Clay Davis
Member
Update #2:
We now have a complete summary of how you get from Jimmy Savile to Lord McAlpine, please do make sure you read the Scallywag section and that which follows especially.
This is all compiled from news articles that have come out since the scandal broke, and those that were already out there.
Jimmy Savile
- ITV airs investigation revealing victims of abuse by Jimmy Savile, former DJ and television presenter at the BBC plus notable charity worker
- Police start investigation and hear from hundreds of victims over 40 years
- BBC revealed to have pulled an earlier investigation which made similar claims
- Videos of his BBC shows have Gary Glittler as a guest boasting of the girls they have
- A video shows Savile trying to molest one on air during Top Of The Pops, she went to floor managers about it but they laughed it off
- Savile revealed to have abused patients through his charity work at Stoke Mandeville hospital, the youngest being 8
- Savile had been given keys to Broadmoor high-security psychiatric hospital with unrestricted access
- Savile boasted in his autobiography that he slept with an underage girl but nothing came of it because he would 'take down half the station with him'
- Savile held a 'Friday Club' with members of the police both serving and retired every week for 20 years
- Savile was basically 'untouchable'
- Freddie Starr, comedian, arrested over similar allegations
- Several close friends of Savile said to have fled the country
- ITV preparing second programme concerning Savile's early years
- Dave Lee Travis, also a former DJ at the BBC and Top Of The Pops presenter, arrested
- Others still being investigated
North Wales child abuse scandal (1974-1990)
The fact Savile was untouchable, and this all went on in plain sight for decades, reopened questions about the abuse in care homes which Savile visited regularly in North Wales.
- Between 1974 and 1990, up to 650 children from 40 children's homes such as Bryn Estyn were sexually, physically and emotionally abused
- Only 9 people were charged, 7 convicted, and no one outside the care homes
- Persistent allegations were that the homes were visited by prominent people in the public eye and politicians at unexplained times, and also to collect boys and abuse them in local hotels and residences in London
- Jillings in his inquiry regretted he did not have the mandate to investigate these allegations further
- Jillings was also concerned there was a widespread paedophile ring in North Wales and the North West, of which there had been warnings 4 years earlier, and went to the Chief Constable about it
- The Jillings report was instead however ordered not to be published as not being in the public interest, having been warned by insurers of the cost of compensation to all the victims
- Parts of the unpublished Jillings report were leaked by a whistleblower which led to the Waterhouse inquiry
- The Waterhouse inquiry forbid any naming or investigation of those not already convicted
- Up to 60 names were removed from one victim's statement alone
- At least 16 victims of the abuse are now dead, 3 from suicide
Gateshead child abuse (1966-1973) / Peter Howarth / North Wales
- Peter Howarth taught at Gateshead's Axell Park, a Home Office run school for troubled youngers where he abused children
- No charges or action was taken and he was then appointed deputy head at Bryn Estyn children's home where he continued to abuse the children in its care
- If action had been taken then at least one of those involved in the abuse in North Wales could have been stopped before it happened
- A victim of the abuse in North Wales said children were regularly abused for the 'entertainment' of Savile at the home in the presence of Peter Howarth
- Children were taken to Savile in Howarth's flat
- When the social worker blew the whistle on the abuse after police and council refused to take any action, Howarth was one of only 7 who were convicted.
- The Crown Prosecution Service decided not to charge 6 members of the police, including a Superintendent, saying it was 'not in the public interest to prosecute these police officers'
- All 6 members of the police took early retirement
- No charges were made against Savile or anyone outside the care homes
- Nothing about Savile, or anyone else, came out at all
Islington child abuse scandal (1970's-1980's)
This also happened in Islington where each of the 24 care homes was found to be abusing children.
- The abuse spanned the 1970's and 1980's, it is still unclear the number of victims and no one was charged
- It wasn't revealed until 1992 when a social worker blew the whistle after the police and council refused to take any action
- Although there were then as many as 13 inquiries, proving the abuse took place, none of them looked at the perpetrators
- The original whistleblower said when the story broke 'everyone just left the council'
- Some are still running councils elsewhere
- Perpetrators escaped conviction and went on to abuse elsewhere, some had links to those at other care homes
- One was arrested in Thailand in 2006 for abusing as many as 300 children
The head of Islington council at the time, Margaret Hodge, was later appointed Minister For Children in Tony Blair's government.
