivalent of Amber Rudd - so he`s the French Home Secretary - and he told Amber Rudd he wanted to stress the need for children who remain in Calais to be properly protected."

"Well David we`ve been highlighting on this programme for quite a number of months that bringing them to Britain doesn`t guarantee that they will be properly protected. Does Scotland have a better reputation for this?"

"Clearly not. And neither does anywhere in Europe. I was seeing reports were coming in from Greece where some of the child refugees and migrants are on the street involved in prostitution. And you fear for their safety either in Britain or in France but particularly in Britain. Would they end up in the same horrible situation?"

Mike Robinson reinforces his view: "Look it`s increasingly clear to me that what`s going on here is an industry being established which is running along the same type of business model as the drugs industry. So we`ve got this notional ban on drugs from governments while in the meantime governments directly benefit from the trafficking of drugs. The same thing seems to be happening with people increasingly. So we`ve had an announcement from the Ministry of Defence, in the last day or so, they`re going to send troops over to Libya to train Libyan patrols off the coast of Libya to try to prevent people being trafficked through Libya. But of course this is the same kind of scenario: deliberate underinvestment in what you might call enforcement while in the meantime the trade continues and in this case it`s a trade in humans. It hasn`t worked for drugs and it isn`t going to work for this... The intention is that these people continue to be trafficked."

David Scott agrees that the war on drugs has been horrendous. "In the case of drugs it`s most certainly been government intervention that`s promoted it both in terms of overseas and poppy growing areas and in the trafficking of drugs particularly into America where drugs were coming in and guns were going out and ... they were getting American kids hooked on heroin, cocaine and crack in order to fund the illegal wars overseas. It was just as cynical as that. And it`s become such a huge industry that without the liquidity, it brings the entire banking system - Wall Street etc would likely collapse -  So it becomes an essential component of our corrupt system that we live under and therefore it keeps manifesting itself generation after generation and nobody really does anything to stop it. To consider human trafficking becoming something on that scale is truly horrendous."

United Nations

"Well here is Fillippo Grandi who is UN commissioner for refugees and he`s highlighting the word `invisible.` He says it`s the word most commonly used to describe what it is to be without a nationality ... And what he`s doing is promoting this campaign from UNHCR. It`s #IBELONG. Today ten million people around the world are denied a nationality. They often aren`t allowed to go to school, get a job, open a bank account, buy a house or even get married. You can help change their lives and it says the main reason people are stateless is because of discrimination, because of ethnicity, because of their religion, because in some countries women cannot pass their nationality on to their children. We believe it`s time to end this injustice. With enough courage we know it`s possible. Governments can change their laws and procedures and give stateless people their rights and a place to belong and in ten years we can ensure everyone has a nationality because if we don`t they suggest it`s going to get worse. And you know I thought it was a little ironic that the United Nations which is working so hard to abolish the idea of sovereign nations is now demanding that people belong to them. But you pointed out the graphic on the right."

"Yes... when you look at this #IBELONG when the man is crouching down pretending to be a globe. So it seems to me to be saying `I belong to the globe`; it`s a unitary planet-wide identity ... seems to be suggested there even though they are talking there on the surface about nation states."

The Named Person scheme

They move on to the Named Person scheme where the headline on NO2NP website is: Swinney accused of snubbing concerned parents and constituents.

"Yes he was, and people were asking to meet him. He went public and said we want to have a discussion; we want to consult; it`s going to be an enormous consultation but we don`t want to consult with people who don`t agree with us. You have to agree first in order to be included in the consultation. So some concerned parents wrote to him and asked him for some time to meet and discuss the issues surrounding the Named Person and the following letter was the ... reply: And we see here reference again to `We are only willing to talk to people who accept the sovereign will of parliament` essentially. So it`s the divine right of parliament rearing its ever uglier head again and the sovereign will of the people is irrelevant because parliament has spoken. And that is what is being told without a hint of a smile is democracy..."

"It is a pretty spectacular approach both from the Scottish parliament and the Westminster government that really we cannot comment or criticise or change the mind of parliament because the will of parliament is supreme and in fact if we go to court in order to try to force them to behave in a particular way, well the court can be ignored as well. This is a staggeringly unconstitutional position to take," says Mike Robinson.

"On a happier note the NO2NP campaign was nominated for Political Campaigner of the Year in the Scottish Political Awards 2016... and NO2NP won..."  David Scott reports that the news was not received well by opponents.

The Highland Investigation

"Now the Highland Investigation, you had a meeting in the Royal Highland hotel last week. How did it go?"

"It was very good, very good turn out, very interesting conversations which lasted for quite a few hours and extremely worthwhile.  So thank you to everyone who came along to that..."

David Scott is asked to remind viewers and listeners what the Highland Investigation is setting out to achieve.

