14-01-2015, 09:08 PM
LBC's James O'Brien , discussing the Westminster/Dolphin Square Child Abuse Scandal, with Mark Watts:
http://lbc.audioagain.com/player_popup.p...0fca5fc021
http://lbc.audioagain.com/player_popup.p...0fca5fc021
Quote:Doug Richard Of Dragon's Den Arrested
For raping a 13 year old girl ?
I'm Out!
Doug Richard, an American, has been honoured by The Queen and is also an advisor to Prime Minister David Cameron.
Talk about being caught between a Rock and a hard place. No wonder Cameron would have you believe that the sexual abuse of children is a Conspiracy Theory', all the easier to dismiss it.
"It [The Wanless Report] says there wasn't a cover up so some of the people looking for conspiracy theories will have to look elsewhere." David Cameron
But that Report said nothing of the sort, did it Prime Minister..?
A millionaire advisor to Prime Minister David Cameron has been arrested on suspicion of raping a 13-year-old girl.
Doug Richard, 56, was quizzed by police and released on bail.
He strongly denied the allegations in a statement issued through his lawyers.
The married dad, who starred on BBC's Dragons' Den in the first two series, has travelled with the Prime Minister on an official government trip to Africa and advised on policy.
American-born Richard has also worked as an advisor to Chancellor, George Osborne.
Richard, honoured by the Queen for his work helping entrepreneurs, was arrested on January 5.
Quote:Child abuse inquiry panel member accuses counsel of intimidation
Sharon Evans tells MPs that Ben Emmerson QC attempted to ensure panel members didn't voice any internal criticism
Sharon Evans gives evidence to the home affairs select committee on Tuesday. Photograph: PA
- Alan Travis and Sandra Laville
- The Guardian, Tuesday 20 January 2015 18.52 GMT
The chaos behind the scenes of the official inquiry into child abuse has been laid bare with accusations of bullying and silencing members as the investigation struggled to get off the ground.
One panel member, Sharon Evans, an abuse survivor and chief executive of the Dot Com children's charity, told MPs the inquiry's counsel, Ben Emmerson QC, had in effect taken it over in the absence of an appointed chairman, and had made threats and intimidated panel members.
She made the accusations to the Commons home affairs select committee as the home secretary, Theresa May, considers whether to disband the independent panel and create a fresh statutory inquiry.
The inquiry, set up in July in the wake of the Jimmy Savile, Rotherham and other child sex abuse scandals, still has no chairman after May's first two nominees were both forced to step down because of their connections to the establishment.
Evans was giving MPs an update on the progress of the inquiry along with other inquiry members Drusilla Sharpling and Prof Jenny Pearce and an adviser, Prof Alexis Jay, who wrote the report revealing that there were 1,400 child sex abuse victims over 16 years in the Rotherham area.
Evans told the MPs that even before their Commons hearing on Tuesday afternoon there had been an attempt by the inquiry secretariat to ensure panel members did not voice any internal criticism. "I feel that I was told today that we must speak with a collective voice. I feel that would prevent me from answering your questions honestly."
She also claimed she had been told a letter she wanted to send to the home secretary must be rewritten before it was despatched and complained that panel members were being prevented from responding publicly to allegations about their conduct.
The committee chairman, Keith Vaz, said he shared her concern and warned panel members they would be in contempt of parliament if they did not reply honestly to questions. He said the committee would ask Emmerson to respond to Evans's accusations.
Two other panel members, Pearce and Sharpling, expressed greater confidence in the running of the inquiry but agreed that a new chairman and statutory powers were essential for its work to continue.
Jay said there was a strong public perception that the independent panel was not focused or well-led.
Sharpling said they had to postpone a Birmingham "listening event" until March because they were not in a position to answer questions about their future.
Outside the committee hearingon Tuesday, the Home Office said there was an ongoing investigation into the behaviour of two panel members. The investigation began after an abuse survivor, Andrew Lavery, complained he had been sent threatening emails by Graham Wilmer, a panel member who is also a survivor of child abuse.
There are also complaints about panel member Barbara Hearn over her communications with Peter McKelvie, a former child protection manager, whose allegations led to the launch of the ongoing police inquiry Operation Fernbridge.
The Home Office said it was taking legal advice on the complaints and the investigation was continuing.
In a statement on Tuesday night, Emmerson denied any bullying or intimidation, calling the allegations "baseless." A statement from the panel, excluding Evans, rejected any suggestion it had been intimidated.
Quote:BY GOJAM | JANUARY 22, 2015 · 6:03 PM
Leon Brittan Accused Of Attempting To Smuggle Child Abuse Images Into UK.
I'm very grateful to journalist Tim Tate for leaving this comment, quoted below, which has confirmed my suspicion of the provenance of The Daily Telegraphstory, also quoted below, which alleged that Leon Brittan had been caught trying to smuggle indecent images of children into Dover while he had been an Commissioner to the EU.