Jersey child abuse scandal (1960's-1980's)
- Jersey police have so far recorded complaints from at least 100 former child residents of Haut de la Garenne
- Only 6 were passed on for prosecution citing reasons that the complaints were not substantive enough
- 3 were dropped
- Of the 3 remaining one was a former child resident, the others carers, and all were convicted
- One of the perpetrators suspected in the Islington scandal was said to be involved with Haut de la Garenne
- Again, no one outside the care homes was charged
- There has been widespread criticism of the official investigations into it
- An American journalist, Leah McGrath Goodman, has been banned from the UK after saying she was investigating the abuse claims
Rochdale child abuse scandal (2007-2012)
- 9 Asian men were jailed for grooming young white girls for sex over 5 years
- Children and their parents went repeatedly to police and social services for help but were ignored
- Victims were said to be 'making their own choices', some were as young as 12
- A report in Rotherham found agencies there were aware of similar abuse but did nothing, and no one was prosecuted
Lord McAlpine
Lord McAlpine was named by one of the victims in North Wales, leading to a statement denying it from Lord McAlpine and the resignation of the BBC's Director General. This followed a warning from Cameron on ITV about a witch hunt. However there is more to the story.
- Lord McAlpine's cousin, Jimmie McAlpine, was identified by one of the victims in North Wales but had died before the Waterhouse inquiry
- Boys were regularly taken to do work at 2 homes of the McAlpine family according to a local councillor
- Photographic evidence handed into police by one of the victims was ordered to be destroyed
- Police said to have had extensive reasons to link Jimmie McAlpine to the abuse in the care homes, no action was taken
- All names were removed from the Waterhouse report
- The inquiry itself was halted on one occasion when a particular name came up
- Steve Messham, who named Lord McAlpine and confirmed as a genuine victim by the social worker who blew the whistle about North Wales, attacked in widely criticised article by the Sunday Mail which referred to him as a 'weirdo'
- Integrity and motives of Mail journalist are questioned
- Media focus shifts completely to the 'crisis' at the BBC
Sir Peter Morrison
Sir Peter Morrison, Parliamentary Private Secretary to the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, was identified on Channel 4 news by eye witness as one of the perpetrators in North Wales who was not revealed at the time nor charged.
- Edwina Currie's diaries published in 2002 had already named him as a 'noted pedarest' with a 'liking for young boys' and expressed concern at him being appointed PPS to Thatcher for fear of the press revealing it
- Currie was also responsible for appointing Savile to his role at Broadmoor
- Margaret Thatcher was said to either not be aware or 'taking a gamble'
- Norman Tebbit, Chairman of the Conservative party, was aware of it
- Teresa Gorman MP said his agent had been offered money to keep quiet about his activities
Sir Cyril Smith
- Sir Cyril Smith, Liberal Democrat MP for Rochdale, named in House Of Commons as a repeated abuser of young boys and urged victims to come forward
- He was investigated by Lancashire police in the 1960's but no action was taken
- Persistent allegations had been made over the years but still no action was taken
- MP said there had been a long-standing culture in Rochdale of 'hiding the truth'
The Church Of England and the Royal Family
- Peter Ball, former Church Of England Bishop, arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting boys as young as 12
- A second unnamed man, a retired Anglican priest has also been arrested
- The arrest came as part of the investigation into Savile, on suspicion of 8 new offences against boys and young men in the 1980's and 1990's
- Ball had already been cautioned in 1993 for an act of 'gross indecency' against a teenage monk, after which he resigned
- Ball, like Savile, was a close friend of Prince Charles
- After he resigned the clergy Prince Charles gave him a grace and favour home, Manor Lodge, in the Somerset village of Aller
- The property is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, Prince Charles' private estate
- Despite the caution Ball continued to work in churches till 2010
- The Queen's former press secretary, Dickie Arbiter, said Savile's behaviour when invited to St. James' Palace was 'cause for concern'
- Arbiter said he could never understand why Savile was granted such access to the Royal Family
Scallywag Magazine
Scallywag was a satirical and investigative magazine, similar to Private Eye, published in the 1990's.
