Sunday morning, just passed, Team Voice sat down to chat about the ongoing Jersey Child Abuse Inquiry and where we are at with it, what our concerns are, and how our confidence, in the Inquiry, isn't as high as we would have hoped.
The video below is the continuation of that published by Rico Sorda HERE.
In this part of the video we discuss the role of the local State Media, who thus far, have exclusive rights to the media room, at the Inquiry building, after Bloggers (Jersey's only independent, and trusted, media) were very suspiciously, and dubiously, banned from using the media room, and its facilities, as we previously reported HERE.
We ask if the local State Media is STILL betraying the victims, and survivors of abuse by not doing, what any self respecting journalist should be doing, and challenging this Inquiry rather than just repeating whatever the Inquiry wants it to.
Jimmy Savile at Haute de la Garenne.
Serious questions need to be asked about the Jimmy Savile alleged £50,000 bribe as revealed in witness "Mrs A's" statement to the inquiry yet no questions were asked of the witness when she gave live evidence to the inquiry. How could this possibly be? We asked some questions HERE. How was it possible for The Sun newspaper to report on the alleged bribe, when it had NO reporters at the Inquiry Hearing? Why did the local State Media (who did have reporters at the hearing) bury this revelation? We asked those questions HERE. Alongside that, in Witness "MRS A's" LIVE EVIDENCE she Said "I do not trust the media on what they put out now and that's a very very sad part of life." Which wasn't questioned by the Inquiry Team nor was it reported in the media. Considering the Inquiry is aware that the local State Media stand accused of complicity in the Jersey cover-up it's even more alarming that no questions were asked as to why the witness/victim did not trust them.
When another witness, giving LIVE EVIDENCE to the Inquiry, spoke of how, after speaking out at an anti Child Abuse rally in the Royal Square, (in 2008) he was scared of being arrested. Why was a line of questioning, by the Panel, or its lawyers, not pursued on this? An abuse victim STILL scared of speaking out, in 2008? If the culture of the Island is different now surely there should be no fear of speaking out? If that fear still exists then this could show that there has been no change of culture and those who speak out still fear being punished. The Inquiry should be picking up on this as it might go some way to explain why so many victims/survivors/witnesses/whistleblowers are so reluctant to give evidence to this inquiry.
Recent history has shown us that these kind of Inquiries should be challenged/scrutinised at the time, not years later. By challenging this Inquiry now we hope to avoid a repetition of past ("accredited") media failings that allowed all kind of Inquiries to cover up the truth. Stephen Lawrence, Hillsborough, Bloody Sunday, to name but a few.
The victims/survivors, and the good people of Jersey, deserve the truth. Since we don't have an independent mainstream media who will ensure we get to that truth, then once more it is left to the Bloggers.
Inquiry Spin Doctor Liz Mackean.