Tim Tate is on the byline of the original Telegraph story
"Almost a year ago I interviewed a very senior detective who was handling the Brittan investigation. He was very clear that the Customs Officer (referred to above) had made a clear and credible statement about stopping Brittan at Dover, and seizing child pornography video tapes from him. The Customs Officer stated that he viewed the tapes and was able to describe what was on them.
That statement is or should be still held at the Metropolitan Police station from which the investigation was conducted.
I believe that it is essential that the historic child abuse enquiry assuming it survives is given a copy of the statement." Tim Tate
A senior Tory politician said to be part of a child sex ring was allegedly stopped by a customs officer with child pornography videos but got off scot-free, police have been told.
The former MP was driving back to the UK via Dover when a customs officer pulled him over because he was "acting suspiciously". The border guard, who is now retired, has told detectives that when he searched the MP's car he found videotapes of children "clearly under the age of 12" taking part in sex acts.
He passed the material on to his superiors, but the MP was never arrested or charged.
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Filed under Abuse, Fernbridge, News, Politics
BY GOJAM | JANUARY 22, 2015 · 3:35 PM
Was Leon Brittan A Paedophile ?
Leon Brittan has died, he was aged 75.
You'll find fulsome obituaries elsewhere and perhaps even praise but I want to focus on the truth, or not, of the allegations that Leon Brittan was a paedophile.
Over the last two years there have been many rumours and news stories alleging that Leon Brittan was a paedophile, though you may not have realised as he has invariably been euphemistically alluded to as "a former senior Tory cabinet minister" or something similar. There had been some concern among journalists, and even this blogger, that the continued and ubiquitous use of this term might itself have become so synonymous with Leon Brittan that its use might itself have precipitated legal action if Lord Brittan decided to take that route.
The allegations are not new they go back to the early 1980s at least, as Bernhard Ingham, former press secretary to Margaret Thatcher, has confirmed recently to Sky News, he was aware of the allegations at the time and even asked him about them at the time. I've also talked to journalists who investigated these rumours in the late 1980s.
Clearly now that Leon Brittan is dead, I'm free from legal constraints and I can say exactly as I wish but just because I can write what I wish, doesn't mean that I should. Ultimately, I'm only interested in the truth and not rumours.
About 15 months ago I discussed the allegations with a source close to an investigation looking into this and other similar allegations. I asked the source directly whether he thought that Leon Brittan was a paedophile. After a pause he replied that in his view 80% of the allegations were false but that the remaining 20% of allegations left him with the view that Leon Brittan did indeed have an unhealthy sexual interest in children.
It is with this in mind that I will refrain from repeating every allegation that has been swirling around the internet over the last two years because I agree with that source, there are many allegations that are false, as an example, there has been a suggestion that the police have a video of Lord Brittan at a "sex party". This story is untrue.
So, I'm going to lay to one side all of the stories that I believe make up the 80% of false allegations and look instead at the allegations that I believe make up the 20% of allegations that have substance, or at the least raise questions that need answering.
I'll touch briefly on the allegation that he raped a 19 year old female student, who is referred to in the press as Jane', in 1967. My view is that this allegation is credible but it is also my belief that after such a long time, and with no evidence beyond the victim's word against Lord Brittan's, a successful prosecution would have been very unlikely and that if the CPS had decided to proceed it would have put a great deal of pressure on the victim Jane' with little result. But for clarity, I believe her.
The second allegation I wish to mention is the one related to Elm Guest House.
It is my belief that the Daily Mail story, extract quoted below, refers to Leon Brittan. I say this because I had heard very similar accounts from other sources before this story had been published, some close to events at the time. I just didn't have the first hand source/sources that The Mail had and so I couldn't publish.
I'd recommend that readers, read this story once again.
The man recalled that during the boy's testimony at Richmond Police Station, he had spoken of an abuser whom he called Uncle XXXXX'. This abuser worked at the big houses', the boy said.I should note here that the victim in that Elm Guest House story has not felt able to co-operate with the police, hence no action could realistically be taken.
As the boy talked, at least two of those officials present came to independent realisations of his testimony's significance.
If Uncle XXXXX' had done what was alleged, this was not just a sordid suburban scandal, but one of national importance.
Another credible allegation is that Leon Brittan was stopped by British Customs trying to enter Dover with indecent images of children in the late 1980s while he was with the European Commission. This story, below, refers to that allegation.
A senior Tory politician said to be part of a child sex ring was allegedly stopped by a customs officer with child pornography videos but got off scot-free, police have been told.I am very aware that there will be many who will be disappointed that I've not related other allegations. As I've tried to make clear I want to stick only to those that I believe can be substantiated. If the victim at Elm Guest House speaks out then that allegation can be substantiated, if documentation exists, as it should, that Leon Brittan was stopped by a customs officer trying to enter the UK with indecent images, that too can be substantiated.
The former MP was driving back to the UK via Dover when a customs officer pulled him over because he was "acting suspiciously". The border guard, who is now retired, has told detectives that when he searched the MP's car he found videotapes of children "clearly under the age of 12" taking part in sex acts.
He passed the material on to his superiors, but the MP was never arrested or charged.