- Issue 22, published in 1994, contained a story 'Lord McAlpine and the Paedophile Ring' alleging much of what has now come out of a widespread paedophile ring and also a connection to those in Government
- It also alleged there was a wider problem involving the use of the care homes for the production and sale of child pornography and also drugs and prostitution. Involving the use of the children in care as rent boys for wealthy clients and those in power
- Following the recent statement from Lord McAlpine, in which he sued the BBC and which shifted the focus of the media completely, the article surfaced in its entirety online. It can be read here:
Part 1: http://i.imgur.com/ccFfC.jpg
Part 2: http://i.imgur.com/mXWi6.jpg
Part 3: http://i.imgur.com/sEUuX.jpg
Part 4: http://i.imgur.com/r6OXa.jpg
- At the time NONE of those named in the article, including Lord McAlpine, sued
- The article ended by saying they would welcome being sued as they would defend the story as no one was there to defend the children
- The Prime Minister John Major however did sue Scallywag and its distributors for the claim he was having an affair with Claire Latimer and won. Forcing Scallywag out of production
- Claire Latimer later claimed Major used her as a 'decoy'
- Major was later confirmed to have been having an affair at the time with Edwina Currie
- Following the shut-down of the printed magazine Scallywag tried to continue online
- Julian Lewis MP sued their service provider and got them to shut it down while he was standing for election, using a rarely known electoral law about someone standing against him trying to influence voting
- Simon Regan, co-founder of Scallywag, was standing against him at the time claiming he was a liar and not fit for office
- Angus Wilson, the other co-founder of Scallywag, was killed in 1994 in a car crash in Cyprus aged 31
- You can read Simon Regan's appeal to find his killer, posted on Usenet in 1997, here:
https://groups.google.com/forum/m/?hl=en&fromgroups#!topic/soc.culture.greek/CkJUEfcyVYU
- Regan's letter from February 2000, regarding the Waterhouse inquiry and his own personal feelings about the abuse that had occurred and how is was being handled then, can be read here:
http://google-law.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/scallywag-magazine-how-torys-cover-up.html
- Regan died of a 'short illness' in the summer of 2000 the day after his birthday, aged 58, little else is known
Fate of some of the victims
A list posted by MP Paul Flynn of respondent witnesses mentioned in the 2002 inquiry report which was meant to be pulped in a cover-up. One copy survived and wound up at the Independent on Sunday:
R1: Fell to his death from a railway bridge. Former resident of Bryn Alyn Home.
R2: May, 1978, committed suicide aged 16 by taking an overdose of pain killing tablets. Former resident of Bryn Alyn.
R3: March 1985, was found dead in a flat in which he was living in poverty, aged 21. Former resident of Little Acton Assessment centre.
R4: April 1992, died in a fire aged 32 in premises in which he lived in Sussex. The inquest verdict – unlawful killing. Former resident of Bryn Alyn.
R5: June 1992, found dead aged 18 in a bed-sitter. Cause of death, acute respiratory failure due to solvent abuse. Former resident of Bryn Alyn.
R6: January, 1994, committed suicide by hanging, aged 27.
R7: April, 1994, died aged 27 from alcohol abuse. Allegations that he had been the subject of a serious sexual offence. Former Bryn Estyn resident.
R8: July 1994, found dead in a car, aged 18. Former foster child in Clwyd where he allegedly suffered from maltreatment.
R9: November, 1994, committed suicide aged 16 by hanging.
R10: February, 1995, died from and apparent heroin overdose aged 37. Former resident of Bryn Alyn where it was alleged he had been sexually abused.
R11: February, 1995, hanged himself aged 31. Allegations of sexual abuse against care workers.
R12: May, 1995, found hanging aged 27. Allegations that he had been sexually abused by a senior care worker. Former resident of Bryn Estyn.