"Highland Council has been held up as the testing ground for the Named Person and the whole GIRFEC approach which surrounds every aspect of the state`s interaction with children and families and it has been held up as a wonderful success. And the apostle of GIRFEC [Getting it Right for Every Child] is a gentleman called Bill Alexander from Highland Council and his constant refrain is: `Come to Highlands and see how well it`s working. No-one could have any problems with this. It`s been proven to work so well on the ground.` So we started to make some enquiries and we found an entirely different story."

"We found Council officials behaving in the most dreadful way towards loving parents and what we`re doing is we`re gathering information; we`re gathering stories; we`re gathering accounts and we`re seeing patterns. So it`s not just one or two stories, we`re seeing patterns as to how GIRFEC and the Named Person really operates. One thing that came out of Wednesday night was the realisation that almost nobody in Highland Council who was a child or who had a child during the GIRFEC Named Person trial - and remember Named Person we`re told is a single point of contact; so parents know who to talk to if there`s a problem - almost nobody knew they had a Named Person because Highland Council simply didn`t tell them. It was secret. So they didn`t get many complaints because nobody knew the scheme was actually running. How can you have a single point of contact if you don`t know they exist?"

Mike Robinson interjects: "So effectively what was going on there was somebody was spying on families and children and they had no awareness of that."

"That`s exactly correct. It was a single point of contact about families, not for families."

=============

Returning to the account of the nine-year-old girl who tried to commit suicide in front of her classmates as a result of bullying, David Scott points to a statement made by local councillor Roddy Balfour in the local press: "There`s no doubt there`s been problems with bullying but I`m satisfied that it has been addressed by the school.  So nothing to see here. Now it transpires that Roddy Balfour has quite a lot of other connections to quite troubling cases. We had one where the parents were involved, again with severe bullying, and they went to Roddy Balfour for assistance and they took with them lots of documentation to justify their case that they were being badly treated by Highland Council. And he was shocked; he said he`d do something; he was right on their side and extremely supportive. And off he went to meet the council officials and nine months later the parents hadn`t heard anything from him and they contacted him and he said he`d been warned off."

"So we wrote to him. We said, Mr Balfour, we`ve been passed information regarding a request constituents made for you to intercede on their behalf with Highland Council Education Department. I understand you visited this family in the home and expressed outrage and disbelief at what they were going through. Armed with documentation from the family that supported their view and claims, you attended a meeting with Mr Hector Robertson and Mr John Bruce of the Highland Council Education Department. You had no contact with the family following this meeting until nearly nine months later when one of the parents telephoned you. They asked you why you had abandoned them to which you responded you`d been warned off at the meeting with Mr Robertson and Mr Bruce. I understand that the family`s advocate also contacted you over your remarks and you told them you had been advised to walk away from it... Clearly some pressure was brought to bear on you. Could you explain how and by whom and if known to you why this was done?  Could you also explain why you complied?"

"So that was the question that went in to Mr Roddy Balfour and a similar one went in to Ms Glynis Sinclair who had a similar lack of response once interacting with the Council. Now the reply that came back was essentially that Mr Roddy Balfour had no recollection of these events..."

Despite more correspondence with Mr Roddy Balfour there has been no further response.

====================

A number of other topics were discussed for those who are interested. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrrAjgs8Spc 　

Campaigners urge Deputy First Minister John Swinney to remove a senior official from the inquiry

"A TOP civil servant is facing calls to resign amid claims she said it was `OK` for abuse victims to die if their demise resulted in greater support in future cases where there was a risk of suicide."

"Campaigners are urging Deputy First Minister John Swinney to remove a senior official linked to the inquiry into historic abuse at Scottish care homes following a string of complaints about her conduct."

"Jessica McPherson works closely with victims of abuse in her role setting up Survivor Scotland, a fund which supports those giving evidence to the inquiry. She is head of delivery, care rights and support, at the Scottish Government..."

"Janine Rennie, chief executive of abuse charity Open Secret, and project manager Safia Ali claim to have heard the alleged remark during a meeting to discuss a support team being established on August 24 last year...."

"It is understood at least three grievances have been lodged with the Scottish Government about Ms McPherson`s conduct..."

"Meanwhile Ms McPherson has also become the focus of several damaging allegations from White Flowers Alba, which also represents and campaigns for abuse victims, the majority of whom suffered in Catholic institutions..."

"Ms McPherson has also alienated members of the group In Care Abuse Survivors Scotland (INCAS), on one occasion responding angrily to the presence of their lawyer at a meeting in 2015, with the result that he was excluded from the meeting..."

"In his letter dismissing the claims from Open Secret, Mr Swinney says the charity has been asked not to `denigrate` officials."

"But the charity says they are providing evidence of misconduct."

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/homenews/14724632.Fresh_controversy_engulfs_troubled_child_abuse_inquiry/

See also http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/catholic-school-sex-abuse-victim-3553470