More on R4, verdict unlawful killing, can be read here from 1997:
http://google-law.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/arson-cover-up-north-wales-child-abuse.html
Current inquiries
There are currently at least 9 separate inquiries investigating the BBC, police, social services, and the previous inquiries. Demands are being made by the opposition and those involved with exposing the previous cases of abuse for a single overarching public inquiry into all the allegations and confirmed cases of child abuse.
No attempt at all has been made at any point to try and get a complete picture of the child abuse that was happening throughout the country, because of the limited mandates of each inquiry, nor identify and investigate all the perpetrators of it and bring them to justice.
The unpublished Jillings report said victims were sacrificed to protect those in professional positions at every stage.
Peers in the House Of Lords have demanded the inquiry into the Waterhouse inquiry be dropped or amended. The opposition have repeated their demand for a wider public inquiry but the Government has said it will not be changing its position.
Links
Original whistleblower in North Wales warns of the shift of focus and attempts to discredit victims of child abuse:
http://news.sky.com/story/1010077/concerns-over-treatment-of-child-abuse-victims
Eye witness describes what went on at the care homes in North Wales:
http://www.channel4.com/news/exclusive-eyewitness-saw-thatcher-aide-take-boys-to-abuse
McAlpine aftermath: Peers demand child abuse investigation is dropped:
http://m.politics.co.uk/news/2012/11/14/peers-want-probe-into-child-abuse-inquiry-dropped
The North Wales child abuse scandal: A damaged generation waits for justice 30 years on:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...on-waits-for-justice-30-years-on-8303901.html
(links to all the news articles used to make this summary are posted in the thread, I will add more to this section later)
Sorry for the multiple posts but we are back in plain horrible territory again and something I had missed. I also want to keep things posted as we go along to be able to call back individual posts if required.
In the section titled fate of some of the victims in Update #2, R4 and R10 were directly linked. They were brothers.
R4 died in the arson attack in Brighton in 1992, verdict unlawful killing. R10 survived and tried to get them to investigate further and reopen the case. They didn't. All these details can be got from the Brighton article:
http://google-law.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/arson-cover-up-north-wales-child-abuse.html
In January 1995 R10 gave evidence in the trial of John Allen, head of the children's home company in North Wales. Allen is Mr X in the Scallywag article from 1994, and he was convicted. The person referred to as Paul in the Scallywag article also lived in Brighton in a flat paid for by Allen. Paul was said to have identified Lord McAlpine from 4 photos and made a sworn affidavit to this effect. Scallywag said they had that sworn affidavit, and Paul went to the police about it with the photos. You can read about that here:
http://i.imgur.com/sEUuX.jpg
R10 was awarded substantial compensation by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, but on February 1st 1995 he was found dead in his flat from an apparent heroin overdose. Shortly after his death police raided his flat and seized a video tape, alleged like the photos Messham handed to the police to be of the child pornography that Scallywag said was being produced in the care homes. Through a company owned by Allen's niece in Copenhagen. You can read about that here:
http://i.imgur.com/mXWi6.jpg
Julian Lewis MP got the contents of Scallywag's office seized over an alleged rent dispute. When it was resolved and the contents were returned all the documents relating to North Wales were missing.
Angus Wilson co-founder of Scallywag died in 1994, in a car crash in Cyprus, aged 31. Simon Regan co-founder of Scallywag and who stood against Lewis in an an election saying he was unfit for office died in 2000, aged 58.
The Scallywag article published in 1994 was written by Angus James. Angus James Wilson:
http://i.imgur.com/ccFfC.jpg
John Allen went into hiding in 2003 when he was cleared of 36 further offences under European Human Rights legislation.
Allen is now working as a porter in a Premier Inn:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/convicted-north-wales-care-home-1430164
From the end of the Scallywag article:
Should Lord McAlpine choose to consult his solicitors about the story we have printed, we would welcome the opportunity of dragging his name through the courts. Should he choose not to take action, then let his silence incriminate him.
We shall defend our story assiduously, for no one was there to defend the children continually abused by their rich and powerful overseers.
http://i.imgur.com/r6OXa.jpg
The Scallywag article was published in 1994 ahead of the trial in case of a miscarriage of justice, and to expose that it went far beyond Allen.
I have no words again.
a big, big thank you to DECK'ARD for his continued efforts in putting together these summaries. thank you.
